A Gamble Pays Off ( NOS Distributor)

You may have seen in an earlier posting that I purchased a distributor on EBay on 30th December  that was listed as NOS (new old stock). The item arrived a few days ago and I am very pleased to confirm that my hunch of it being as advertised was correct. That's a relief.

I did take a gamble, but was confident on a couple of things.

1. The ID tag is in very good condition, no scuffs, no marks, and the rivets appear to be factory fitted.

2. The number stamping also appears to be a factory finish

3. The drive gear has no signs of wear

What appeared to be rust on the flat surface of the cam lobes was actually grease.

After wire brushing the drive gear, no signs of wear on the teeth or the internal pin that drives the oil pump.

Sweet

Rather than just put the unit on the Red Chev or the part into storage, I decided to strip it, clean all the parts, and reassemble ready to use. Just in case there was dirt or muck hidden out of eye site.

The contact point insulating strip is in excellent condition. These usually perish from exposure to grease and oil.

Ignition points have no signs of wear on the contact faces

The breaker plate that carries the ignition points has no rust, but however someone may have forced the adjustment screw without loosening the retaining screw. You can see the slight burring of the screw slot.

As wiped down with prep wash.

The felt pad on the top of the cam shaft was dry, no oil. Again you can see the coating of grease on the non contact areas of the cam.

The brass post that locates the moving points arm has no signs of wear.

A quick coat of full gloss black enamel.

All the innards, cleaned, checked and ready to throw back in.

Of the 6 or so dissys I have worked on over the years, definitely the cleanest looking centrifugal parts I have come across.

Ready and waiting for all the internals to be fitted

The last stage was the most enjoyable, and involved:

1. Fit and fill the grease cup
2. Apply a light smear of grease to the contact areas of the centrifugal parts
3. Fit the breaker plate
4. Fit the insulating strip and contact point connection bolt
5. Fit the points and set at 25 thou
6. A few drops of oil on the felt pad on the top of the cam shaft.
7. Smear of grease to the contact faces of the cam.
8. Fit the rotor button.
9. Fit the Rotor Cap (Did not come with a cap. Fitted a new one from the spares cupboard)

All done, ready to use, a new old stock Delco Remy 635B distributor. The EBay listing said it came from an old Chev dealer.

By the burred slot on the breaker plate screw, and the old wire to connect to the coil, my opinion is:

* The unit was originally a spare part

* Taken off the shelf with the intention to use in a car

* Fitted with a wire to connect to the coil.

* Someone who did not know what they were doing, burred the adjustment screw slot while attempting to adjust or remove the points.

* Whether it made it into a car is not known, but if it did, must have been just for testing

The final 2 photos are the finished unit ready to roll.