A semi retired friend with a shop here in town is doing some mechanical restoration on a '57 retractable and is in need of a distributor. He said apparently the po used a big hammer to try and move/remove the old distributor and it is damaged beyond repair. I got the impression anything at this point will help.....good used, rebuilt etc etc. Anybody got a source? I gave him Bob Owens info last night. I've pretty much ignored the many threads I've seen on distributors as they didn't pertain to my build, so I really don't know diddly about them, except I saw this morning an old wanted ad, and apparently what he needs is a '57-64 272,292, or 312 distributor? Thanks in advance for any info I can p*** along.
I just bought a rebuilt one for a '64 292 at O'Reilly Auto Parts if I remember right when I changed from the original t-pot on my 56 and needed a distributor with both mechanical and vacuum advance. It was real reasonable, like less than $75 if I remember right. I figured that was about as cheap and easy as finding a decent used one then rebuilding it myself. My only issue with the one I got was that the condenser was junk and caused me to let my car sit for a while until I came to that conclusion...
Do you have a part number by any chance. My friend said he had checked with O'Reillys and they didn't have them.
On the O’Reilly Auto Parts website, I came up with a couple different ones. One is rebuilt and the other new. The new is a Spectra brand and the O’Reilly number is FD06. The rebuilt is a Cardone brand and the number is 30-2808. Pretty sure I went with the Cardone now that I just looked it up. Both are right at $75.
I looked them up for a 64 F100 with a 292 and a 4 barrel carb. On a side note, I looked it up for a 57 Fairlane with a 292 and it showed no results. That may be why I decided to run a newer one in my 56 292, but don’t remember for sure.
If you buy a Cardone rebuilt distributor BE SURE to measure the shaft. There were/are a number of them out there built on Ford small block distributors. The small block distributor has a 1/4" shorter shaft. This gives less grip on the oil pump drive and prevents the distributor gear from seating on the block. The Y-block distributor has full 6" shaft measured from the block mating surface to the end. There was a long thread on here that had the measurements of both the Y-block and the small block distributors.
Good information! I know that I compared the one I got to the one I pulled out to make sure that I didn't have issues as you mention.
Thanks for the info.........much appreciated by me and my friend, who I have already p***ed the info along to. One of the places I gave him to check with had several used ones, so he's got that on the way . Roger Vasholtz in Genesco, kansas, has 30 or 40 '57 Ford parts cars. After he has a look at what he's being sent, he may decide to go with one of the O'Reilly units. I did p*** on the cautions to him, and he already planned on converting it to electronic. Thanks again
I copied this from our salvage yard listigs on the '57 ford forum. Not sure if the spelling of his last name is correct. KANSAS Vahsholtz, Roger Geneseo, Kansas 620-680-0449 Roger has been recommended by two forum members. KYBlueOval and Lowrider. Reportedly has 45-50 1957 Ford parts cars from non-salt-using states. Ebay seller name is pink-44 3198 (need to confirm that)
Just so others would know, the Spectra FD06 is a ford distributor, but is 3/4" shorter than the '57. Not sure what it fits.
I have been looking at the HEI Y block distributor on eBay. It is a small cap and comes with coil, wires and distributor. Red, blue or black wires and cap. https://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-Y-Blo...=352465223477f9ada81849c14ee2a376292d88293b74
YBlocksforever has a lot of info on these replacements. Some are from later year Fords. I was lucky doing it 7 yrs ago from Rock Auto..
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