Unknown distributor/identity?

[billbob1936]

A callout to mopar distributor folks. As I continue to learn more about my (new/old) dodge, I ran across the distributor plates which appear to be sticky, they don't rebound very well unless I give them a bit of help. When I removed the pickup coil plate, I noticed it does not have the normal/removable limiter center-post held in with a clip. I'm also not seeing a screw that could hold it in, either. Would someone be able to identify would kind of aftermarket distributor this could be? Would this be worth repairing or should I just be looking to replace the whole assembly?

 

[toolmanmike]

Without a tag and number it's hard to tell. It looks like any other electronic distributor.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

That is one of the later ones , , it is a very good dist , in the second picture there are 2 torx scrws & 2 windows , the plate can be adjusted to limit the mechanical advance once the 2 torx screws are loosened , lube it so it doesn't stick adjust the mech advance , this will allow you to use a lot more advance at idle 14-18* without over advancing at higher RPM .
If you are going to toss it send it to me !

 

[billbob1936]

That is one of the later ones , , it is a very good dist , in the second picture there are 2 torx scrws & 2 windows , the plate can be adjusted to limit the mechanical advance once the 2 torx screws are loosened , lube it so it doesn't stick adjust the mech advance , this will allow you to use a lot more advance at idle 14-18* without over advancing at higher RPM .
If you are going to toss it send it to me !

Thank you for the information. I also have a new adjustable vacuum canister that is for this distributor, it is stamped 11R. Does that mean it has 11 turns of adjustment to it? Would you have any recommendations for the initial setting for this canister?

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

Thank you for the information. I also have a new adjustable vacuum canister that is for this distributor, it is stamped 11R. Does that mean it has 11 turns of adjustment to it? Would you have any recommendations for the initial setting for this canister?

View attachment 135115

I believe that 11R means that it has 22 degrees of vacuum advance.

And I agree with Chryco Psycho about the distributor, its a good one to have.

 

[Chryco Psycho]

This always starts a huge arguement but I don't use vacuum advance & I have achieved ridiculous MPG #s

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

....... I don't use vacuum advance........

That is totally everyone's personal decision.

 

[billbob1936]

That is totally everyone's personal decision.

Would anyone know what benefit the canister could provide?

 

[toolmanmike]

Would anyone know what benefit the canister could provide?

Adjustability for tuning. Say your combination runs great but pings at highway speeds. You could take some vacuum advance out of it. You may not need or can use 55° at 55.

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

Would anyone know what benefit the canister could provide?

You won't have any vacuum advance without it installed. Vacuum advance is used for highway cruising speed, increases ignition advance to about 50-55 degrees for factory iron head engines at highway speeds. Supposedly increases MPG, but as you will see, some will dispute that and claim otherwise. Its your choice as to which way is correct, but not using it is the same as saying the Chrysler engineers didn't know what the heck they were doing.

 

[billbob1936]

You won't have any vacuum advance without it installed. Vacuum advance is used for highway cruising speed, increases ignition advance to about 50-55 degrees for factory iron head engines at highway speeds. Supposedly increases MPG, but as you will see, some will dispute that and claim otherwise. Its your choice as to which way is correct, but not using it is the same as saying the Chrysler engineers didn't know what the heck they were doing.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to close those limiter plates up a little bit so I don't have any surprises. The canister appears to have 13 turns of adjustment. I'll set it in the middle and see how she runs.

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

Thanks for the info. I'm going to close those limiter plates up a little bit so I don't have any surprises. The canister appears to have 13 turns of adjustment. I'll set it in the middle and see how she runs.

Just in case you weren't aware, you really need a good dial back timing light (and a vacuum guage) to get everything set correctly. Set your initial timing where you want it (at idle), then set the mechanical advance so that you have around 32-36 degrees total = initial + mechanical. This advance should be "all in" by around 2500 - 3000 rpm. After you're happy with those two settings, then dial in your vacuum advance. Usually for a street driven car you will want a grand total of ignition advance of about 50 - 55 degrees = initial + mechanical + vacuum at highway CRUISING speeds. Now the disclaimer, numbers I've stated are for a typical HP street driven big block Chrysler (383, 400, 440, etc) with compression ratio's around 9-10 to 1 with IRON heads and street cam. If you experience any "pinging" (usually on acceleration) back off your timing a couple degrees until no more pinging. Depending on the combination of YOUR engine build, all this may vary. Good luck with the tune.

 

[Mopars & Missiles]

Vacuum source should be "ported vacuum". And of course this will be debated by some who prefer "manifold vacuum". Again, everyone is welcome to their own opinion on this. By "ported", I mean the vacuum port located just ABOVE the throttle plates.

Important: Make sure vacuum source is DISCONNECTED and capped off when setting your "Initial" and "Mechanical" timing.

 

[billbob1936]

Vacuum source should be "ported vacuum". And of course this will be debated by some who prefer "manifold vacuum". Again, everyone is welcome to their own opinion on this. By "ported", I mean the vacuum port located just ABOVE the throttle plates.

Important: Make sure vacuum source is DISCONNECTED and capped off when setting your "Initial" and "Mechanical" timing.

Thank you. This information is very helpful. I've closed up that space a bit on the limiter and I'm sure I'll be back inside again anyway to replace those rusty springs. I've been looking at spring kit Mr. Gasket 925B, but some reviews state they are a bit on the light side, and bring the timing in too fast. Has anyone tried the Mancini springs (#MRE2932675)?
Would anyone know why the original distributors came with both a heavy and light spring? Why wouldn't they use the same gauge on both sides to equal things out?

 

[Chryco Psycho]

The heavy spring on factory dist had an extended loop so it would advance a bit easily with the light spring & then add load