Hot Rods Does anyone still make a decent American made distributor for a SBC?

I went to start the Produce truck Friday, about 12 hours before we were supposed to run the Hot Rod Hundred, and it wouldn't hit a lick.

I had purchased a new crate engine from Jegs and stabbed a brand new Pertronix small cap distributor in it. (Against my better judgement) Now, I have no spark.

It lasted about oh.... about 3500 miles.

I have heard that MSD, Mallory etc have all been bought up by investment groups and started making all of it in good ole China.

Oh and let me start out by saying, I have points distributors on the shelf, so let's not belabor that point please. I would like a small cap American made distributor with vacuum advance.

 

Don’t know of any but I carry a spare with me. Haven’t needed it yet been about 10,000 miles Mallory.i believe you are right I think most all the good stuff is now made somewhere other than USA.

 

Well, it doesn't matter where it's made. It's the market that dictates the quality. Offshore manufacturers are every bit as capable as domestic manufacturers to make quality products.The trouble is how much is the end customer is willing to pay?

 

Are you opposed to taking one of your old point distributors and installing a Pertronix kit?

 

After dropping $280 on a brand new Pertronix distributor that fails after 3500 miles.....YES.

 

Not many much more reliable than an old stock Delco distributor when push comes to shove. Yes you replace the points about every 10k and they don't start quite as easy as one with electronic and you loose a bit of gas mileage over an Hei but they seldom leave you stranded on the side of the road.

 

I understand. Wasnt there somebody else that made a points eliminator kit years ago? My memory is fuzzy on that one.

 

Not to belabor the point...but take one of those old distributors off the shelf, and install it in your car.

To answer your original question, no. So use old junk, which works, instead.

 

Didn't Crane offer a kit at one time?
I still have an Accel 37000 series (bearings) dual point. Not the best choice street wise, but no complaints, 40+ years runnin'.

 

Just a thought, what about Performance Distributors in Memphis Tennessee?


Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

The trouble is how closely the importer rides herd on the offshore manufacture. Quality control has to be done before the shipping container is packed and shipped.

What are you going to do with a full shipping container filled with parts of questionable quality? Ship 'em back? Or, sell them for the best buck possible? There are folks in this world who think new furniture for the lake house is more important than actually providing a good product for a fair (not cheap) price.
-Dave

 

Good question ! The answer is NO no one makes a USA made unit anymore.
There are some options , the very best would be to rebuild a older delco cast iron unit (the very best ever) or use a vintage mallory YC . Both of these could very well use the pertronixs if ya want electronics however the weak point for them is the ignition coil!! I deal with quite a few failures each year and the coil is the culprit , cheap off shore product with a very high failure rate. I would suggest a bosch blue #00012 ignition coil , has a internal resisted winding and i have never really seen a defective one.

 

Well, I have no idea what is the failure point now. I had absolutely no spark on Friday, now it starts and runs like it should. I got nothing.

I was just going to crank it around to check the rotor and figured I would try it one more time to get a feel for the way it was acting and the silly thing started.

 

look for a pinched wire, dirty connection, bad terminal splice/crimp etc.....

 

Check your ignition switch

 

Have a test light and a jumper wire handy is no start.

 

"Bubba"'s right. Old Mallory "YC'''s (and other models) are still available on eBay for less than $100; get one before I buy them all and convert them to be used in flatheads. Oh yeah, get some new points and a good condenser and one of the coils "Bubba" mentioned and forget the Pertronix.

 

I am with Bubba. Use an original Delco. I am using the one from my '50, modified for HEI. Only failure has been operator negligence. AKA bad connection.

And the darn thing did not even need new shaft or bushing. Good old GM.

Ben

 

Did you happen to mismatch your distributor and coil. You must have the matching coil and distributor. They are guaranteed you know. My chev. powered 48 woodie has had the same one in it since 1993 and I just drove it to Louisville from the west coast. My 32 3 window has had the same one in it for 65,00o Miles.

 

It will be fun now,,,
When it Works then don’t then works again makes it hard to find a problem that’s currently functioning correctly.

 

Yeah, that drives me crazy. Laying in bed at night, walking back through everything ever done to the ignition system.

Before, it was backfiring through the carb occasionally, and almost hitting. Pulled a plug, no fire whatsoever. Now it starts in half a crank and idles perfect. Boggles the mind.

 

Will a Pertronix Ingnitor I or II work with the Bosch Blue coil? I thought I read that the Bosch coil had around 3 ohms resistance on the primary and around 8 on the secondary.

 

This is what everyone who " fixes," things hates , you can't disassemble , visually diagnose and repair microprocessor electronics .....Last year my 1978 furnace quit , I could SEE that the heat/ fan relay wasn't tripping , the replacement circuit board has microprocessors to do the same function .

 

Yes, Crane did/does? I bought one 15+ years ago and have had no problems. Factory distributer with electronic replacement for the points.

 

Actually, much of the quality assurance is done BEFORE a contract is signed. The purchaser and the company lay out the parameters of quality and price. Then then the manufacturer builds a test r

Again ,the misguided ,prejudicial inference that "offshore " is always inferior. I have been using drivetrain parts from China,Japan,Korea,Brazil,Argentina,Italy,England,Germany,and several former Eastern Block countries for 40 years. Both OEM and aftermarket parts. The difference in quality comes when the PURCHASER dictates the quality level of the finished product....not the manufacturer.

 

Mallory made the uni-light electronic conversion in the '70's

 

Are these folks any good?
https://crtperformance.com/shop?olsPage=products

 

Not sure, but from the prices listed, it looks like a lot of that is coming from off-shore. The prices are very close to those selling on ebay. I'm not wanting this to be a US vs offshore debate. I do like to keep my funds local if possible, but I am a realist also. This is a global economy now.

 

I used to use Cranes in the late 70's and 80's in a few tractors we had, always reliable. Haven't seen them in years.