what does "208W mean"?

[Werner R.]

this number is stamped on the top of the cam lobes of the main shaft of my delco single point distributor. does this say anything about the unit??
werner

[William C.]

Re: what does "208W mean"?

I believe it is an internal Delco part number for the cam unit. Unfortunately, I don't know of a cross reference to distributors, nor does the part number appear on all dist. shafts.

[Wayne M.]

Re: what does "208W mean"?

Werner -- I, too, have wondered what they mean. Mainshaft #'s that I have are: 183, 84, 170W (this one on underside), 03, and for advance cams (or rotating pole pieces for TI): 536CCW, 540, 534, and 530CCW. The last 3 digits don't seem to match any of the GM catalog parts #s (and there 20+ different mainshafts and 10+ advance cams/pole pieces).

[William C.]

Re: what does "208W mean"?

The numbers on the advance plates are part number indicators that reference differences in length of the advance slot, as well as differing positions of the pins the advance weights pivot on. I am (slowly) trying to build a matrix of dist part numbers to advance plate part numbers as I gather known original distributors. There are only three diffferent weights I have found in the '58-74 era, but a number of springs with different wire dimeters and wraps of wire in the spring, as well as the slot length and pivot location differences. The CCW is a note for a counter clockwise advance rotation distributor (Chevrolet) as opposed to Oldsmobile and perhaps others that move the cam in a clockwise direction to advance.