Did Anyone Forget to Oil the Wick in the Distributor?

[TWChamp]

Yesterday when I fixed the shorted wire in the distributor of my neighbor's 1950 Champion I asked him for an oil can. He was wondering what I wanted to oil, and I said the wick in the distributor shaft under the rotor. He was unaware of it, and asked if other cars also had one. I let him know most of the cars with mechanical advance units had a wick and needed to have it and the pivot points on the weights oiled. In the 70's and 80's, when I worked at the GM dealership, I saw a lot of rust around the weights on GM cars with the window distributor cap. I kept a toothbrush and can of grease handy to lube them, but I'd bet most cars never get the rotor removed to oil the wick.

[Bud]

I'll bet your right about the oil wick on the cam. I'll bet most people don't bother to put oil in the oil cup for the upper bushing either. Bud

[TWChamp]

I'll bet your right about the oil wick on the cam. I'll bet most people don't bother to put oil in the oil cup for the upper bushing either. Bud

That's a good point Bud. In fact when Joe and I went to get the car 3 weeks ago I brought along an oil can so I could oil the generator and distributor before driving the car 120 miles to it's new home. I oiled my distributor today after I installed the restored generator I finished a couple weeks ago. I also slipped a piece of cardboard in the distributor as a preventative measure for the wire. I put the shiny side of the cardboard against the wire.

When I bought my 50 Champion last year the seller said he spent $350 on the generator and regulator. He got ripped off because it didn't charge at idle like it should. I bought a spare generator at the junk yard a couple weeks ago and restored it. Now it has a good charge at idle.

[BRUCESTUDE]

Back in the 80's my Mom drove a 76 Subaru and it developed a terrible intermittent miss, bad enough she had to find a garage. After she had it "fixed" by 2 different shops, I hooked up a timing light and found the spark was all over the place when the engine got hot.........you guessed it; dry advance weights! A little lube went a long way......

[TWChamp]

Yes, using a timing light to check the action of the advance weights and vacuum advance is a good idea.

A few years ago our Model A club was on a day trip and after just a few miles one of the younger club member's distributor seized and broke the tang on the shaft. He didn't know about the oiler on the side of the distributor. 4 of us missed the trip that day because 2 others and I stayed behind to help him get his car running again. Unfortunately I think that experience made him gun shy about day trips, because I haven't seen him at any of the gatherings since.

[mbstude]

Good tips, Tom. We just went through all of that on the Delco for the 331 Caddie in my '53 a couple of days ago.

Luckily my friend George has been doing this stuff for over 40 years and knows all the tricks and has the fun tools.

[StudeNewby]

I have a 62 Lark with a partial flow 259 and a 64 Champ 259. Where is the oil input on the distributor and how much should I add?

[Bud]

There is a felt wick located under the rotor on the top of the distributor cam and there is an oil cup on the side of the distributor. If your distributor has been replaced with a Delco window unit, there is no oil wick on the cam, only on the side of the distributor. One or two drops on the felt wick yearly is plenty and the shop manual recommends oiling the distributor shaft cup every 1,000 miles, but at least every oil change. A couple of drops is good there too. I use SAE 10W-30 or straight 30 in my oil can that's used for oiling things like the distributor and generator. Bud

[StudeNewby]

Thanks Bud, I'll take a look this weekend.

There is a felt wick located under the rotor on the top of the distributor cam and there is an oil cup on the side of the distributor. If your distributor has been replaced with a Delco window unit, there is no oil wick on the cam, only on the side of the distributor. One or two drops on the felt wick yearly is plenty and the shop manual recommends oiling the distributor shaft cup every 1,000 miles, but at least every oil change. A couple of drops is good there too. I use SAE 10W-30 or straight 30 in my oil can that's used for oiling things like the distributor and generator. Bud