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I did miss a zero. That would be one heck of a gap at .30".

A quick farmer's gauge would be a match book cover as okiemark stated. The match strike can also touch up the points in a pinch. Bmorgil is correct, 0.30" is the gap for the points.

Sounds like a plan.

We all learn something new just about every day on these critters. None of us knew about the vacuum system cooling the distributor until doing some research on Pelagro's troubled distributor.
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24 volts to the distributor. The coil has a resistor built in to keep from burning up the ignition system. As we learned through Pelagro's exploits, the military distributor has to have air flow...

Firing order is 1-3-4-2 .

Here are some helpful links to look through when it comes to timing;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=il7nKhbjwVo

Your engine is an L134 in your M38, then the M38A1 had a F 134 engine. The difference is that the L head is a flat head configuration, with the spark plugs going centered vertical in relation to the...

As a good relevant read, check out Pelagro's "the darn thing is out" series on this forum. The M38A1 and the M38 both use the same military ignition systems. As a collective group we brainstormed...

We have one member on the coast of North Carolina. He is finishing up on his M38A1, and has become an expert in 24 volt distributors.

If nothing else, we can discuss some options to get you up...