I just got my mallory dual point dist. for my 53 merc motor and have no clue how to install the drive gear. I got a new gear from speedy bill but there is no hole in the dist. for the drive pin. How in the world do i install the drive gear? The instructions are a joke!
send it back and get the unilite ! dual point`s ? why would you add another one of the thing`s that is alway`s the problem .
Mine came with an extension on the lower shaft for a different application that needed to be cut off. Basically you slide the gear on, leave a bit of clearance against the housing (.02 is good) and then drill for a split roll pin from both sides. The orientation is a bit critical because if it's off a bit you don't line up the housing for the clamp as it should. I think it is best to try to match the teeth and rotor position with a stock dist. Also consider sending to Bubbas Garage (hamber) and have him dial it in on his distributor machine. My advance curve was way off and the points terminals grounded against the housing. He has seen these where the weights were installed incorrectly so there is some qc problems you don't need to deal with. Guy
Also put a pertronix in after allot of points and condensr issues. Finally the thing works like it should. Maybe the unilite is the way to go. Mallory dist.-$260.00 Dist gear $15.00 Bubbas adjustments $50.00 Pertronix $80.00 Total $405.00 Not to mention all the times my buddy towed me home with a strap. Ain't this fun?
if you are going to run a mallory,magnetic breakerless IS the only way to go.all other is junk at best.i like msd better. -danny
Dual points are fine with a yearly adjustment, but not MALLORY points. Points should be immediately replaced (easier now than at the end of their 200 mile service life beside the road!) with points of decent quality like Echlin. Likewise the condenser, which is waiting for you with TWO clever Chinese design failures. AND trace the wiring. New Mallorys are either grounded out as noted above or within a thousandth of an inch of grounding! There is nothing really wrong with the design of this thing, but small parts quality would embarass KMart. I have helped a friend flog his Chevy late model Mallory, same basic design as yours. His troubles with Unilite and points versions have been quite horrible and expensive, all because of bad assembly and bad small parts by M. He reacts to trouble by reoplacing whole units, unfortunately, and has been replacing unusable distribs with more of the same rather than detailing them into useability. He can't change back to a real distributor because the Mallory is tiny and he built his firewall around it! By the way, the parts I reccomend replacing have a service life of WELL under a thousand miles if Mallory. Get real parts before installing the evil thing, you don't need to repeat the experiments! Points have worthless rubbing blocks AND poor contacts, condensers are covered with insulating shellac for ground problems and fail internally due to bad insulation...other than that, they are fine!
The recent Mallory can be flogged into a useable state much more easily than you could design, cast, and manufacture your own distributor from raw ore! Is that a recommendation or what! I love old Mallorys...and if I were looking for a late flathead distributor, I would likely want one made from a '57-74 type Chevy distrib. I suspect MSD is also a good choice, but have not been near one. If you have a late Mallory, regard it as a challenge that will educate you in ignition issues and get on with the rebuild!
Thanks Bruce, I'm flogging one now. Does anyone have the numbers for repacement points and condenser to replace the crap that I've got? This 8BA Mallory dual point dizzy has around 400 miles on it. I can't keep the points set and the rubbing blocks are down to nothing. On top of that the condenser is breaking down when I romp on it.
i would say return the mallory and replace it with a chevy dist. i got mine from GMC BUBBA here on the hamb.
I think NAPA actually has Mallory points cataloged as such in the Echlin catalog...buy a condenser for the OEM use of your coil. I may be wrong, but I think the commonest Mallory points, use including the current distrib and many later models of the old flattop, was basically a '57-64 Ford V8 point set. Don't know how Mallory cap rates...haven't gotten to that failure point yet.
I don't mean to hijack, but I have a very old Mallory in my model B, and I dought they still make the points/condensor for it. Can I just "match" up replacment parts for it? The only thing I don't thnik I'll be able to find is a cap Sure as hell hope I don't drop that!
If your points pivot on one end, you can probably pick them out of the Echlin Illustration guide. If they're the really old Mallory style that pivot in the center, it's a matter of finding and buying N.O.S. units from someone that has them.
Depends on generation...there are 2 or 3 1929 through who knows versions of the A-B mallory for which probably nothing is available, unless points turn out to match 1935 Graham or something... Then there is the basic later version of the 2-piece flattop made first in iron, then aluminum. This came with several different points...some I think are Mallory only, probably still somewhat available, some have what seems to be a version of Ford points, I think the same one used in the current nipple top Mallory. I don't have a late one to match up, thank goodness. If you have this later 2-piece, which goes back quite a ways in time and was produced probably into the 1970's, its cap is discontinued but no problem: Just order the still available 8 cylinder cap and rubber and hide them under your 4-cyl upper cap. Rotor is available too.
Mine is a iron base, dual point. It has the factory pop-out thread, and also stock style spark advance. This is why the capis special- has a slot for the advance arm to move. I have never really seen another distributor like this,and it works well BUT... Heres a crappy pic
I think that is the first generation 1929 version with centrifugal and hand advance...I think I have the instruction sheet somewhere. But parts...??
Hey on the 8BA mallory i just called their tech line and they basically yelled at me and told me its the coil and Ballast resistor thats frying the points so quickly. They said you must use Mallory coil # 29216 and Ballast #700. They also said to take the condenser and sand the outside case of condenser and the inside of the clamp for a good ground and possibly add an additional ground wire.
The gear should be installed on the shaft with a slight clearance and drilled completly thru with a 1/8 inch bit. Kinda hard to do without a drill press and a V block. I would gladly install the gear and spin on the machine for you if you want just pm for directions . I also stock and sell the chevy version complete with distributor cap ready to run for a hamb price of $ 135 shipped to your door.
My flat has a sotck dizzy with a 1954 Valcan dual point adapter in it . 4 years ago I bought a box 0f 10 points for 28 bucks on E-Bay. There are still 6 in the box. Gapem once a year, replace them when they are half worn thru. Never had a problem yet.
The instructions came with a pattern that shows where to place the gear on the shaft. You don't want it too high/low. Find a drill bit that is smaller than the friction pin. Place the gear in the correct position and use a drill press to ensure the drill hole will go straight in. The metal is rather soft. The gear teeth alignment really doesn't matter as it will be resolved during your rotating it for timing. If you have your old dist still you can align your rotor/gear teeth, but as I said it really doesn't matter
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