TI Distributor

[Jimmy G.]

1. Is the housing for a TI distributor the same as a non TI housing.
2. Will the TI parts from a NASCAR ball bearing distributor work on a regular TI distributor.

In case you have not figured out the end result, here it is. I have many tach drive housings, internal parts, shafts, etc. and a NOS ball bearing dist. i,e, no vacuum advance. Can I take parts from three units and make a workable TI distributor for my '67.

[Wayne M.]

Re: TI Distributor

1. Is the housing for a TI distributor the same as a non TI housing.
2. Will the TI parts from a NASCAR ball bearing distributor work on a regular TI distributor.

In case you have not figured out the end result, here it is. I have many tach drive housings, internal parts, shafts, etc. and a NOS ball bearing dist. i,e, no vacuum advance. Can I take parts from three units and make a workable TI distributor for my '67.

Jimmy --- Answer to first question is yes -- But a big NO re the ball bearing units.
The only part I figure is useable in those race distrib's is the tach drive gear with brass bushing and those nylon thrust buttons .

Hey; so far you, Joe L. and I have NOS examples of these puppies; should start our own club . Does yours have the 3/4 filled oiling groove shown in pic below ? Also, I show another few pics comparing the ball bearing unit (left in 3rd pic) to the regular distr (on right).

[Clem Z.]

Re: TI Distributor

1. Is the housing for a TI distributor the same as a non TI housing.
2. Will the TI parts from a NASCAR ball bearing distributor work on a regular TI distributor.

In case you have not figured out the end result, here it is. I have many tach drive housings, internal parts, shafts, etc. and a NOS ball bearing dist. i,e, no vacuum advance. Can I take parts from three units and make a workable TI distributor for my '67.

you can convert a points dist to TI with the correct TI parts. done it a few time my self. don't forget the brass spacer that goes under the magnet.

[Jimmy G.]

Re: TI Distributor

Is the magnet the same on a NASCAR dist and a regular one??

[Wayne M.]

Re: TI Distributor

Is the magnet the same on a NASCAR dist and a regular one??

I believe so; but the problem (on mine, which is a mid-70s or 80s fab., dated 8_J_15) is that the magnet is glued to the base plate, and would probably crumble if attempt made to remove.

Also, the steel toothed ring on top of the magnet is the same, but the base plate is different (larger hole -- no need for rotation bushing).

Does yours have the reverse angle on the lower drive gear for gear driven big blocks, as shown in my pic ?

Incredible when you think that this 1111263 unit was selling for $1699. in the 1999 parts book. Ref:http://www.camaros.org/trans_ign.shtml

[Jimmy G.]

Re: TI Distributor

Any chance one of you guys would have an exploded diagram of a TI distributor I can use as a guide?? I would hate to disassemble the NOS one I have to see how it is put together.

[Clem Z.]

Re: TI Distributor

Any chance one of you guys would have an exploded diagram of a TI distributor I can use as a guide?? I would hate to disassemble the NOS one I have to see how it is put together.

nothing special. install the brass washer over the top bushing,install the magnet assy,install the snap ring in the groove of the top bushing. of course you have installed the vacuum advance first. install the shaft and pole piece with the shims and gear at the bottom. that's it. nothing special. if the pole pieces hit when you turn the shaft you will need to loosen the magnet screws and use some thin brass shim stock to line up the top piece of the magnet assy to the rotating pole piece and tighten the screws

[Wayne M.]

Re: TI Distributor

Any chance one of you guys would have an exploded diagram of a TI distributor I can use as a guide?? I would hate to disassemble the NOS one I have to see how it is put together.

Clem has described the method for the production TI distrib. In case you were referring to the ball bearing unit, here's what I did to dismantle my unit; out of curiosity.

Found another comparison pic, below. The "263" (on the left) has a larger center at the top of the shaft. Therefore the center of the starwheel cam / weight base is larger -- in fact you can see where the hole intrudes into the edge of the slot for the centrifugal limit pin. But it still uses a '534' weight plate, same as for the '70 LT1 (on the right).

Start by removing the tach drive gear bronze bushing; then drive the cam gear roll pin out [just like any Corvette tach drive distrib]. Now you'll find that there's quite a bit of resistance in pulling the shaft up out of the housing, because the O-ring (shown on previous post) is a resistance fit / seal to the inner race of the ball bearing assembly. The C-clip you see in the same pic seats against the inner race and acts as a stop for downward forces (I figure).

There is no large brass washer, nor spring clip to retain bottom of magnet plate to the top bronze bushing, 'cause there ain't any upper bushing (it's replaced by ball bearing). IIRC, you then have to remove the C-clip and the O-ring next.

The rest is straightforward; slide the rotating pole/weight plate off the bottom of the shaft, after removing weights and springs.

To remove the stationary pole piece (magnet assy.) from the cast housing, undo the 3 screws (see my middle pic, above). That's as far as I went with mine. Now one can see why the magnet is glued to the bottom plate -- if not, the stationary pole assy would fall into 3 parts, and alignment would be lost. The regular TI stationary pole piece is held together (aligned) as a unit by its 3 screws and can be R&R'ed without disassembly.