TireSmoke.org

OK it's been awhile. No good reason - just life getting in the way! Missed all of the 2016 race season due to both myself and my buddy Stan having surgery - mine was like a skinned knee compaed to Stan's, but between the two we missed out (got the car out once though). Anyways I'm Jonesin' for a fun project!!!!!! So I've been kicking this around in my head for too long now so it was time to make some chips FLY!!!!!

What is it you say???? Loosley, a 60's inspired billet distributor ( yeah I know those don't all go together - do they?? You're gonna have to humor me here).

Any who - it's a small cap 50's Mopar inspired PACKAGE SIZE, with a big cap 70's GM HEI (Hey BP remember that HEI you donated a while back - well this was why) which hopefull when I am done will look like something possibly sold in the 60's (well sorta).

So here's some of the challenges: The Mopar design uses advance weights below points, GM above - I'm using as much GM stuff as I can so I will have to shrink down the rotor and rotor plate. I stole the bearings out of teh dizzy BP gave me, but I had to modify the magnetic pickup to fit inside the housing. It will still use a '57 Mopar cap (why? because not only do I like them, but I have a stash having grabbed them at swapmeets over teh years) not only that but the early cap has a spring loaded pin in the center - making the custom rotor easier to fab, it will use a 70's Mopar adjustable vacuum can (yes I have a swapmeet stash of them too), It'll use a Chevy HEI shaft as I need the length (don't tell Jill I admitted that) - also this will allow me to reposition the lower bearing location thus "reconditioning" the shaft to be like new again. The biggest challenge so far was installing the bearings - I had everything dialed in REAL close so I thought it would be a NO BRAINER -WRONG!!! I had to make a custom piloted arbor to press the bearings in perfectly ( I learned something).

Anyways - I thought you guys would get a kick out of my follies!!!

So will it work?? Am I crazy?? Is this just stupid?? Stay tuned and we'll see.... TBC

I'm impressed!!

GM

GMJohnny, Don't get too impressed - I haven't got it to work yet!

Jacin

There's no doubt that it will work upon completion. But you could just hang it on the wall. It's that pretty!

-BP

Thanks BP, The picture makes it look a tad more polished than it really is (it's not polished at all..not yet anyways).


I'll have to fire up my old distributor machine and see if I can figure it out. Stan found it for dirt at an aucion - last I fooled with it I did have it working on a points dizzy - it'll be fun to see if I can get it to work on an electronic one.

Still a ways from that though. I still need to make a collar and pin it on the shaft. Make some sort of pin for the vac advance. Fab up some sort of rotor. Lastly I need to add the cap locator tabs - but want to get it fired up on the dizzy machine first so I can phase the rotor to the cap. Oh yeah -I need to decide how to run the wires too.

Fun fun fun!!!!


Jacin

Collar made and drilled shaft (collar will fit either way so I must have gotten it pretty close. I added an O-Ring groove on the distributor base so need to fool with a gasket. Made a replaceale pin for the magetic pickup - but couldn't find a bottoming tap so I wil have to finish that later. So yes reluctantly I did have to modify the magnetic pickup for this - only easy way to use the small chrysler cap. To mod one you just snip a off a little bit and drill one hole so it's pretty easy.

Still gotta run the wires somewhere and make a rotor - add a hole here or there.

Most importantly I need to make some sort of logo - so I can rivet on a metal tag like to old chrysler dizzy's had.

Jacin

A little closer each day. Here's the pivot pin mod:

So which one of your rides will be the test mule for this upon completion?

-BP

Cushman?

I'm thinking the red & white roadster! Just gotta put a hemi in it first.


Jacin

BP, On a more serious note - not sure. Probably should end up in my '34 Plymouth (no hood so it's easier to show it off ) - but might have to test it in the '47 Ford - I've been having some pinging when towing slight grade - was wondering if I could tune around it - I don't want to resort to better fuel. Who knows
It it works as good as I hope - I might have to make a second one!

Jacin

Hi guys, thought I'd share my latest progress. Today's goal was to get a rotor in this thing! After pondering whether I should just make a rotor from scratch -or- make an adapter to use an Off The Shelf rotor - I decided with the latter. Just a simple bar with spacers presssed and welded. Adapts a early Mopar rotor (I think a later one would work as well).

Only thing left is to machine a path for the itnternal wires (just gotta decide how to route them first). I'm getting real exicted!!!



Jacin

That sounds like the easiest part of this project. Here's to hoping! Good luck.

-BP

Hey BP that's what I was thinking, but I was wrong!!! Due to some constraints (I placed on myself - that were not necessary) it was a little challenging to mil the wire "slot" in - the biggest problem being my endmill was a tad short so I had to have it BARELY in the collet - that and the fact that the slot was approx. 1/4" wide x 3/4" long X 1-1/2" DEEP - that had me 1/4" speaker a quiverin' !! BUT - I got it done!!! It's near ready for testing -just gotta make a felt washer for it and fab up a thing or two for my billion year old distributor machine! Here's a shot showing the wire slot: I way excited now !!!!!


Jacin

Winter is a great time for stuff like this. I imagine your kids aren't running you around as much now VS spring/summer either. I gotta get over to your place and check out all your madness!

-BP

BP, Drop by anytime!


Jacin