Willys Distributor in 1948 Chryslers?

[wagoneer]

Hello,

  I am looking for a new distributor for my Chrysler with 25" block, and I've come up with an interesting theory that I would like your experienced input.

 

I would like to posit that a Jeep willy's IAT-4012 (some used IAY-4012) distributor (see this NOS one) could be converted for use in my 1948 Chrysler 25" block if I replace the cam & stop plate + cap + rotor with one from a spare IGS distributor. Many sites say the Jeeps used IAT-4012 in certain models too, which got me thinking about reusing it my Chrysler 6 flathead.

 

Advantages:

  - Tons of quality parts for jeep distributors including rebuild parts and NOS parts makes this easy to maintain moving forward.

  - works  at 6v

 

Disadvantages:

  Need to cannibalize one older distributor.

 

The 1952 Autolite catalog lists IGS-4208A-1 for my 1948 C38, but lists the IAT-4012 for the 1951-52 C51.

 

Q1) Are the IGS-4208A-1 and IAT-4012 inter-changeable? 

     I am positing that they are interchangeable as the straight 6 was so near to the end.

The Jeep Willy's / Kaiser uses IAY-4012  and several places online say you can interchange IAT and IAD versions, and the shaft looks very similar to the Chrysler/Dodge flathead shaft found in the Chrysler 6.

 

 

 

Q2) Is the shaft of the IAY-4012 the same length as the Chrysler shaft? Is it the same "keyed" shaft? I could swap the shaft out too. I can't find any information on how long the 

 

  This thread  shows the it to be 5 1/2 inches. 

 

 

Edited August 21, 2024 by wagoneer

[Doug&Deb]

The only thing I would be concerned about is that you have the semi auto trans and I believe that dictates what distributor you can use. I may be wrong though.