Jesse3877 Posted July 3, 2020 Share Posted July 3, 2020 Hello, My distributor, has the following markings on the housing: D0AF, 12131-A, and 5J16. What is the year and vehicle this came out of? I was thinking of making a vacuum advance adjustment however the vacuum canister nipple is too small for my 3/32 Allen wrench. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 Those are casting numbers, casting dates, etc. The info about the components of the distributor would be on a tag under a screw, and contain a number like D5TE 12127—FA, or D5TE-FA as the 12127 is the generic number for a distributor and is assumed. If your dizzy doesn't have a tag I can probably figure out which one you are supposed to have. But that really doesn't help you 'cause it doesn't tell you any of the details about advance curves. And, as you've discovered, not all vacuum advances were adjustable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse3877 Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 Those are casting numbers, casting dates, etc. The info about the components of the distributor would be on a tag under a screw, and contain a number like D5TE 12127—FA, or D5TE-FA as the 12127 is the generic number for a distributor and is assumed. If your dizzy doesn't have a tag I can probably figure out which one you are supposed to have. But that really doesn't help you 'cause it doesn't tell you any of the details about advance curves. And, as you've discovered, not all vacuum advances were adjustable. Thanks for your reply Gary. I’m now thinking this may be a Pre Duraspark 2 distributor housing. Probably a points distributor that was converted to electronic. It has a second hole in the can, so it was a dual vacuum canister. It’s obviously not adjustable and it currently provides 28° of advance. I’d like to buy a replacement adjustable canister. I see the crane Cans are quite expensive $45 but there a couple cheaper brands on rock auto for half the price. Anybody have a good recommendation for a new adjustable canister? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gary Lewis Posted July 4, 2020 Share Posted July 4, 2020 Thanks for your reply Gary. I’m now thinking this may be a Pre Duraspark 2 distributor housing. Probably a points distributor that was converted to electronic. It has a second hole in the can, so it was a dual vacuum canister. It’s obviously not adjustable and it currently provides 28° of advance. I’d like to buy a replacement adjustable canister. I see the crane Cans are quite expensive $45 but there a couple cheaper brands on rock auto for half the price. Anybody have a good recommendation for a new adjustable canister? Crane is all I've purchased. But the single-diaphragm Motorcrafts are usually adjustable, so if you found one of those, even in a salvage, it should work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse3877 Posted July 4, 2020 Author Share Posted July 4, 2020 Crane is all I've purchased. But the single-diaphragm Motorcrafts are usually adjustable, so if you found one of those, even in a salvage, it should work. Good deal and thanks:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 7, 2020 Share Posted July 7, 2020 Good deal and thanks:) The number to be conscious of is the one stamped on the advance plate in the bottom of the distributor. This determines how much centrifugal advance the distributor will have and these plates have two slots, so by flipping it over you will get another option. Centrifugal advance is double the plates number. i.e.: 12=24 degrees. Scott's recurve tutorial has the formula for this if you determine to weld up your slot. There's a base width for the stop tab and then every 0.xxx" adds a degree. I'm sorry, I don't know the exact numbers off the top of my head. But anyone will tell you, You start with the slot, then use springs to adapt how fast that comes in, THEN start adjusting using the vacuum canister. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesse3877 Posted July 7, 2020 Author Share Posted July 7, 2020 The number to be conscious of is the one stamped on the advance plate in the bottom of the distributor.This determines how much centrifugal advance the distributor will have and these plates have two slots, so by flipping it over you will get another option.Centrifugal advance is double the plates number. i.e.: 12=24 degrees.Scott's recurve tutorial has the formula for this if you determine to weld up your slot.There's a base width for the stop tab and then every 0.xxx" adds a degree.I'm sorry, I don't know the exact numbers off the top of my head.But anyone will tell you, You start with the slot, then use springs to adapt how fast that comes in, THEN start adjusting using the vacuum canister.Hello, Thanks for your replay. I’m happy with my existing total mechanical timing. I run 10° initial and 35° total all in @3000rpm. So I know I have roughly 25° of centrifugal weights, maybe that’s a 12L or 13L??I haven’t physically looked at them yet nor the springs since I was happy with the mechanical curve. I just installed an aftermarket canister and will play around with it this week. I use ported vacuum as my current vacuum source and will see if I can adjust my canister to optimize light throttle driving. I may switch over to full manifold vacuum source and play around with it further to see the difference. All in all my existing timing seems decent but figured I could mess around and have some fun:) I’ll report back with the part number cannister I used if I feel like it has good adjustability and would recommend to others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArdWrknTrk Posted July 8, 2020 Share Posted July 8, 2020 Jesse, I'm glad to hear that you have a through understanding what's in play here. If you're happy, that's great! I never mean to talk down to people, but I am pedantic (my sig on FTE was 'Pedant') And that slot needs attention before you even set static timing. Many people don't get that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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