Accuspark distributor

[Bob Horner]

Hi all

Thoughts please.  I have an Accuspark distributor fitted to my GT6 and it works well.  I’ve got one on my TR4 and it’s lasted well also.  However, bought a spare for the GT6 as I’m doing the RBRR with Club triumph and have had to swap a distributor (old points one) on the event once before.  Anyway, thought I’d do a trial fit with clamp and all so could quickly swap and the timing would be spot on.  However on fitting I couldn’t get it timed properly because to get number 1 cylinder lined up I needed twist It so far clockwise the vacuum unit fouled the block.

Looking at it realised that the key way in the distributor was not aligned with the end of the rotor arm.  In my experience all my triumph engines have the rotor arm pointing at about 8 o clock for number 1 cylinder in line with the slot in the drive gear but on this distributor it was just beyond 9 o clock when slotted home in the drive which was at 8.00 o clock. I queried this with Accuspark and they said it’s quite common for them to be out of alignment and I should move all the plug leads around one so number 1 was at 9.00 o clock etc.  This would work of course but it seems bit of a bodge and somewhat confusing compared to all the other distributors I’ve seen.  The Accuspark already fitted has no 1 at 8 o clock.

I was going to reply and tell him I wanted to send it back but just wondered if he got difficult, whether I was being awkward myself?

welcome any thoughts 

Bob

 

 

 

[Peter Truman]

Is the aluminum mounting plate that's fitted to the bottom of the plastic module of your new Accuspark unit the same as your existing unit.

I run Accuspark in the Vitesse (Lucas) and the Spitfire (Delco) distributors and their mounting plates o the distributor baseplate are different, could they have provided a different unit?

Because the module is located in a slightly different orientation to the points when I strobed the timing I had to rotate the dist round slightly to get the timing corrected! 

[Pete Lewis]

you always have to re time when swapping points for electronic as the trigger points for both will not be in the same place 

as for where the leads exit the cap doesnt matter a hoot providing you know where  on No1 compression where the rotor is pointing and you get the firing order 

correct from that NO1 position 

once set up its not something you ever need to change 

Pete

[DanMi]

You could also move the distributer drive gear a tooth 

[NonMember]

36 minutes ago, DanMi said:

You could also move the distributer drive gear a tooth 

If you're doing a permanent change of distributor, yes. However, Bob was asking about a solution for a spare being carried for a quick road-side swap. I'd suggest fiddling with the drive gear is not really something you want to do on a muddy layby in the dark and wind and rain.

[DanMi]

fine though if both can be timed with the gear moved 1 tooth, yes totally impractical at the roadside

[Pete Lewis]

in 57 years of motoring i never carry any spare components . a torch bit or wire and a long  cable tie   and a very basic tool kit 

certainly never lost faith that i wont get home and definitely no need for a spare distributor 

come on ..........these cars run for miles on std stuff 

dont buy cheap e bay junk and the cars do the business they are designed to do 

any major breakdown wont be a roadside fix so then its likely to be recovery  , 

something i have only used once when the diff carrier incorrect bolt unscrewed and locked the prop up

easy to correct but not in clean shirt and traffic 

a local who has his 2500 full in the boot and back seat wonder why it doesnt pull well 

with 1/2 ton of useless spares filling the car its not surprising 

Pete

 

 

[Peter Truman]

Another way to look at carrying spares is it reduces the luggage space so SWMBO can’t buy more new clothes esp on a 2 week club trip to Tassie Oh and I didn’t need any of the spares so a win/win.

[NonMember]

1 hour ago, Peter Truman said:

Another way to look at carrying spares is it reduces the luggage space so SWMBO can’t buy more new clothes

Interestingly the last time SWMBO and I went anywhere in the Spitfire it was she who insisted the boot should contain lots of tools and some spares.

[Bob Horner]

Well on a 2000 mile RBRR in a Mk3 spit, the original distributor failed and a swap with a cheapie Ebay electronic one saved the day!  I agree never carry any spares around home but on a long trek it can make all the difference but agree the things you want to change at the roadside are pretty limited.  Interestingly I got the old distributor rebuilt with points and it failed again  - close to home this time  - wife delivered the cheapie Ebay one and its still going well!

I guess I'll take a new cap with the not quite ok noted above Accuspark and mark up the cylinders on it so I plug in the right leads at night..and in the rain....!!

 

Bob