Ferret Distributor

[Len Savage]

Richard,

I could not get Bannister nor any of the UK sources to ship even a cap and rotor to the US.

Seems that the cap and rotor are either not worth the paperwork or some restriction encountered. I was told huge red tape involved. It's a US thing from what I read in an email from them.

Same thing on Ebay. (Caps and rotors have come up for bid in the UK, won't ship to the US).

My distributor is functional, though no spare points, and my cap and rotor are in need of replacement.

This is why I started looking for an easy to locate distributor swap. I know that when I installed modern wires and spark plugs it was huge improvement in spark and was less likely to foul.

"For want of a nail".

I really enjoy driving the Ferret and I want to keep it on the road. I did modernize the exhaust and put a real flex joint in and it was another huge improvement and I don't have to breath exhaust any longer.

I really do appreciate your response, thank you for trying to help me out.

Len

[Richard Farrant]

Hi Len,
Have you heard of a business in Texas called REME Depot www.remedepot.com ? They have a lot of dealings with Ferrets and may be able to help.

[Ed Landstrom]

It will be a week or so before I'm home and have a chance to look for the instructions. If I can find them, I'll forward them then.

[Len Savage]

Thank you Richard and Ed!

I had never heard of remedepot nor had they come up on any google search for Ferret parts.

Spoke with the owner on the phone and really seems like he enjoys what he does. His filter adapters were also ordered.

They service Carburetors as well! I will no doubt need there services again.

Ed,

Those instructions are worthy of republishing and saving for future owners. I thank you for the effort. I still plan on doing the conversion as parts are going to get harder and harder to find as time goes by.

Thank you both for your kind help!

[Robin Craig]

Len,

Glad to hear you made some progress

Welcome to Ferret ownership

[Len Savage]

Robin,

Thank you. I think owning one was just a matter of time.

I have been building semiautomatic BREN guns for 20 years [Legally, I have a license to build them].

Having built them for other Ferret owners so they could have a live gun (closed bolt and semiauto only of course)....I got the insatiable urge to get one.

[Ed Landstrom]

I found the instructions. They were published in Army Motors, issue 53, page 39. (1990). The gentleman who devised the conversion was Barry Huron and the article was submitted by Dave Mountenay. I'm not sure if the back issues are archived on line, but if you can't find it, I'll try to scan my copy and post it.

I recall that I had to modify the instructions slightly, but I don't remember exactly what I had to change. That's not too surprising, because these distributors were used on a wide variety of engines and the one I used probably wasn't exactly the same year and model as the one Mr. Huron used.