Another Distributor Question... - NCRS Discussion Boards

Another Distributor Question...

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  • Dan White

    Another Distributor Question...

    I have posted here about my 66 distributor a few times before, thanks to those who replied. Anyway, I just remembered something I left out of my previous posts that I was meaning to ask. As far as I can tell, my distributor is completely origional, or at least it has been since the mid 70's when the car was purchased by my dad. Would it be worth replacing the drive gear on the bottom, and shimming it to between .002" and .007" as I read on the board? Currently, the gear has no signs of abnormal wear, and has .010" clearance. By the way, the main reason I figured it might be necessay, besides the fact that its origional, was because the engine has a farily new crane cam (200 miles) and a brand new melling oil pump and arp driveshaft. Thanks in advance, Dan
  • Joe L.
    Beyond Control Poster
    • February 1, 1988
    • 43221

    #2
    Re: Another Distributor Question...

    Dan----

    Personally, I don't think that it's a bad idea to replace the distributor drive gear when a cam is replaced. However, it's not absolutely necessary and the vast majority of folks re-use the distributor drive gear with a new cam. In your case, the old drive gear has already been run on the new cam. So, even if there was any justification in replacing it when the cam was changed, there is not now. So, I'd forget it. If you have .010" clearance, I think that's just fine. The original spec, as shown on GM blueprints for Corvette distributors, was much greater than this.
    In Appreciation of John Hinckley

    Comment

    • Dale Pearman

      #3
      Re: Another Distributor Question...

      I set my clearance at 0.006 inches.

      Dale.

      Comment

      • Jim T.
        Expired
        • March 1, 1993
        • 5351

        #4
        Re: Another Distributor Question...

        Dale when you put a distributor in your distributor machine for testing, is the gear installed?

        Comment

        • Dale Pearman

          #5
          Re: Another Distributor Question...

          Yes. It centers the drive in a chuck. Also, the points are connected and a vacuum source is provided. The dwell is measured, advance curve plotted, point spring tension measured, and vacuum advance (retard) is also plotted. The RPM equivalent of 7,000 can be achieved. Resistance measurements of point contacts and isolation from ground can also be made.

          The Sun 404 was and is quite a machine for precisioin distributor work.

          Dale.

          Comment

          • Duke W.
            Beyond Control Poster
            • January 1, 1993
            • 15673

            #6
            Re: Another Distributor Question...

            The trouble with those machines is that the gear was clamped down in the chuck so the effect of sloppy end play would not show up on the test, but then the ignition would break up in the car. I don't think the guys who tested my
            distributor understood that in the sixties, but it wasn't cheap to get it tested for results that didn't solve the real problem.

            Duke

            Comment

            • Dale Pearman

              #7
              Re: Another Distributor Question...

              A through mechanical inspection of the distributor should be made before electrical adjustments. That's the time to identify bushing problems, end play, cam wear, and advance limiter with bushing.

              The oil pump causes more ignition scatter problems than the distributor does.

              Dale.

              Comment

              • Clem Z.
                Expired
                • January 1, 2006
                • 9427

                #8
                Re: Another Distributor Question...

                the shimming of the end play helps cut down on the spark scatter.

                Comment

                • Duke W.
                  Beyond Control Poster
                  • January 1, 1993
                  • 15673

                  #9
                  Re: Another Distributor Question...

                  The point I was making is that the "professionals" who tested my distributor said it worked fine. I was just a kid. I later figured out on my own that the end play was the major culprites in my igntion breakup problems.

                  Duke

                  Comment

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