Giving new life to worn out 2.0-2.2 distributors

[BURN-BROS]

Hi Guys, shameless plug but I thought some might find usefull if they have this problem.


The distributors for the early cars often suffer from wear in the advance mechanism(s). The symptom for this type of problem is irratic dwell and the issue cannot be corrected economically. Another problem is weak springs that decay rather quickly resulting in changes to the curve. Lastly, early distributors cannot be recurved within reason.

For quite some time I have been trying to come up with a solution to early distributors that have worn beyond repair. I have just finished a conversion that updates to later advance mechanisms. The benefits are very nice.

Very low wear characteristics.

Stronger springs that keep the intended curve far longer.

Custom curves can now be introduced.
Need a Solex curve? No problem. 67S curve? Can do. How about an RS? Affirmative.

A good example is a 69S distributor. It carries the same curve as a 2.2 but is completely inappropriate for the motor. Too aggressive. A 67S curve would be better.

I am pretty sure I can do this to worn out cast iron dizzies as well.

Edit; working out one last hurdle to keep the original points mounting plate...

[kenikh]

Keep on rockin it bro!

[304065]

Hubba Hubba!

[Tom F.]

Fascinating. What is the difference between "early" and "late?" Also, what point in the advance mechanism wears to affect dwell? I have observed this, but have to admit that I simply swapped out distributors, and did not delve into what had gone wrong with the original unit.

[Mr9146]

Can you wave your magic wand and make a Marelli into a decent distributor?

Just kidding...

Good looking, Bosch, dude. What's it look like under the cap/plate?

[BURN-BROS]

Fascinating. What is the difference between "early" and "late?" Also, what point in the advance mechanism wears to affect dwell? I have observed this, but have to admit that I simply swapped out distributors, and did not delve into what had gone wrong with the original unit.

Hi Tom,

The advance part of the shaft(the one with the lobes that actuate the points) develops wear between itself and the shaft. This wear generates runnout which affects the dwell due to a constant change in points gap. We can see this as irratic dwell.

[BURN-BROS]

Can you wave your magic wand and make a Marelli into a decent distributor?

Just kidding...

Good looking, Bosch, dude. What's it look like under the cap/plate?

The best way to improve a Marreli is to replace it with a Bosch...LOL. Seroiusly, Both the early distributors and the Marelli get the same grade in my book...which is pretty low.


The internals look like late 2.7 distributors.

[Mr9146]

[QUOTE=BURN-BROS;506040]The best way to improve a Marreli is to replace it with a Bosch...LOL. Seroiusly, Both the early distributors and the Marelli get the same grade in my book...which is pretty low.QUOTE]

A man after my own heart...

[BURN-BROS]

UPDATE....

I finally got around to finishing this project today. The dizzy works great and I get to save a once unusable 69-71 S distributor.

If your car is exhibiting a strange curve or inconsistent dwell and would like to fix it let me know.

Next up will be the 65-68 cast iron dizzies. The update will eliminate the 2 piece points.




I hope everyone's New Year was great!

[Fritter]

Cool, I'll have to keep this in mind. I had a SWB '65 disty rebuild by Ed Fall and he did a good cosmetic job on it, but I had to send it back to get the advance dialed in better. I "think" it's working well now, but still not 100% sure it's getting full advance. Kind of the opposite problem from what you are stating though.....

The "two step" curve on these is a little more complicated than your average disty I think.