'66 ORIGINAL DELCO-REMY DISTRIBUTOR SHIMS

[Rob A.]

I was told the distributor I'm going to install might need a shim kit. There is one shim installed and about 1/8" vertical play. Do I need to add shims to eliminate the remaining play?

[John H.]

Re: '66 ORIGINAL DELCO-REMY DISTRIBUTOR SHIMS

Yes - .125" is WAY excessive - spec is .002"-.007", to avoid erratic timing. Most of the usual vendors have shim kits, and you can find them at speed shops.

[Joe L.]

Re: '66 ORIGINAL DELCO-REMY DISTRIBUTOR SHIMS

John-----

As strange as it may sound, the original GM spec for most of the Corvette cast iron disributors called for an end clearance of .030" to .086". I have several NOS Corvette distributors and all have an end clearance of right at .060" which is just about at the mid-point of the factory spec.

[John H.]

Re: '66 ORIGINAL DELCO-REMY DISTRIBUTOR SHIMS

Joe -

After reviewing a bunch of Delco distributor drawings, a sort of pattern appears; small-block distributors from the 50's through the mid-60's all show either .002"-.007" or .002"-.010" clearance spec, and big-block application distributors show .030"-.086", as do small-block point-type and T.I. distributors in the early C3 era. HEI distributors ('75-up) show .010"-.112". Meanwhile, the Chassis Service Manual (from '57 at least through 1969) has always shown .002"-.007" in the distributor assembly procedure. Sounds like they couldn't make up their mind or weren't talking to each other

[Clem Z.]

Re: '66 ORIGINAL DELCO-REMY DISTRIBUTOR SHIMS

make sure the shims are hardened so they do not wear the housing. always use a hardened shim next to the housing and gear even if you use non hardened ones to take up the gap between. the force is upward when the dist.is turning so these shims are thrust bearings.