Distributor Help Please

[Dilkris]

In my box of bits TCS Project that I bought some 20 years ago, I have, (now retired with more sense but not as much money), almost completed rebuilding the engine. I have 2 distributors, one appears brand new albeit of questionable origin and the second I would say is original to the engine. (See photo's - I am assuming the 23D4 model is original)
Differences appear to be that the new model has a blanking plate on the side which I would assume originally allowed access for a  advance retard mechanism and the rotor head has some kind of fly weight spring arrangement which I can only surmise is some kind of rev limiter.
Distributor caps are clipped to the body on the "original" and attached by Philips head screws on the other.
Dimensionally they appear identical.
My dilemma is that the body of the original distributor has been damaged (see photo).
Question is:- Is it considered ok to use the new distributor or should I have the original repaired? (Distributor Doctor?)
Many thanks for your help in advance.
     

[BDA]

I guess my question is how important is originality to you. I would have no qualms about using an alternate or aftermarket distributor, so I would certainly would not worry about having your 23D4 refurbished.

I would note that access to the distributor is somewhat difficult so I would NOT want a dizzy that required a screwdriver to take the cap off. I don't have a TC but my motor is similar. It may be that the height of the cap of the new dizzy tall enough that the carbs might get in the way.

[MRN I J]

the new one is a 45D, possibly built by Aldon Automotive of Brierley Hill as a replacement.
The 45D can be fitted with 2 cap spring clips & the right cap to replace the screws & screw on cap, in fact springs clips are common, screws aren't.
Aldon's should be able to rebuild your original 23D distributor to original spec & supply another body, however if they dont have a body I do & I know them very well, I also have a new TC original distibutor but I'd like to keep that.

[jbcollier]

You would want to know what the advance curve is on the "new" distributor before using it.

I don't see the damage to the body of the old distributor being a problem.  Should have that advance curve checked as well.  Been a long time in service.

You can check them both yourself on the engine with a timing light, marked flywheel and a tach.

[BDA]

I would also check that the body isn’t worn resulting in slop in the dizzy shaft.

[SENC]

A properly functioning distributor with the correct advance curve can all the difference in the world on how well a car runs.  If you've just put a lot of time and effort into the engine, I'd do the bit more and make sure you have the right dizzy setup.  Martin Jay at Distributor Doctor is extremely helpful - send him an email with pictures of the old distributor and he'll tell you his thoughts.  He's rebuilt one for me and it works spectacularly.  He also has some new old stock bodies and can build one up from scratch.  If yours is rebuildable and you want to do it yourself, he has all the parts (and much better quality bits than what are generally available elsewhere).

[Dilkris]

Many thanks BDA, MRN, JB Collier & SENC for all of your valuable comments. I will post on the same subject when I have concluded this to let you all know what I did. 

[EuropaTC]

Hi,
In addition to the comments on advance curves, assembling/maintenance might be easier with the OEM body. 

The instructions to replace the distributor say something like "insert body with the rotor towards the rear clip and the pigtail connection facing the block" As the gears mesh, the rotor turns towards #1. Now with a clipped cover, this is relatively easy to do. With the later body and screwed cover, it's more of a fiddle because access to the distributor when the carbs are in place is awkward.

It's a minor point and I've no doubt that it can be worked around, but I would imagine you'll have to take more care to ensure the rotor is in the correct position. That's just making life easier. I refitted my OEM setup last week and being careful on static timing, it still needed tweaking with the timing light to get it running smoothly so it's likely you'll be the same whichever route you take.

As for the damage to the older body, as John says, that's rarely a deal breaker. It looks like the old classic of someone over tightening the base clamp and they've cracked the body. It's repairable if it proves to be so bad that you can't live with it.

Brian

[Dilkris]

Many thanks BDA, MRN, JB Collier & SENC for all of your valuable comments. I will post on the same subject when I have concluded this to let you all know what I did.

OK - I guess the pictures explain the story of what happened to the damaged 23D4; for the record, although not apparent from the photo's posted, the damage to the collar was in excess of 50% of its circumference, leaving not much for the base clamp to hold onto.

I looked closely at the challenges I would face using the 45D with the screwed cover and decided this was going to be a headache, (I wanted to have the distributor body so orientated that the HT leads would have a tidy route to pass through no's 2 and 3 inlet tracts on the manifold.)

So off I went looking for a replacement 23D4 body or having the 45D distributor changed to a clipped cover.
Ultimately, I ended up contacting Distributor Doctor (UK) who, (much to my surprise tbh) advised that they could repair the collar on the original unit.

The results are as you can see. I am not about to explain what they actually did, as the photo's are self evident and there are technically bright guys on this forum. Note however the brass dowel, (there are 2, orientated 180 degrees) 

The service was brilliant, I posted on a Friday and the unit was back the following Sat; upon receipt at Distributor Doctor they sent me a detailed quotation for me to approve before they commenced work. (I wish machinists who did the work on my block and head did this....the number of times I've lived through the "how much?"  )

All in all, I was very impressed and I honestly cannot recommend them enough. 

Thread closed I guess.                       

[TurboFource]

Nice repair work!

[jbcollier]

Excellent work!

It's easy to quote if you specialize in a small range of work.  They will have machines all set up for this so it is quickly done.  That would be a much more expensive repair at a general machinist as they would have to set up for it.

[BDA]

That was nicely done. I bet yours is not nearly the first one they’ve seen like that.

They also sell red replacement Lucas rotors that are much improved over current production.