Posted by Dave in Reno on Saturday, October 12, 2002 at 11:00PM :
In Reply to: Re: Electronic ignition posted by Dave in Reno on Saturday, October 12, 2002 at 10:55PM :
BREAKING POINT
BY PHIL HALL
FROM
POWER WAGON ADVERTISER
JANUARY 1992
Having spent both hours and miles sitting behind those trusty old flat-head sixes in full song, and a fair amount of time working on them, I have made a few discoveries owners of L-head Chrysler engines might find useful.
After making the rounds of various parts counters trying to find ignition parts for my healthy 1950 engine, I finally gave up and modified a slant six distributor to fit in place of the original one. It turned out to be much easier than I expected.
First, completely disassemble both distributors. Drive the pin out of the collar on the shafts at the bottom of the housings to get the shafts out. After a thorough cleaning, put the large end of the slant engine distributor housing in a 3-jaw chuck on a metal lathe and turn .030" off the outside diameter of the part that slides in the block. This is an easy procedure, since the distributor housing is made of aluminum.
The slant six distributor will not fit perfectly into the flat-head block. Fortunately, there is enough of the O-ring groove left on the housing to allow the O-ring to be reused, solving any leakage problem.
Lubricate and install the long shaft and advance weights from the L-head engine into the late distributor housing; but use the breaker cam from the newer distributor.
Finish assembly of the distributor with the slant six advance plate, points, rotor, and cap. You will then have a distributor for which parts can be easily purchased.
If you have converted to 12 volts, it is a simple job to put in the magnetic pulse electronic ignition from a 1974 or later MoPar, because the parts fit right in. Enjoy the extra power, economy and summer like starting all year 'round. The higher available voltage allows wider spark plug gaps, longer plug life, and seems to take the hesitation out of that old Carter Ball & Ball carburetor.
Follow Ups: