What Distributor

[Seaside Pete]

Hi

 

I am wanting to get a new distributor kit for my P15 and have been asked what distributor do I have? Can anyone tell me how I identify it, is there a part No or something? Also I am wondering if I should change it to electronic or stay standard. The car has been converted to 12V neg earth but I am still running with a generator not an alternator, would this make a difference if I change it to electronic?

 

Any help would be appreciated.

 

 

Pete

[Andydodge]

Pete.......my experience was that my 1941 Plymouth coupe had also been converted to 12volts when I purchased it........being a hot rodder I decided to get the HEI Dissy that Don Langdons Stovebolt Engineering sell....its a modified Chev dissy, installed it and I maintain it was the best bang for the buck I spent.........much better starting, felt a little stronger, and just ran better..........now, there are some guys on this forum who have not had as good a result, however I can only speak for myself and I would thoroughly recommend this........you also have to get an electronic coil, there are 2 types he offers, I got the normal round style, you also need to use non metal cored plug leads, I used 8mm silicon ones and you also need to open up the spark plugs to at least 45-50 thou gap.........and I just used the 12volt generator that had been installed B4 I got the car..........I would have swapped to an alternator if I'd kept the car(I hate generators)..............regards, andyd  

Edited February 27, 2015 by Andydodge

[Plymouthy Adams]

on the side of the distributor is the ID tag and will have the series/model number plainly marked.  It is by this model identification you order your parts.  As for the electrical be it 6, 12 or alt/gen the ignition coil is the same and your amperage requirement should also be trimmed by use of the correct dropping resistor if you have converted to 12 volts.  Also the fact that it may now be negative earth is of no consequence to the points or coil and you should just wire the coil terminals depending on your ground.  The rule of thumb when selecting your dropping resistor is to match it to the impedance of the coil so to drop 1/2 of the voltage when going to 12 volts.  For street use this is really not super critical but the closer you get the resistor tweaked to the value the longer will be your points life.  Just do not drop it much as it will then start to affect spark due to improper saturation during dwell time.   As for converting to electronics..that is totally your call..few options available to you.  Coverting to Mopar ign is the better in my opinion, going Pertronix is yet another but I suggest their coil etc if you go that route as the unit needs be matched to coil value for long trouble free operation.  It has been determined that the majority of early failues in the Pertronix is traced to the coil value being wrong.  Other go with the GM hall effect..definitely my last choice, well, would not even be a consideration in my book...lol  Plenty to read here doing a search on the electronic upgrade.

[Don Coatney]

Distributor numbers will look as pictured below. As your vehicle has already been converted to 12 volts there should be a voltage resistor already in place either internal to the coil or external. If external it will possibly look like the one pictured below.

 

 

[Seaside Pete]

Thanks guys. I already have the resistor installed for the coil, plus carbon/silicone leads are already installed. I thought you could change the components inside the original distributor to convert it? would it need anything else changing and is it a better solution than staying original?

 

Thanks again

 

Pete

[greg g]

The pertronix unit is the only one I know of that swaps out the distributors mechanical bits.

Look up the part number in their catalog industrial, or agricultural section. Quite a few folks have bee told they don't have anything when looking in the car/truck listings.