Distributor rebuild Options

[914Sixer]

Send to Sparxwerks in AZ, he does a better job and plates and polishes what he repairs.

[r_towle]

I would suggest you get in touch with Henry at Supertec.

He is a distributor guy....but not sure he does /4

https://supertecperformance.com/pages/services

[Rob-O]

I love my NOS points and 73 dizzy too. In a box, in the basement. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif)

In a shoebox…under a bed.

[wonkipop]

So I have checked the vacuum advance/retard unit of my 2.0 distributor with a vacuum pump and I guess the advance portion works but not the retard as it doesn't hold vacuum on that port (IMG:style_emoticons/default/sad.gif)

I was thinking of using the vacuum advance/retard from my spare 1.7 unit. Looking at the compiled data chart from Dave Darling (what would we do without Internet, the World, and mostly the dedicated people... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/pray.gif) ) below, the retard portion of the 1.7s and the 205 2.0 is fairly close, but I don't know if this could cause issues.

On the advance curse side there is a much bigger difference but I was thinking of disconnecting it (like in the '74 I believe). I have read in an other post that the vacuum advance could have been installed by the factory to help with emission control but on the other hand it can also make the heads run hotter.

other way around.
(at least with the L jets, and i suspect the D jets too),

the vac retard is for emissions.
retards timing at idle.
the retard comes off immediately you depress the accelerator pedal to take off from idle.
meant to clean up NOX. there is no advance at idle. the port that connects to adv vac can is above the closed throttle plate. the retarded ignition makes the area around the exhaust valve hotter as a result.
vac retard was never disconnected on any of the cars.

the vac advance was for greater fuel economy and smoothness of response at cruise.
advanced timing well out beyond mech advance. advance vac cans were a feature of all VWs, carb and fuel injected from sometime in the 60s at least. the idea of a VW engine is it cruises at full throttle. so the vac advance can was a very good feature for VW, perhaps even more so than many other engine types.

the vac advance came straight off when you gave it throttle at cruise and it retreated to the mech advance setting for proper timing under load.
vac advance was disconnected on L jets for the californian market in 74.
port on throttle body plugged and hose from distributor tucked under plenum.
californian cars ran slightly retarded at cruise too. because the vac retard can was dragging back on mech advance.
......and as a consequence hotter at cruise.

above is for 74 models.
in 75 none of the 1.8s had the vac advance can connected to the tb.

the double vac can distributor is peculiar to the USA market VWs.

don't have a D jet but i suspect the earlier 1.7 D jets make the same use of the double distributor vac can that the 49 states 74 1.8 did?

by disconnecting the advance can (as the factory did to the 1.8 EC-a (calif) engine it means the engine is set up emissions to a much more significant extent for fewer NOX emissions (at idle and cruise) and runs hotter in both conditions.
if connected (as the factory did for the EC-b (49 states), it is set up for higher emissions and greater fuel economy. only reduces NOX at idle (standstill) and runs hotter at idle. set up for cooler running and greater fuel economy at cruise but produces more NOX.

one thing i have always been interested to know is whether the european spec D jets made use of a double vac can on the distributor. i do know the 1.8 euro spec twin carb only had a advance vac can only. (no strict emissions standards in europe/ROW at that time). the combined twin cans (and retard cans in particular) are VW engines in USA only.

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