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I want to rebuild a spare distributor for my 51 300 with a 327 engine. I have a Delco core That the Hollander interchange manual says is for a 48 through 50 custom 8. Does anyone know what the difference is between this distributor and the correct one for my 51? Could it be a difference in the amount of mechanical advance? Can I use it anyway?

Have a similar problem with a spare carburetor for the car. The core I have is for a 52. The correct carb is a 767S and the core I have is a 928S. Anyone know the difference here?
They both look identical.

Thanks ahead of time for any help.

Funny you bring the distributor question up, as I just put a '53 Delco distributor on my '48 tonight in the quest for solving the running for a little bit then not starting at all problem. I can tell you this, that the '48 distributor uses a funny ball bearing setup for the breaker plate that doesn't stay in position, and therefore causes the points to stay closed. I swapped it out for the '53 distributor in hopes of solving my problem. I've fixed everything else, so I figured it couldn't hurt. Personally, I like the later distributor better than the early one.


As for the carb, check the throttle bore sizes and the jetting to make sure the carb is the same. My bet is that the early carb is a WDO, and the later one is a WDG.

I am using a Delco distributor from a 327 in my '47 with the 356 engine and it works fine so I suspect the opposite would be true. The differences in mechanical advance curve is likely very small since I can't detect any difference in performance.

Quote:


I took the 48/50 distributer apart and saw the ball bearing set up for the breaker plate. Looks like a Rube Goldburg invention to me. No wonder they redesigned it for the next generation dist. It does look like the ball bearing set up will work though. I've poked and prodded at it and the breaker plate seems to stay in place.


Thanks for all the info,

the ball bearing set up for the breaker plate...looks like a Rube Goldburg invention to me.

That was Delco trying to get the quality of the of-the-era Autolite ball-bearing breaker plate on the cheap (sound familiar?). The pressed-in Autolite breaker plate with the ball bearing is a real precision piece.

Definitely a RG setup, and I don't know exactly why it doesn't stay in position, but I will say that the later distributor is light years ahead in terms of durability. I'm in the middle of rewiring my '48 to eliminate all possibilities of problems down the road, and I don't need the distributor being a hidden problem later.

My impressions and recollections are that Autolite made higher quality distributors, generators, and starters than Delco Remy. That said, my 115C has a Delco distributor with the ball bearing breaker plate. This has given me good reliable service. I can see if the plate, bearings, and groove become dirty that the plate would not move freely. Good maintenance should keep it working in the way it was designed.