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We're finishing a restoration of a '38 Su8 Coupe roadster. We've made a number of hidden upgrades on the car for touring and drive-ability. With the '38 distributor cap being so expensive, is there a well-tested modern replacement distributor that anyone might recommend. I know Delco from the era is used, but I'm thinking even more modern, such as Mallory or Accel. This would be preferably be a point-based rather than electronic set-up, but either will be considered. It would be used as a quick replacement unit for touring, and save the use of the original unit. Any recommendations?'

I believe that a former member was able to fit an Olds HEI to both the S8 and V8. You might want to start there.

Craig

A friend of mine machined a 55 chevy distributer to fit my 29 standard 8.You just need the right guy with a lathe.See it run on you tube,type in,1929 packard runs. If you need a pic I could post one.

occaswright. Tell about the other modern upgrades u've made for modern touring.

If Danh could give us more details on the Chevy ditributor then that would be the best choice. THe Olds HEI 2nd choice.

Chevy distributors are plentyful and a dime a dozen. Replacement parts avaialbale any auto parts store. Everything else, especialy aftermarket hot rod equipment is high dollar/special order and replacement parts mite not be available 10 years from now not to mention waiting a week or longer for delivery.

As Craig indicates above, somewhere on this website from about 2 years ago Turbopacman outlined the Olds HEI distributor conversion wich would be a good 2nd choice too.

Danh. Many thanks for the tip and U-Tube on the Chevy distributor.

Does anyone think there be much of a market for a GM HEI drop in replacement? Or any modern distributor that can be machined to fit?

I own a machine shop and have several of those distributors laying around. If I thought I could sell them, I could do a short run of enough volume to make the price reasonable.

I though Eric used a Pontiac Distro because of the counter-clock-wise rotation needed to match Packards.

Thanks to all on the replies. I'll check out the Chevy YouTube video, and would be encouraging of trying the GM HEI.One question, beyond the machining, wouldn't the advance curve need to be changed to match the Autolite? So there is more to it than just fitting the unit. I was thinking of a vacuum advance set-up. Also would there need to be some match with the coil? This is something I'd like to try and then report back on. We already have an adapter for a two-barrel Holley, and we plan on try it versus the stock EE-23. The engine is currently on its own self-contained stand, so we have plenty of latitude to experiment while the rest of the car is being restored.

You said you're only considering this because of the cost of a distributor cap. The OEM distributor is as reliable as any other point/condensor distributor and probably made better than most. Given that the car is a CCCA Classic, I'd think about preserving value and keeping the original distributor; I'm fairly certain I've seen later, perhaps post-war, common caps used on these. I don't have a swap # for you, but some comparisons of cap diameter, height to the carbon brush, and clearance from the rotor tip to the brass lugs should pin it down.

I'm happy to get more information on a replacement cap, and can post these measurements if they would help locate a good replacement. Part of what we're doing is simply experimentation, and trying to find some worthwhile modern alternatives, if there are any. The engine is out of the car, and available to testing. The rest of the restoration will take another year. Its being sone carefully and up to show standards. We're just keeping busy while the other elements of the restoration proceed.