Distributor rehab

[Slow Loris]

Okay Ratsun-migos, I broke my own rules and bought a used car part on eBay. Now I pay the price. 
 

I got an I think D4f electronic distributor, remote ignitior, hei compatible style one if that clarifies which type.

 

Thing is, it’s in shit condition. I can only be mad at me, it was in “used” “as-is” condition and I’m the idiot who bought it. Ok pity party over.

 

I took it apart already. It’s real crusty and rusty. My question is about all these plates. How freely do they need to move relative to one another?

 

First there’s this piece indicated by my red straw which slides freely:

 

Moving downwards which is pretty gritty but will rotate:

 

Next, this one below that holds the bearings is hard to budge but I’m guessing the other stuff slides on that one and it stays stationary??:

 

Assumption here is that I’m holding onto this one below and trying to spin the rest:

 

Looking at the underside, this one will slide along the slot, but not easily:

 

 

SO, are all these plates supposed to glide like butter over the top of one another or is some resistance ok?

 

 

(I do have the missing ball bearings, eagle eyes).

 

Thanks for any advice.

 

 

[banzai510(hainz)]

I wouldnt pay more that 20bucks if that then dont worry about it.

 

I know Amazon has those Chinese point convertion distributors.I was hoping more people try them(give a review) out maybe I get a spare. Only thing is I think the timing plate that come with them is for a L20 not the L16 is it might have to be moded.

 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/165635189996

this would use the stock ballast and stock point coil

Edited June 9, 2023 by banzai510(hainz)

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

It's not hard to get that apart and cleaned up. Then use dielectric grease to lube it for assembly.

[Slow Loris]

@banzai510(hainz) yeah I thought about that one but saw a couple bad reviews that scared me off.

 

I’ll grease er up and see what happens. 
 

Though there’s the issue of the nipple from the vac advance being froze into the housing…

 

[banzai510(hainz)]

i think I throw that away

soembody has a stack of distributors soemwhere.  I got L16 ones Ill throw away soon enough. Nobody wants them.(I wont send them!!!)

[Slow Loris]

4 hours ago, banzai510(hainz) said:

i think I throw that away

soembody has a stack of distributors soemwhere.  I got L16 ones Ill throw away soon enough. Nobody wants them.(I wont send them!!!)

I’m in too deep! I got robbed on eBay like I knew I would now I’m committed! Unless you really think that’s hopeless. 
 

I put up a want ad…no one wanted to sell me an electronic distributor…I looked at the junkyards…nothing. I called my parts hoarder…nothing.

 

I mean I’m fine with points for now. Oh well. Maybe I’ll try the cheap-o Boursin one.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

20 hours ago, banzai510(hainz) said:

i think I throw that away

soembody has a stack of distributors soemwhere.  I got L16 ones Ill throw away soon enough. Nobody wants them.(I wont send them!!!)

You're joking, right? The stock L16 distributor is what the vintage races run. Someone would surely buy them all.

[banzai510(hainz)]

7 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Someone would surely buy them all.

Let me know they all dual point. I got 2 new SSS ones. Im sure those are wanted, but dont want to get rid of those yet. I been running big Cap L20 ones right now with Pertronix.

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Dual point distributors are different only in the clocking of the vacuum advance. A stock dual point distributor can be changed to single point.

[datzenmike]

Just wire together and reset the timing to when the retarded set opens and the dwell increases about 4⁰. My '70 dart had dual points and only the opening set wore down from the arcing.

[Bleach]

I'm going to be getting into this with the distributor on my L28 soon.

 

Those sliding plates are supposed to move. I believe one is for vacuum advance and the other should be for mechanical advance.

 

The plate with the bearings sometimes breaks or the bearings fall out. It is good that you have it all. I would suggest disassembling it all (carefully), clean it well, and assemble with just very minor amount of grease. Hainz is more familiar with these than I am.

 

Even for the six cylinder L-series, distributors are getting hard to find. Many were thrown away instead of being repaired.

