Okay so I have a 4V intake for my 54 f600 with the 256. I want to rid of the loadamatic distributor and put one in that has the centrifugal advance as well as the vacuum like they did in 57 and later. My quesion is will this reman drop into my motor? Buy Cardone Distributor - Point Type - Remanufactured 30-2808 at Advance Auto Parts

I know they used a different oil pump drive on the early ones, but im not sure if the 256 was the same as the 239. Also is that distributor in the link a centrifugal advance as well as vacuum? And if the shaft is different can I do any swapping to make it work, or do I need to change the oil pump?

This is the response I got from Ford Truck Enthusiasts.

"Yeah. That Load-O-matic is a veritable POS...... I used a dist from a MUCH newer 292 on my old 239 and installed a pertronix kit. I have a rebuilt 292 now

I think that dist does have centrifugal advance (also) if it is for a newer 272/292.

You might just ask Advance Auto. Or better yet, go to a NAPA or National Auto Parts, etc and have a look at the one they would sell.

Also, I would speak to the guys over at Y-Blocks Forever or maybe give John Mummert a call and ask him what advance "curve" is best for a 256.

Then take whatever dist you buy to an auto electric place that can put it on a dist "machine" and verify it is giving you the total advance you need."

What do you guys think?? And thanks for the help

Yes, that is the distributor you want. I think if you check tho there seems to be an availability problem...

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

Yes, yes there is... Dang it.. any other ideas? I dont really know how that dual diaphragm works, are those good distributors? How will they plumb up to a new edelbrock carburetor?

Once you update to a new style carb the dual vacume dizzy is JUNK. You have to find a 57 and newer style. If you find a Y-Block Mallory Ignitor makes an electronic conversion for them. Should be nice with the high quality of the Mallory. Chuck

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Okay, so will I have to change my oil pump? If so what oil pumps will work?

If you have dual diaphragms in your '54 and it is original, then you must have a governor on it. If it is the original '54 distributor and it has a flat tang oil pump drive, there is a good chance the drive gear will have 13 teeth, the later one will have 14. If that is the case, you will need to swap the 13 tooth gear onto the new distributor. If the oil pump is flat tang drive, you will need a '55 or later pump and drive rod. You also need a '57 or later cap and rotor.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

There's something odd about just changing a distributor gear to one of a different tooth count. The laws of physics suggest that this will cause a 7.69% increase in distributor rotation speed relative to the cam. So, though I have read this "easy" fix many times, my take on it is that a change to a '55-up cam would be required to accommodate the swap. Is that not so?

As for oil drive rods, I will suggest that Arp makes a stronger-than-stock unit which is less prone to bending.

I have spliced a modern small block (302) distributor and loadocrдpic distributor shaft together. The Y-block distributor is 1" longer than the small block distributor and the gear is different. The relative placement of the two locating (roll pin) holes was minimally different on them also. Therefore, they were spliced at the region of the upper hole and the common location of the two holes is held with the roll pin that the upper collar is pinned with. I think that the MSD 8383 is a good solution but it is kind of pricey.

Edit- Sorry, Ted. I re-read and I see that you (wisely) informed him to use the 13 tooth gear. Not to change to the 14-tooth gear. It's early. Anyway, one would have a really hard time changing the cam to fit a 14 tooth gear. The bearing journals are markedly different. I think I'll sit back and learn some more.

If you have a 13 tooth distributor, the gear on the camshaft is for a 13 tooth gear. That's why we have to put the 13 tooth gear on the 57 and up style distributor.

  Dennis in Lititz PA

Replacing the loadamatic with a '57-up dual advance unit will be a huge step in the right direction. Unfortunately, the new dist. will not drop in your '54 motor without making some changes either to the dist. or the oil pump/shaft . I've just done this change to my '54 Merc and I modified the distributor. You need to cut off the bottom end of each shaft (about an inch above the gear) from BOTH distributors and fabricate a sleeve so you can connect the old shaft/gear/oil pump drive to the new distributor. I used 3/32 rollpins to lock the shaft sections to the sleeve. The only critical measurement is the overall length of the shaft which you must measure before cutting, and as I recall it's very close to 6" from the bottom of the aluminum housing to the end of the shaft (including the oil pump drive tab). Any local machinist can do this or you can send it to Bubbas Ignition to get done (they do great work and are a pleasure to deal with). The other concern you should have is the vintage of the 4V intake you mentioned. Your early Y block (239-256) has small port heads and will not accept the '57-up intake although everything external will line up. If you still have the original small port heads, you will need to use the early intake (1954 Mercury, or '55-'56 Ford or Merc) with an adaptor to allow the installation of a modern carb. I used a Holley 390, and the combination is absolutely perfect, with lots of power and 25 MPG. Good Luck : Bruce

pintoplumber (9/4/2013)

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If you have a 13 tooth distributor, the gear on the camshaft is for a 13 tooth gear. That's why we have to put the 13 tooth gear on the 57 and up style distributor.

Couldn't you just put the 13 tooth gear on the '57 up distributor shaft as Dennis suggests and do away with the cutting?

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL