Ignition: Is there a difference between autolite and prestolite distributers

[TroyN]

We are trying to get my lark running, and noticed in the shop manual that the 63 six uses a prestolite distributer. We have autolite points, condenser, and roter. There seams to be week sparks from the coil to the plunges. Does anyone know what parts would work? Is this not really the problem.

[StudeRich]

There is a difference between Autolite BRAND Ignition Parts and Parts FOR an Autolite Distributor.
Earlier Six Cylinder Dist. WERE Autolite and '62-'64 Dist. were Prestolite, same Co. but the year of the Dist. NOT the BRAND of the Parts COULD make a difference.

Is that clear as MUD, now? Either way it will not cause weak spark, the Points either fit the Mounting plate and Dist. Cam or they do not, your parts are probably fine.

You could have a bare small wire inside the Dist. to close to the grounded Dist. Case, Bad Spark Plug Wires, a Bad wire from the Dist. to the Ign. Switch actually several things.

Do "plunges" mean Spark Plugs? Maybe you are getting help from a "Spell Checker"?

[TroyN]

Sorry about the spelling! I was posting from Iphone. We noticed that the router does not seem to fit as snug on the shaft. I've been having nothing but trouble trying to get this car to start. My lark is actually a 1959, but the engine is a 63 overhead that we rebuilt last summer. The engine ran fine for a short time then it started to stumble at highway speeds. Then it just got worse and worse until it won't even start now. We tested the fuel source and carb. which were fine. Then we checked the electrical. it has spark at the points and coil, but for some reason the spark is week from the coil to the plug. The plugs are new and I just got the wires from Studebaker international. I'm kind of running out of options here.

[Mike Van Veghten]

New condensor first, then try another coil (any canister type 12 volt will do).

Mike

[TroyN]

does anyone know where I can get a distributer rebuilt??

[jclary]

Before you get too carried away with the idea of rebuilding the distributor...take Mike's advice in post #4. While you are at it, take a good look at the contact on the top of your rotor button and the coil contact on the inside center of your distributor cap. If, as you say, you have good spark from the coil...and not at the plugs...it is the path from that center point out to the plug wires that "distributes" that current out to the plugs. If you are getting a good strong spark out of the coil...and not out to the plugs...the rotor is the logical suspect part.

[Jeff T.]

Yes, check the condenser. Years ago I had a bad condenser in my Lark with an ohv six and I could not exceed 35 mph. It took me forever to figure it out and I replaced the plugs, wires, vacuum advance, cap... everything but the condenser. Once I changed the condenser, everything worked as it should.

[rkapteyn]

In the early sixties "Autolite" sold the name but not the company to Ford.
They renamed the company "Prestolite"
Some of the cheap replacement rotors are shorting out to the distributor shaft.
Get a genuine Autolite rotor!

Robert Kapteyn

[53k]

You might want to take a hard look at the rotor. I sold and delivered a car one time that was running great. The next day my buyer called me and said the car quit about 100 yards from his house. So, I drove over and started checking. What I finally found was that the contact on top of the rotor was loose. When it was in place it worked fine. If it jostled loose- no run.

[rkapteyn]

I bought a 1960 lark "?" from a preacher in Hammond Ind. It sold cheap because he could not get it started and had many "experts" from
his church looking for the problem.When I got there he was not home but his wife called him and he told her to go ahead and let me in the garage.
I lifted the cap and saw that the Delco rotor had the small resistor missing.This is a common failure with these.
I saw a pair of side cutters on the workbench and nails. I grabbed a nail and cut a piece off and installed it in the rotor in place of the resistor.
I paid her the agreed price and drove it home.
The preacher called me later and asked if his wife's story was correct in that I put a nail in it and it started!

Robert Kapteyn

[63 R2 Hawk]

As stated above, replace the condenser. The new ones are made in a foreign country and are highly prone to failure. If you kept the old one and it was running fine, put it back in and see what happens. The symptoms you described, stumbling at hwy speeds and getting worse, might cause me to take a close look at the flexible ground wire on the distributor breaker plate. Because the breaker plate is on a bushing and rotates with vacuum advance it needs a ground wire, that ground wire that often breaks causing intermittent stumbling on acceleration. I've seen many old cars with this problem. Also, check the bushings in the breaker plate, if they are badly worn it will cause the breaker plate to wobble and bounce when running or when the vacuum advance servo pulls on it.