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I was able to speak to the original owner of my truck (I bought it off facebook from his daughter). I asked for some background on the truck and the things he replaced etc. I mentioned that I would need a new distributor, the wire has a short.
My question. Is it worth rebuild the original or get a Electronic Distributor?
with a flaty it depends on how much you drive the old girl, and what's been done to the motor,
is it still 6 volts or converted to 12? if 12 personally i would use the electronic 6 volt rebuild the old stocker,
I would like to make it a daily driver. It has been converted to a 12v. If I went with a electronic would that effect the carburetor or anything other things I would have to take into consideration or would it be a simple swap.
I cant say one way or the other if good or not and may help others if we know who makes it?
The only other thing I see is it requires a box to make it all work.
So you have $$$ for the dist. + $$$ for the box and I am going to guess $$ for a coil to that works with all of it.
I think if me I would look into a RTR (Ready To Run) that may only need a coil that will work with it.
I just dont know what is out there for a flat head in RTR dist.?
Dave ----
Are you keeping the load-o-matic advance (carburetor and vacuum considerations)?
Going electronic usually means resistive/suppressor spark plug wires, a new coil and so on that add up.
I generally find points to be more cost effective, easier to troubleshoot, and more robust than electric. Anyone who I have assisted reverting their electric ignitions back to points hasn't regretted it, especially since they were betrayed by their expensive failed electric module. That is not to say that there isn't anyone who likes their electric setups.
I cant say one way or the other if good or not and may help others if we know who makes it?
The only other thing I see is it requires a box to make it all work.
So you have $$$ for the dist. + $$$ for the box and I am going to guess $$ for a coil to that works with all of it.
I think if me I would look into a RTR (Ready To Run) that may only need a coil that will work with it.
I just dont know what is out there for a flat head in RTR dist.?
Dave ----
The RTR ones are $800-900. That makes it a much bigger investment!
What timing cover and distributor do you currently have? If not rebuilding your existing, you need one that is compatible. In general there are 4 types of timing covers that accept 2 general types of distributors for the 8BA/8RT blocks. With the two types of distributors, there are a slew of OEM parts numbers...
Cowboy John is a forum favorite for rebuilds. I don't know that he does distributors, but can't hurt to ask.
If you simply have the typical a degraded/shorted primary wire, it is easy enough to replace yourself without removing the distributor and messing the timing up (provided the timing is set correctly). Original part number is 7HA-12216
There are new production ones available that should work a treat:
I went with the MSD R-T-R dizzy back in '06 or so, when they were about $200. I put it in, hooked it up, and have not touched it other than periodically pulling the cap to check things visually in the 19 years since. Every time I have checked the timing it has been exactly where it originally was set. Setting points and chasing down quality condensers are not high on my list of fun things to do.
There are many cheap chinese electronic distributors out there now, some seem OK, others who knows? I think MSD moved their production offshore about 10 years ago, but I haven't heard of any issues. Have you considered a Pertronix?