[yenpit]

On 6/11/2023 at 9:38 AM, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

You're joking, right? The stock L16 distributor is what the vintage races run. Someone would surely buy them all.

 

Hainz probably is referring to the 70-73 510 L16 dizzy's, which are dual point?  Yes, the 68-69 single point dizzy's are getting hard to find & valuable!

 

OP get me the part # stamped on that nasty old dizzy you got............I have a big box FULL of L series dizzy's & parts (sorry, no Matchbox & only a couple of the mag pick up ones, but LOTS of others!).  FYI I will NOT be able to look until Saturday, as my new job has taken me away from my Datsun stuff during the week! 😝

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

I was saying, even the dual point distributors are good to use. I've built dozens of them for racing 510s. Almost all dimensions are the same as the single point distributor.

[Slow Loris]

@Bleach and @yenpit thank you for the constructive input, I’m pretending I can’t hear the married couple bickering on this thread.

 

@yenpit yes, will do!

[Stoffregen Motorsports]

Just throwing out options. What you do with them is up to you.

[Slow Loris]

8 hours ago, Stoffregen Motorsports said:

Just throwing out options. What you do with them is up to you.

Embracing them. That’s what I’m doing. Now if only Hainz would realize you are trying to make him a few bucks selling all those dizzys to vintage racers. Do I smell a finder’s fee in your future?

[banzai510(hainz)]

If somebody is local in Washington Ill give them to soembody that will use them and not a junk collector

[Slow Loris]

@yenpit ok it says:

D4F6-05 (8301 real small)

22100 B9800

 

Much appreciate your help rummaging through your box of parts whenever you get to it.

 

I can’t seem to get the plates apart, but assuming I do and grease them up, my big remaining issue would be that seized chunk of vac advance stuck in there. I will try to dremel that thing out but this may end badly for this dizzy body.

 

 

[Slow Loris]

I knew that would work…as soon as I said I couldn’t get the plates apart, I went out to the garage and promptly got the plates apart. Looks like the plastic cage is broken, I see it’s possible to make a new one—I’ll give that a shot after my attempt to super glue it fails.

[Slow Loris]

Alright got the plates apart and greased and now they slide like butter. The plastic cage for the bearings has seen better days but it seems to be hanging in there with the glue.

 

Nice and greasy…I think I got all the slots lined up. Seems like it doesn’t fit if you don’t:

 

 

 

 

However…I forgot over the last two months that the screw holding all this stuff onto the spindle(?) that sets it into the body broke in half:

 

 

So I guess in the name of this thread which is “stubbornly and idiotically putting a piece of trash distributor back into service” I will keep going.

 

Next I’ll try the blowtorch on that stupid vacuum advance fitting and see if that gets it out of there. No progress on that front.

 

[datzenmike]

 

22100-B9800 is a '78 620 L20B federal emissions truck distributor. Making it an EI (electronic ignition) distributor of which this is the remote igniter style, so it needs the igniter box to go with it...

 

 

Do you have this? won't work without it. There is a way around this problem, let me know.

 

 

 

[Slow Loris]

Of course the eBay scam distributor didn’t come with it! I got one of these instead seeing some crafty wiring diagrams here that made it look possible:

 

 

Correct?

[datzenmike]

 

Ignore the coil rated 1.6 ohms and get a 0.75-1.0 ohm coil from '78 or later Datsun truck or car. This will give you the increased high voltage output. Be sure your ignition wires are in good shape.

[Slow Loris]

Copy that, thanks! Yes I got a coil I believe for 78 620 from Napa that looks spec’d right. Now if I can get the damn thing back together I’ll be…god only knows what will happen then.

[datzenmike]

My EI distributor was in my truck for 15 years then put it in my 710 for another 13 years. The button that rides on the top of the rotor wore through so I just pulled one from another distributor so it's over 20 years old and about 10 years ago I got a used set of L28 blue NGK wires. They were longer so I could run them around the front of the valve cover instead of over. Once a year I clean and check the cap and I wipe the wires down individually with a rag soaked in WD-40. Don't remember changing the rotor either. They just run and run and run.