Ford 13 cab Distributor

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Ken

Terry raises a couple of very good points, the "new" or "reproduction" points are often questionable, my brother and I have found this to be true of both Ford and Chevy. Have come to suspect that the brass used in them as been recycled one to many times and the impurities result in problems.

The point is an important one just because you put new points in doesn't mean that weak or no spark isn't the points again. I carry a spare set of rotor, cap, and points in each truck.

For years I would routinely replace the points (cheap and easy) on any engine instead of cleaning and filing . For some strange reason I save the old points tossed them in a box on the shelf. Long story short now I'm cleaning and putting 1940s points back into the trucks and they last longer.

Terry's other point about adding a timing mark that you can actually see is a really a good one. On Chevy's while it is easy to adjust the timing it is almost impossible to see the timing marks, I've added timing marks that can be seen through the little access plate hole on the back top of the bell housing.

Adjusting the timing on a 1934 Ford is a pain, how about some pictures of the issues of adjusting it in CMP.

[T Creighton]

Hi Phil.
Sorry, I haven't any pictures of the front pulley timing marks and scale. I could mount it back up and take some if anyone is really interested.
Here is a pic of the cracks in the repro points. I did not notice them until I removed the distributor for a closer look. They caused lots of head scratching trying to get the engine running properly.
The restoration took about 5 years and the points were amongst the first things I bought. After 5 years or so the owner of the shop where I bought them was sympathetic but didn’t offer any refund.
Money beats sympathy every time but I dipped out on this one.
Luckily I hadn’t discarded the original scripted “Ford made in Canada” ones and they are back in and running just fine.
This excellent site explains how to set up the timing if you don’t have the proper timing fixture.
http://www.vanpeltsales.com/FH_web/f...str-timing.htm

Regards to all,
Terry

[Ken Hughes]

Happy new year Terry,would you like a spare set of points as i have some spare new old stock ones.

[T Creighton]

Cheers for that Ken,
With petrol nearly $2 a litre I'm not going to wear out too many sets of points but a spare set would be really good.
Will email you re details.
Happy New Year to you and everyone else.
Terry

[Ken Hughes]

Well i managed to get at the distributor OK from underneath the radiator and with very small spanners i was able to adjust the distributor.
I also used a vacuum guage and with the readings from my NZ Army Training Manual,set the distributor accordingly.
Running much better now,thanks to all your imput guys.

[T Creighton]

Hello All,
These points arrived in the mail today from Ken Hughes.
They look heavy duty good quality parts.
MLU is certainly great for friendship and the exchange of ideas and parts.
Thanks Ken.
I will pull the distributor out and install them when I get a minute. No splash plate made yet so the job will be quite easy.
The other photo is the strobe light timing dot (TDC No 1 firing stroke) on the pulley with the scale plate bolted to the front cross member. The four witness marks are to install it in the proper place each time. The pointer is at TDC and the degrees of advance can be worked out from there.
The mark is best done with the heads off using a dial indicator or straight edge and feeler gauges.
I decided to do this after rebuilding the engine so I fitted a small clear plastic tube to an old spark plug body with the other end of the tube in a jar of coloured liquid taking care not to suck anything up into the cylinder.
Regards,
Terry.