removing the distributor

[Cpt.Fred]

i'm planning to remove the dizzy from my engine after dinner today,

i suspect the braker plate assembly to be crusted with old grease

and i just ordered a big box of spares from andy b. containing my vac advance.

i want to get everything ready for its arrival and a new tune up kit.

my understanding is that i just mark the spot where the rotor is pointing,

take out the clamp screw and pull the whole thing out of the engine.

is that right, or do i have to be on the lookout for other things?

fred

[Joe Flanagan]

I think that if you make a pair of marks to show the position of the shaft, you should be OK. It will only go back in two ways, the correct way and 180 degrees its opposite. So if the shaft gets turned while you're working on it, just get the thing to go in and try to start the engine. If it doesn't start, remove the distributor, turn the shaft 180 degrees, and reinstall.

By the way, I just got my new vacuum advance from Andy B. I put the vacuum pump on it and it passed with flying colors. What I was most happy about was that I didn't have to call them up and try to convince them they sold me a bad vacuum advance.

[P-12 Tommy]

Fred, Just remember where your rotor is pointing (like Joe and you said) the mounting bolt, the wire coming from your coil and you have to unhook your vacuum line.

Tom

[Joe Flanagan]

I take a Sharpie (felt marker) and make a mark on the shaft and on the distributor body. Then before I put it in I make sure they're lined up.

[greg g]

Don't forget to unhook the vacuum line and wire from the coil. I usually reference the vacuum advance location against the block and the rotor position on the body of the dizzy.

[desoto1939]

Capt Fred,

Rich HArtung, I am glad that the info i sent you was able for you to order the correct parts.

I make the locatin of the rotor and also the locatin of the body of the distibutor to a specific point onthe block. I mark with a pices of chalk for the dizzy and also a pice of black tape. alsothe same for the rotor.

Disconnect the wire fromt the coil and also the vacumm advance line. Loosen the bolt that hold the dizzy and pullthe unit up and out of the block.

Whn you bench test for the gapping then set the rotor to the correct marking and then installthe dizzy and align it upto the mark you made on the block. tighten the bolt a little but not fully you will then need to start the car and then use the timing light to adjust the the timing agains the timming mark onthe lower pully. You can use a 12volt timing light. just reverse the leads. the light will be a little weaker so do the timing when the lights are off inthe gargae so you can see the timing mark. Move the dizzy either right or left to advance or retard the timing until you get the timming light fireing whenthe timing mark hit hitting at the pointer onthe block.

I alwasy like to install a new breaker plate assembly since everything is then already connected. Keep your old plate and then rebuild with the new internal parts. Grease the small ball bearing the make the two plates rotate

Rich Hartung

Desoto1939@aol.com

[Cpt.Fred]

hey rich,

yes it was a great help, i printed the catalog sheets you sent me and ordered my stuff at andy b.'s.

they were a little surprised that i could suddenly call again less then a day after the firts call and rattle down ALL the autolite numbers:D

serves them right...

i then went on into the garage, pulled the dizzy and disassembled it.

then i checked with the catalog if all the new parts in there (installed by the dealer in kansas) were the correct ones, they all were.

all the wires were new, as well.

BUT, just a i thought, the central bearing was packed with dry grease and didn't allow the assembly to go all the way.

cleaned it, put some light oil in it i normally use for the wheel bearings in my old bicycles (all of them have oilers)

and tested it on the bench with a power drill on the distributor's shaft.

everything's fine now.

afterwards i doublechecked the vac advance diaphragm with a vac pump,

it's hereby officially pronounced dead (funny thing to say because you could hear it breathing.... scary:eek:)

put everything back in and now i wait for the mailman to be bring me some spares...

thanks everyone!

Edited July 2, 2010 by Cpt.Fred