The BritishV8 Pub

Thanks to the internet, it’s now common knowledge that my car suffered a distributor failure during the recent British V8 show in Palestine, Texas.
Two weeks prior to the trip, the points-type distributor was purchased as a rebuilt unit from a reputable auto parts store and rebuilt by a large parts supplier.
Initially, I chose to retain the points as perhaps reliable enough to get me to Texas and back without issue but after a few days while out for a drive, the engine started to stumble badly and died. After a tow back home the problem was diagnosed as a faulty condenser – replaced it with a 40 year old condenser from an old distributor and the engine roared to life.
Now, losing confidence with the points setup, I installed my Crane electronic points, which I had used successfully for the previous 7 years in the old distributor. I left for Texas with little confidence in my car having suffered through some minor nuisance issues that had cropped up in the weeks and days prior to departure.
It did make it the 1400 miles via Shreveport to Texas but the engine was not operating to the previous crisp standard. The engine again started to run badly while returning from a trip to Hatfield’s Restoration facility in Canton.
Calvin Grannis’ video, in another thread, captured the action of trying to diagnosis the problem at a roadside park. After replacing the electronic points with a backup unit, the engine started to run again, albeit less than crisply, but made it the 40 miles back to the hotel,
The following morning was departure day for home but the car refused to start. Again, merely replacing the electronic points module with the second set got the car going but there was an unsettling response to the throttle.
Speculating a problem existed with the electronic points modules, a decision was made to locally purchase the parts to reinstall back to a “points style’ firing mechanism but complete parts sets were not available (only the points and condenser were available, not the base plates, hardware and wiring ) and another rebuilt distributor would take at least another day from the local auto parts suppliers.
While at Greg’s NAPA Auto Truck Parts store in Palestine, Greg advised that a friend of his operated a Ford repair and restoration facility just outside the town and would be able to supply a base plate assembly – when it arrived via another local customer , it did not have the mounting hardware or the wiring so a quick call by Greg verified that those parts were available and he would take me out there to get them in person.
It became quickly apparent that the owner, Jim Kirkwood, was an enthusiast who loved car restoration, specifically Fords, and would graciously avail his time, parts and labour to help a fellow gearhead in trouble. Jim and his mechanic dutifully removed an old sbf distributor from an old engine, cleaned it up and lent assistance as I removed the bad unit and replaced with his unit with new points and condenser.
Upon removal of the distributor base plate of the failed unit, a large quantity of metal filings were evident as a result of the centrifugal advance components riding on the housing. I speculate that the metal shavings were interfering with the electronic points Hall effect sensing mechanism and each change of the Crane unit provided a temporary reprieve until the filings would again interfere with sensing.



Upon installation of the ‘new’ distributor, the engine fired up and Jim’s mechanic adjusted the timing and the carb mixture screws ‘by ear and feel’…..the engine finally had that responsive feel that it should have.
Five hours after our scheduled departure time, we were finally on the road home – Jim refused to accept any payment for all the parts and labour he provided – he was happy to help a fellow enthusiast.
The car performed flawlessly for the 1200 plus miles home.
There is an expectation when purchasing new parts, that they perform flawlessly – I’ve now lost faith in that philosophy.
I have, however, a rekindled faith in good Samaritans like Greg and Jim and all the fellow British V8ers that came to my aid during the British V8 show – many thanks to all.

Good samaritans,all!

I grew up in California, but I've lived in Texas for 7 years. People here really seem to be really willing to help when your classic car dies. When my MGA died in the middle of nowhere a few weeks ago, I had at least 4 people offer help. One guy even went home to get a jack and another went by a parts store to buy fuses. Very cool.

Another time my car broke down, a cop actually gave me some flares because it was night and he didn't want anyone to hit my car.

Still, though, giving you a free distributor is above and beyond what I'd expect and I'm glad that everything worked out.

I agree with you about the new parts view. I've had better luck with used OEM parts than supposedly rebuilt "new" parts. Sad but true.

does seem like neither rebuilt nor new parts are what they used to be. I ordered a rebuilt 85 5.0L manual transmission distributor - they're supposed to have steel gears but the one that came in had a cast iron gear. Had them get a 2nd & it too had a cast gear. Ordered the same part number from another store & it finally came in with the right gear on it. In between I bought a new different brand distributor. It had the right gear but it apparently wasn't installed all the way because it rubbed on the casting above the oil pump.

internet helps a lot you can search for car parts manuals if you have problem with your car and just read it then you can fix it. its so easy right.

Graham, you never really completed your story. Now that you have been home for quite some time, have you made any changes to your Distributor since you left Texas?
Merv

Merv, I've since replaced the existing cast gear with the correct steel gear and veriied mechanical advance for this particular unit (26 degrees) - otherwise, things are running great once again!

I thought a cast gear would damage a roller cam?

Roller cam requires a steel gear. don't know if polymar gear would work on a roller ( Info from FMS cat.). Flat tappet uses the cast gear. Hope Houston has a cool down now, we have.

Quote:

I thought a cast gear would damage a roller cam?

The cast gear was only used in the short term (enough to get me home!)
I don't think any short or long term term damage was done during that time.

Rob, I had to use a cast drive gear on my MG, when my brass dist. gear on my MSD gave up the ghost in Kansas during ralley to Reno. Kept it in until I got home (about 3000 miles) and does not seem to have caused any harm.

I guess that I had inquired about Graham's progress on distributors, as I was really quite impressed that he was using just a plain old dist. that I thought I could just run down to any parts store and get a replacement for. As per Graham's story, perhaps that’s not the case.

I will say that I now carry and extra steel Distributor drive gear in my tool bag.

Merv

Merv, the SBF dizzy is so common, you probably can pick one up at TIM HORTON'S. Since the cap is round, they consider it a plastic dounut! Just Kidding.:) Maybe we will get one down south, but you are much more likely.l Townsend?