Not only is this site great information but you guys are too funny   -Bob

AKA   Bob-93021

Mark if you need some hat felt, I can send you some no problem!! Thats what I do all day at work.( I work at Boot Barn in Vegas)  In fact if I would of known that this Saturday I could of sent you about a 1/4 of a lb!! I cut down 5 hats on Saturday and had a bunch. Just let me know I can mail it out to you. I Love this thread on this very informational.

   

Michael

Sandy Valley, NV

thanks for the offer, pard!

I'll graciously accept your gracious offer:

Mark Smith

602 Tudor Ct

Deer Park, TX 77536

I promise to post a pic of your felt!

hopefully in my rebuilt and operational distributor!

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

ok, got the weights freed up and operating... took the plunge and ordered a new vacuum advance unit from my local  O'Reilly's ($18) based on their online product description showing a unit for a 57 Ford, 272 c.i. engine. that unit lists 5# / mercury as a specification...

one possible problem may be the shape of the arm that connects to the breaker plate... mine is straight; all the units I have been able to research show the arm to be in a slight "L" shape... still looks like it will attach to the tab on the breaker plate in spite of this shape difference...

does it relly matter?? I wonder...

anybody got an answer to this?

thanks again to all who have chimed in along the way on this little adventure.

Mark

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

Mark:

As long as the arm can move freely, and the points open when the rotor is pointing to a terminal in the cap, it should be OK. 

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

The curved arm advance will not fit a distributor needing the straight arm. The curved arm is longer as well the attaching pin on the straight arm advance in more in towards the centre of the distributor plate than the curved arm vacuum advance. When you get the curved arm advance take your straight arm advance along and it will show. The only way it could work is if you could straighten the crook out the curved advance without breaking it and drilling a new hole.

marv

Mark - Is the vacuum pot you've got ruined? As in leaking - or stuck solid? The hex nose of the later ones can usually be removed and the spring loading system of the diaphragm cleaned up.

This one has the dogleg - so I'm not sure the guts are the same...

The fiber tube at right sets the total length of travel - and the shims fit under the screw-on cap to set the preload on the spring (which fits over the fiber tube).

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Here is a picture of the two distributor with the curved arm and straight arm. The points are also 180 deg different in the placement on the breaker plate

marv

Marv, responded to your PM before checking for the latest remarks to this thread; my response per the PM is still as written, although that may change when I try the new vacuum advance unit I just purchased tonight at O Reilly's...

will advise as soon as I get the new one and try it out... should be available in a couple of days according to the counter help at the store.

thanks, Mark

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX

got the last of the clean up done this p.m. and pieces back together... thank goodness for digital cameras... that is, when you remember to take pictures during the "tear down"...!

just need to get some ring terminals so I can hook this bad boy back up; decided to put the old vacuum advance unit back on... I did disassemble it, looked pretty good inside the vacuum input end... where the spring and "spacer" goes, so I just put it back together and back on the dist.

hope to put it back on the engine and try it out tomorrow...

also hoping to post success and perhaps a couple more pics of the unit back together and installed.

again, thanks to all who have contributed ideas, suggestions and cow hide!!  thats felt to you pilgrim!

thanks,Mark

"God Bless Texas"location: Houston,TX