Old school distributor with old school problems.

[OldSkool]

First I want to thank hottoddie and Ian for their reply to my point gap question. Now for the rest of the story.

I rebuilt the carb and installed it but it took forever to get started. Once it started it ran OK but not great. I pulled the distributor cap and found a mount of rust where my points and rotor were supposed to be. The rust was so bad on the shaft that it wore the insulating point follower almost off. I took the whole distributor apart while still in the engine clear down to the counter weights and completely sanded and cleaned. WD40 is my best friend and it was used liberally in the cleaning process.

After reassembly I had a senior moment and could not remember the point gap. That's when my good friends at CSR came through.

First turn of the key and she lit up!! I know if I would have hired this out I would have been "busting open another thousand".

Even after all the time to repair the thing I found it more enjoyable than the yard work I need to do.

 

[Chris Nowell]

Wow, good goin'. Sure glad it worked out for ya. I'm beginning to think that the "old school" way was the best way as far as boats go. Carbs and distributors can usually be tinkered with to get them operating properly. Can't do that with software and sensors. We had a 1981 Fiberform with a 305 ci engine and 898 leg. I got frustrated with always having to bugger around with points at tune up time so I bought a conversion kit for it. I had to fabricate a grommet to make it work and it took the best part of a day to get it all installed but it made the world of difference in how well the engine started and ran. I think it was "Echlin" that made the kit. I remembered that name from my hot rod days. Just a thought if you ever get tired of gapping points or adjusting them with a dwell meter.

 

[IanBat]

Wow, good goin'. Sure glad it worked out for ya. I'm beginning to think that the "old school" way was the best way as far as boats go. Carbs and distributors can usually be tinkered with to get them operating properly. Can't do that with software and sensors. We had a 1981 Fiberform with a 305 ci engine and 898 leg. I got frustrated with always having to bugger around with points at tune up time so I bought a conversion kit for it. I had to fabricate a grommet to make it work and it took the best part of a day to get it all installed but it made the world of difference in how well the engine started and ran. I think it was "Echlin" that made the kit. I remembered that name from my hot rod days. Just a thought if you ever get tired of gapping points or adjusting them with a dwell meter.

Echlin sounds right Chris. I think there are a couple of others around as well, I think you can also purchase complete electronic distributors.




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[OldSkool]

Yes, I think I will change to a HEI distributor. It will bolt right in and you use the same wires going to the points. I have seen the rotors burn through right under the coil tab. A brown spot will appear where the short occurs so I will keep an extra rotor and module on hand.

Thanks for your help guys. Still the best site on the web!