And there's a lot that you can do with only the simplest of tools (Fig. 1) to see that your distributor is in top condition. Think of your distributor as an infinitely accurate electric switch. It is.

At 7,000 rpm, a spark plug ignites the air/fuel mixture nearly 60 times per second. Any one of those 60 sparks going amiss can at best be mildly annoying, and at worst cost you a race or an engine.

The ignition is easily the most misunderstood system in any car. Most enthusiasts treat ignitions like some sort of weird, black magic/voodoo curse best left alone until it fails. Either that or they ...