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New distributor - any good?


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I've been thinking about the condition of my GT6's distributor, which is really rather worn out. It looks like a major task to refurbish it. Then I came across brand new ones on fleabay. It looks rather too good to be true - a bit too cheap to trust - and yet the seller appears to be someone reputable.

I wondered whether anyone here has any experience or relevant observations.

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I purchased a new Delco from Accuspark with electronic ignition , cost about £100 for my Vitesse 2 years ago and so far so good 2,000 miles plus , it hasn’t got the vernier scale though . Always carry the old Lucas points version in the boot just in case 

Paul 

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ive only only experience of aldon and luminition that worked well for years and two locals with Simonbbc/ accu   electronic kits which did fail too soon.

there were magazine  reports of the trigger magnets not being equi spaced giving odd firing timing across the firing order 

if you try to mend a delco with worn bushes its a mend to destruction job where as lucas will all come apart ,

all failures are generally due to lack of oil can lubrication of the top bush and its felt pad (if its got one) 

the accuspark units are seemingly good value reproductions , use points or leccy is down to your preference , odd that many of their adverts show a 4 cyl unit for 6 cly motors

maybe this is just photo problems or some devious help with fuel economy on a 6 pot   Ha !

there is distributor doctor mainly lucas units and also club shop who use H & H units ,  

all a lot more   ££  than the  accusparks  do you get what you pay for  ???       we're about to find out 

there are good reports about on here 

Pete

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I've just bought a Delco-style six cylinder distributor from SimonBBC, as there's a lot of slop in the shaft of the old one.

The new dizzie looks pretty well made, the shaft turns smoothly and the centrifugal advance works nicely without any play. I've just bought the basic points replacement distributor, not the electronic one as my present set up includes Aldon electronic ignition and Amethyst programmable advance unit which will be connected to the new distributor. For the Amethyst to work, I will need to open up the new dizzie and lock its centrifugal advance weights, as the advance curve is programmed in the Amethyst unit.

For £69.95 on eBay, it looks like good value. I will report more in Practical Classics after fitting it.

Nigel

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Thanks all. I currently have Lumenition on the original 50-year-old distributor and it's been pretty robust, but I know there's a lot of play in the top bush and I'm wondering whether that's causing the persistent misfire that goes away for a couple of months if I replace all the usual bits (plugs, rotor, cap) but then comes back well before any of them have any right to be worn out. If the only way to fix it is a new bush, and given that I've NEVER managed to dismantle a Delco far enough to do that, I'm very tempted by the new option.

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A good friend fitted one into a GT6 for a local chappie. Car wouldn't run right after fitting, the advance was miles out. Giot sent back to the  shop, old one refitted. Not sure what has happened since though.

I reckon a properly rebuilt one may be a safer bet? better still fit a Lucas from a vitesse, at least they are a far more robust unit and repairable. Or even a 1233 distributor, but that needs a change to electronic tacho.

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I used this supplier for a new electronic distributor, coil and leads to replace my GT6 Delco.  Never got the electronic distributor to work despite two relacement electronic modules so gave up and refitted the old Delco.

I have since converted the new distributor to non-electronic using a NOS Delco points mechanism and it is now sitting with my ever mounting pile of spares.  Pity about the lockdown or I could lend it to you for you to try.

Nick

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Hello,

I have used SimonBBC on a number of occasions and have found the products to be spot on:

Alpine - complete electronic dizzy 

Vitesse - EI module within the dizzy as had no issues with wear on the shaft

Daimler - as the Vitesse but of course an even greater benefit as the modules dispensed wit 2x sets of points.

To date, never had an issue on any of the above.

Regards.

Richard.

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I bought a cheap ebay dizzy - and it was ok - but sure sure how the advance curse worked - I then got one rebuit by the dizzy doctor - and whilst not cheap (By any stretch!) it does come with the calibrated advance curve.

But if you just want one to then lock off the advance weights, then I would say go for ebay as that is the bit that is suspect on them!

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I've been having a problem with the new distributor I mentioned in my post above (last Wednesday).

The distributor cap doesn't locate correctly on the body, resulting in around 2mm sideways play, enough for the rotor arm to hit the contacts inside the cap.

I'm in contact with the supplier who is trying to help, and I will report back once this is resolved.

Nigel

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Not sure why, but the aftermarket Delco caps seem to vary a lot between manufacturers.

Generally the fit is too loose, but one I've got is actually too big to seat down properly in the distributor body .

Managed to pick up a NOS Delco cap on eBay, brown in colour, fits perfectly; saving that one.

David

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think many repro caps suffer from mould cooling shrinkage 

tend to use an orig as the pattern but the repro shrinks out the mould so they end up a poor fit , I have  dremmeled  a couple to get the register diameter to fit the base 

and the dust smells of fish !!!

Pete

 

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1 hour ago, poppyman said:

Have you tried another cap Nigel?

Tony.

Yes, I've tried the old cap which fitted perfectly on the old distributor and it doesn't fit the new distributor body properly. The new cap is a good fit on the old distributor. There is absolutely no problem with the size of the cap.

I won't say more at the moment, I'm in detailed communication with the supplier and will update after that's been resolved.

Nigel

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