Numbers on Distributor housing

[Christopher K.]

What is the significance of the embossed numbers in the cast iron housing of the distributor? They are adjacent to the tach gear on the outside of some distributors. Some others however, seem to have no numbers. Are there any that indentify particular years?

Thanks for the help,
Chris

[Christopher K.]

Re: Numbers on Distributor housing

Here's some pics of what I'm looking at

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff109/jrhupp2/100_2945.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff109/jrhupp2/100_2944.jpg

Chris

[Joe L.]

Re: Numbers on Distributor housing

Here's some pics of what I'm looking at

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff109/jrhupp2/100_2945.jpg

http://i237.photobucket.com/albums/ff109/jrhupp2/100_2944.jpg

Chris

Chris----

Whatever the significance of these numbers, I don't know that anyone has come up with a definitive meaning or decoding of them. My guess is that they represent some sort of pattern number. If they represent any sort of date code, it's a date-coding system that's different than any other that was in common use in the day.

[Christopher K.]

Re: Numbers on Distributor housing

Thanks for the reply Joe,

One of the few mysteries left to solve....

Chris

[Wayne M.]

Re: Numbers on Distributor housing

Chris----

Whatever the significance of these numbers, I don't know that anyone has come up with a definitive meaning or decoding of them. My guess is that they represent some sort of pattern number. If they represent any sort of date code, it's a date-coding system that's different than any other that was in common use in the day.

Chris -- I agree with Joe at this point. I cannot make out any trend. Here's a list of the 9 tach drives I have; 6 of them are K66 Transistor Ign. versions, but I don't think that's a factor. I've listed them in the order of assembly date. Tag # is first, then housing cast #; then assembly date, followed by comments.

1111060____60__4C30 probably just coincidence with both being 60
1111296___231__8B26
1111267___350__9D14 this is a 1969 Z28 tach drive K66 unit
1112021___421__0B23
1112038___530__0J3 with thrust button hole, introduced spring 1970
1112247___160__4E31
1111157___161__4K9 GM service; Nov. 1974
1111069___161__0D23 GM service; April 1980; not '70, w/button hole
1111263____41__6J15 GM racing, OTC, could be 1976 or 1986

The '263' ball bearing unit is a radically different casting than the others, and I wouldn't expect this one to fit in any pattern. Also, I don't have any of the '65-6 BB type with the partially filled oil annulus (although the '263' has the BB-type annulus, I think this distrib. was mainly for small blocks .)

[Christopher K.]

Re: Numbers on Distributor housing

Wayne,

I certainly cannot make out any pattern either. It is interesting, however, to see all this data. I wonder if distributors from the same year would have any consistency in numbering?

The dist in the pics is a 1112050, dated 2C8. I would probably need alot of replies from owners of '72's, or someone with quite a few to test that theory.

Thanks again for the info,
Chris