Distributor # ?

[Michael D.]

Hello all,
I have a 65 327 that has no markings or tag on the distributor. My brother has a 71 that has no marks, numbers or tag either. I believe the 65 dist. is original because when I bought the car in the 70's I had the engine changed because it was destroyed, but I know the distributor was from the original engine, which was the original block (I checked the block to see if it was original before pulling it and unfortunatly junking the block). My brother bought his 71 in the early 80's and said his was the original distributor for the car/engine before rebuilding it. I was wondering how to tell what these distributors are from and if they are original or not because neither has any marks, numbers or tag(s). Any info. would be great

Thanks Mike D #1787

[Joe L.]

Re: Distributor # ?

Mike-----

For all practical purposes, there is no way to ID them without the ID bands. To determine exactly what the distributor part number is would require being able to identify the part number of the distributor mainshaft (with auto cam), the centrifugal advance weights, the centrifugal advance springs, and the vacuum control. The part numbers are, unfortunately, not found on any of these components. I might be able to identify the springs by their free length and number of coils and I can identify the vacuum control (if it's still the original Delco piece) by the 3 digit sequence stamped on the bottom of the arm. The weights are hard to ID without physically comparing them to other known weights of a given part number.

With just the vacuum advance number (if it's original), I could pretty well narrow down what the distributor might be if you are certain of the approximate year vintage.

Also, the 1965 distributor, if original, should have no hole on the end of the cross gear portion of the housing (the side opposite the red bronze-colored threaded adapter). The 1971 distributor, if original, will likley have the hole in the same location.

[Michael D.]

Thanks Joe I will check arm# *NM*