Distributor question

Posted by Sherlock On 2018/7/30 18:07:09

My 1930 385 engine came with a HC head on it that I believe is from 1932. One difference between this head and the original is the original requires a square distributor base with four screws holding it down, while this one has a triangular base that requires only three screws.

The problem: I can't seem to get my distributor to mount so the plug wires come out directly over the port in the plug wire manifold. Looking down from above (facing forward) the wires come out at about 10 o'clock instead of at 9:00 the way they are supposed to. I've tried various positions of the distributor base and the closest I can get is 10 o'clock.

I wonder if this is because the triangular base can only be turned and secured in 120 degrees increments, while the old base can be turned in 90 degree increments. Yet the engines that originally used this head must all have the triangular base and their plug wires are in the correct orientation. I assume the distributor shaft is also the same in the later models.

Or maybe the shape of the base has nothing to do with it. The position of the rotor is determined by the position of the shaft and the distributor head can be rotated around it. Could my distributor shaft be wrongly oriented because the gear it drops into was improperly installed?

What am I missing here?