Distributor won't drop in all the way

[lmccoll]

I have SBC, 383 with a victor junior intake. I have used the intake and distributor on a different motor with no problems. I built a new short block, same heards and intake, but now the distributor won't drop in all the way.

I did change the distributor gear to a bronze gear and of course the oil pump and shaft is new. It looks like it needs to drop another 1/4" to fit down on the intake.

Any ideas?

Thanks, Larry

[v8Fiero]

the oil pump shaft might not be going into the bottom of the dist, are you sure you are in the right slot on the camshaft?

[bubbabbc]

It might possibly be the dreaded sbc/bbc - pump/shaft mismatch of parts. Several mix-up combinations are possible. That is something you can check w/o much effort.

[lmccoll]

Ok, I pulled the distributor out and looked at it carefully, I had put the gear on upside down and it was actually going past cam gear.

So, I pulled the gear back off, but now it won't quite slip on the distributor far enough because the new bronze gear has about 1/4" bronze at the top, the old steel gear did not have this. Package says it is for a sbc. So, I still dont have it resolved.

[zipper06]

If your distributor gear does not look like this one, you donot have a chevy gear. They are the same for big and small block engines. The long small end goes to the bottom/oil pump the gear goes up to the distributor there should be no bronze above the gear.

Zip.

This picture is off MSD's webpage.


http://img37.picoodle.com/img/img37/4/1/27/t_distributorm_bbdba60.jpg (http://www.picoodle.com/view.php?img=/4/1/27/f_distributorm_bbdba60.jpg&srv=img37)

[curtisreed]

I bought a new bronze gear for my MSD dist. from Summit and had to machine some off of the top to get it to match the roll pin hole. It was supposed to be the right one for that dist. After I threw it in a lathe no problems.

Curtis

[itsabird]

is it a msd dist? if so in the prosess of installing the gear, you may have move the slideing collor, if it has one

[davis419b]

Listen to Zipper 06, He knows all !!!! Sometimes when you drop the distributor in and get it positioned where you want it you hold it and spin the engine over and it will drop into the pump shaft. JMO
Don

[bjuice]

the easiet way i have found to do this by myself in the car..is get engine to TDC, make sure #1 valves (int/exh) closed ( valve cover off) and physcally verify #1 piston is up. (spark plug out ,use flash light etc..)..its possible to have the harmonic balancer on TDC but the piston be down in the cylinder ( over lap)...once verified the piston is up and balancer TDC..Go ahead and manualy roll balancer around to the desired total timing desired.

look down into distributer hole into intake and see which way the slot is pointed..i normally take a long flat head screw driver and turn it (slot) to which ever direction the slot is on the bronze gear after having the rotor button point toward #1 piston as you drop in distibuter..

this works well for me ..plus i am a one man show..gotta do things one man can do without help of another.


hope this helps.

Brian

[sds10racer]

thats the same way i do it. :)

[lmccoll]

Zipper, you were correct, I had the wrong part. it wasn't supposed to have the 1/4" collar. I got the right one and fit perfect, dropped right in.

What I do for the oil pump, I have a priming tool for the oil pump, I marked it at the top to align with the slot for the oil pump. I drop in the primer, turn the oil pump until it is pointing to the number one cyliner at TDC, the distributor then drops in at the right place.

I thought about machining off the collar too until I realized there are two diameter distributor shafts, GM and ACCEL are 0.491 inch and MSD is 0.500 inch. I need the 0.491, I measured the gear I had and it is 0.500 inch. Basically, I just had the wrong part.

thanks for your help.