I have a buddy who has a few different electronic distributors that I can get for helping him with a motor swap. I have bigslant6fan's spring kit to put in to what ever dizzy I get. Should I look for a certain part number,or is anything good to use?

He has one from a 73 car,a 75 car and one more he is checking the part number on for me.

Use the distributor body with the least slop in the shaft bearings.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Otherwise,it doesnt really matter which I use?

There a bunch of different mechanical advance curves and vac advance canisters, but it will be tough to find the right one in advance (haha). As Reed says, best to just get one in good shape and recurve/recanister to get what you want.

I would tend to take the latest year you can get. My limited experience says the later ones have less mech advance range and more vac adv due to the canister. These are best for most setups, esp higher comp and larger than stock cam.

Lou

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Home of Slant6-powered fun machines since 1988

Thanks Reed and Lou. Eventually (way in the future) It will be a 10-1 motor witha .5xx lift cam. For now its a stock 87 hydro motor with a 4bbl and headers.

Try to find one with the 9R governer. Check end play, and measure gap all the way around. (This can tell you if the shaft is bent or if the distributor has been subjected to a bad cam gear.)

Verify the drive gear is in good shape. A torn up gear can indicate it ran on an engine that lost an Oil pump drive gear. (This in turn may turn into a can of worms as loading on the distributor shaft itself may have been excessive.) If the bushing isn't loose now, it might be shortly due to wear particles or slightly bent shaft that might not be noticeable now.

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Is there a way to figure out what governer it has without taking it appart? The guy who has them is about an hour away from me,and not so mechanicaly inclined. I dont want to ask too much of him. Thanks CJ

There are. Very careful measurement to see which one allows the least angular movement. You will get 9° of rotation with the 9R and of course 11° with the 11R. 2° difference is going to be difficult to see. This translates to 18° and 22° at the crankshaft. (Which isn't very helpful unless he can install each one and has a dial back gun, hence, a poor mans distributor machine.)

A distributor machine.
I'd just take a six pack of coke as a bribe up to Duster idiot, or swing down to Fopar's place, bow theatrically to his mechanical godhood, and have it checked on one of their distributor machines, but that isn't really playing fair.

Taking the distributor apart is actually pretty easy, as long as the reluctor plays nice and comes off the shaft without too much fanfare. Keep track of the key pin. Sometimes they come out, and are really hard to find if you happen to be standing in gravel, or over a greasy K-Frame.
There is a C-Clip inside the shaft that needs to be removed to take the governer off. The governer should be stamped with the size.

Have him check the gap, rotate to each of the reluctor triggers, and verify that the gap doesn't change appreciably. If one shaft is straight and the other is not, use good parts to build what you need.

Make sure the spring perches are adjusted so the springs aren't loose. Loose springs can really foul up your day when trying to get the base timing to stay put. In an automatic car, the idle will drop precipitously if this is a case as you drop it into gear.

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Thanks for the info CJ! I wish I lived in the NW so I could drop by and see Fopar,DI,you,Josh etc....I may one day when I am done with school, make my way up there. I spent many years growing up in Aberdeen,and while I dont miss the "bad" aspects of the harbor I do very much miss the good parts of the NW.

The mechancal governors for 1973-1975 in the A-body have similar governors(15L)it wasn't until 1976+ that you could get a 9R governor.
If they are out of Vans/Trucks they are most likely to have a 13R governor...that is 'if' the distributors are OEM, if they are a remanf
russian roulette plays heavily in your answer until you can pull the
pickup plate.

-D.Idiot

Thanks Rob. Im pretty sure/not positive that they are OEM. Im sending you a PM.

Ah Ha! A professional spark herder has entered the mix!

Thanks for setting all this straight Dusteridiot!

CJ

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

Ok he has an 876,which I read is a good starting point.I believe it is a super six dizzy? He is going to send it up to me,and I will tear it down and let you know what I find.

Thanks again everyone!

That would be my top choice for starting a recurve.

Let us know what you find.

-D.Idiot