Got a 1955 Cadillac with a 472 Caddy engine in it. Was having trouble getting it to fire off until my Brother came by last night and helped me get the point gap set correctly. After that, we went to adjust the timing, and no matter what we tried, could not get the Distributor to budge either direction. Seems to be stuck to block. Anybody know of any tricks to getting something like this loose without destroying Distributor? What we tried so far: PB Blaster on seam between block and Distibutor base; gently tapping with hammer and wood block; hammer and screwdriver/gasket s****er into seam. As you can see, I am an FNG. This is my first post requesting help and advice. I have searched for a thread that might have addressed this issue and did not find one. Let me know if there is something already out there that I did not find, and thanks in advance for any and all advice. Kirk
The guys on the Cadillac forum did several things to remove them but most ended in destruction of the distributor. Most agree that the o-ring stops penetrating oil from getting in where it needs to be. Getting it to turn seems to be the key. One fellow even made a large turning tool that he bolted to the distributor after drilling some holes in the side. Some just beat it each way with a hammer until it moved a little then they just kept moving it back and forth till it freed up. Good luck man.
It took me two days of soaking/ tapping/ cussing/ turning to get the one on my '54 Ford to budge a few years ago. I don't know any Cad - specific info , but I wish you luck.
I have heard of folks using heat as in a propane torch, the "cold weld" can be broken with it, or sometimes using a few cans of freon to undo the "weld" pointing the escaping gas at the base?
Thanks for the tips. For now I think I will try the soak/tap/cuss/turn and add drink beer to the rotation, and see what happens. Book shows timing should be at 8 DEG BTDC and Light showed the engine is at 12 DEG BTDC. If it works, don't fix it, right? And do no harm. If we had not checked the timing, I would say it is running fine. I will let you know if and when I get it to move. Thanks again. Kirk
Could you use an oil filter wrench or even a strap wrench around the distributor body as a way to convince it to break loose? Gary
A : That close if it ain't pinging leave it alone. B: With points you can vary the gap a few thou and change the timing a bit that way. Ain't worth fu%%^7 up the dist. if you don't need to.
I don't know how the balancer is on the Caddy but the one on my Y-block is rubber mounted and they tend to shift. I time mine with a vac guage because my marks are no good.
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