Ignition: Avanti distributor, how difficult??

[Hawklover]

Consider which is true, that I have never attempted to rebuild the 4012 distributor. Can a newbie effectuate this without any special tools knowledge, or work space (kitchen table only place to work)?? Yes I can send it out to restore, but would love to do it myself.

Thoughts.............I have a thick skin, its ok to tell me I'm nuts.

[RadioRoy]

Would you mind explaining how you came to feel that it needs to be rebuilt?

[JoeHall]

Yes, you can doo it at the kitchen table, with common tools, if it's OK with your wife. LOL. But a Shop Manual, a set of jewelers screwdrivers, and a surgical clamp or tiny needle nose pliers will also be helpful, as well as a magnetic screwdriver. As for the shaft bushings, not sure where to get them nowadays, but check with out vendors. As for the vac advance, if it doesn't work, you'll probably need to send it out for rebuild, or replace it with a repro or rebuilt one.

Go for it, and you'll be glad you did.

[Hawklover]

Well Roy I "assume" it does because its for sale, it is not the one in my car now. I would never utilize any used part based upon a for sale ad,I need to sleep at night!............true story many years ago I purchased a MoPar conversion unit for my Avanti I put it in and the first trip to a zone meet 300 miles away the dist shaft somehow malfunctioned, I had to have the car flat bedded to a shop which put back my point unit which I had in the trunk. Lesson learned.

[Hawklover]

Yes, you can doo it at the kitchen table, with common tools, if it's OK with your wife. LOL. But a Shop Manual, a set of jewelers screwdrivers, and a surgical clamp or tiny needle nose pliers will also be helpful, as well as a magnetic screwdriver. As for the shaft bushings, not sure where to get them nowadays, but check with out vendors. As for the vac advance, if it doesn't work, you'll probably need to send it out for rebuild, or replace it with a repro or rebuilt one.

Go for it, and you'll be glad you did.

Joe one thing I will do is utilize a Mopar breaker plate because it has ball bearings, also want to to utilize bronze bushed weights. As for the wife, the rebuild will commence after 2am:-)

[r1lark]

It's a simple distributor to rebuild, follow the Shop Manual. Also, there is a Prestolite rebuild kit (with a Studebaker part number) that has all the bushings, pins, shims, etc that you need. Sorry that I'm away from home and can't access the p/n.)

[Bud]

It's not hard to rebuild a Prestolite distributor. The big issue is finding the parts you need to do the job. The centrifugal advance weights are the big problem as the originals are prone to excess wear at the pivot points which can cause the slots in the distributor cam to wear to the point of not being useable. Also be aware that the R1 and R2 engines use a different centrifugal advance rate and total advance so distributors really shouldn't be interchanged. All R and JT engines use a dual point distributor with a ball bearing breaker plate as original equipment. I wouldn't recommend trying to rebuild a distributor on your kitchen table as the shaft bushings have to be driven out and driven back in so you need a bench vice, a set of bushing drivers and the correct size reamer to resize the shaft bushings once they are driven in. Bud

[Hawklover]

It's not hard to rebuild a Prestolite distributor. The big issue is finding the parts you need to do the job. The centrifugal advance weights are the big problem as the originals are prone to excess wear at the pivot points which can cause the slots in the distributor cam to wear to the point of not being useable. Also be aware that the R1 and R2 engines use a different centrifugal advance rate and total advance so distributors really shouldn't be interchanged. All R and JT engines use a dual point distributor with a ball bearing breaker plate as original equipment. I wouldn't recommend trying to rebuild a distributor on your kitchen table as the shaft bushings have to be driven out and driven back in so you need a bench vice, a set of bushing drivers and the correct size reamer to resize the shaft bushings once they are driven in. Bud

Good points , I understand that Thibeault uses bronze bushed weights on his R series dist rebuilds.

[Bud]

The later upgraded weights with bronze bushings have been available for years and are what I use when I rebuild a Prestolite distributor. The last time I checked, I couldn't get the shaft bushings but that is close to a year ago so hopefully someone now has them in stock. As an added note, there are different cams used in the various distributors. The cam stamped with an E is for stock 259-289 engines and has around 24 degrees of total advance. The cam stamped with a P is for the R1-JT engines and it has around 20 degrees of advance. The cam for the R2-JTS engines is stamped with a Y and has around 16 degrees of advance. It isn't a good idea to switch the cams between the different distributors as the the engine could detonate due to too much spark advance or will suffer from a loss of power due to a lack of advance. Bud

[WCP]

You may need to replace the Prestolite shaft with a new one, if you can find one. Frequently, the oil pump drive shaft tangs are cracked or damaged, as well as the advance weight pivots. I had several pivots machined, but only have a couple left for planned jobs. I do have my drawing still for the machining and can supply it for a stamped self-addressed envelope. I have no idea what the cost would be per unit at quantity, unless you have a buddy with a lathe.
Rebuilding a distributor is not a kitchen table project. You need basic workshop tools and some self-made or improvised.

[r1lark]

It's a simple distributor to rebuild, follow the Shop Manual. Also, there is a Prestolite rebuild kit (with a Studebaker part number) that has all the bushings, pins, shims, etc that you need. Sorry that I'm away from home and can't access the p/n.)

The Studebaker part number for the bushing/small parts kit is 1566009.

[Hawklover]

The Studebaker part number for the bushing/small parts kit is 1566009.

Odd that this is not in the Avanti parts manual?

[r1lark]

Can't explain why not, but it's a good number.

[Hawklover]

The later upgraded weights with bronze bushings have been available for years and are what I use when I rebuild a Prestolite distributor. The last time I checked, I couldn't get the shaft bushings but that is close to a year ago so hopefully someone now has them in stock. As an added note, there are different cams used in the various distributors. The cam stamped with an E is for stock 259-289 engines and has around 24 degrees of total advance. The cam stamped with a P is for the R1-JT engines and it has around 20 degrees of advance. The cam for the R2-JTS engines is stamped with a Y and has around 16 degrees of advance. It isn't a good idea to switch the cams between the different distributors as the the engine could detonate due to too much spark advance or will suffer from a loss of power due to a lack of advance. Bud

I was told the Studebaker R series dizzy did not have a ball bearing breaker plate, unlike the MoPar variant, true or not??........and that the MoPar Prestolite had bronze bushed weights, true??

[StudeRich]

If Bud says the "R" series Dist. HAVE Ball Brg. Breaker Plates, you can be SURE they do.
He has rebuilt enough of them and set them up on his Dist. Machine to know.

[64studeavanti]

The single point prestolite for non R engines did not have ball bearing plate whereas the dual point did. I believe that the mopar dist did use bronze bushings for the weights. I do not know if the cams are different, but the springs for the weights are - for R1, R2.

[Hawklover]

LOL the weights and springs are DIFFERENT, do not ask me how I know;-(