I have been absent for a while and my car has sat, but upon running the car around i notice that the power was gone in the upper RPMs. I put electronic ignition in it thinking that might help, but it did not. After taking it to a shop they told me the distributor was bad.

The shop wants me to replace the distributor which is the original vacuum advance one, with a 123 distributor. I am looking to sell the car, so putting a $500+ distributor is not on my agenda.

Is there any way to loose the vacuum advance or am I stuck having this original one rebuilt. Not looking to break the bank either.

Aidan

Sound like fuel restriction.
Check pressure before spending lots of cash.

Need more info about your car.

If you just need a vacuum advance unit, try the Samba's classifieds. There is also a guy there who rebuilds the Bosch distributors. Electronic ignition units, like pertronix, will "compensate" for worn bushings in the distributor, in the sense that they are not as sensitive to shaft wobble like points are.

I am aware of pertronix, I was under the impression that they didnt work with the fuel injection system. I am looking for something that will be a decent fix without getting raked for the new distributor cost.

As far as fuel goes, the injection system is in very good order.

Rather than just throwing parts at it, find out what really wrong and fix it. What is a "bad" dizzy? How is it bad? What part needs replacement - the trigger points or just the braided wire. The fix could cost you little or nothing or you can just throw lots of money at guessing and still not fix it. The real issue may not even be dizzy related un;less you verify that everything is in order. Supposedly your mechanic did that?

I agree with jeff. What the heck is a bad distributor? Is this an experienced 914 mech? Doesn't sound like it.

It is reno rennsport. They are a specialty shop. I am not familiar with the distributor completely. I haven't been able to chat with them over it yet.


They are saying that the dist is walking timing. +/- 10 deg. they said they check the gear and it had a little bit of wobble in the block but nothing major.

Unless the springs have come off the weights under the trigger points, is no way distributor can swing that much.

So to get back to the original topic, If i have an 001 distributor in there, am i stuck with that type or can I go to say a 005 or 009?

Hi Mark,

Just wondering if it's possible to install trigger points in a running complete motor without taking out the distributor??

Tom

Tom,
You should be able to change the FI points with out taking out distributor.

Thanks Mark
I took the winter cover off my 914 then with a fresh battery cranked it to start.
The engine makes a mini start up, then nothing. I suspect the trigger points are the issue. Never happened before after winter storage.
Tom

Hijacked....

ANyone for my last question?

If your car is a 1.7 or a 2.0 with d-jet injection you cannot replace the distributor with an 009 or an 050. Your existing distributor has a second set of points in the bottom of the distributor that control the injection pulses. Without those pulses the injection will not work.

I seriously doubt that your timing is changing by 10 degrees. It is possible that your distributor is worn and the dwell angle is changing by 10 degrees.

You can install a Pertronix in the distributor and it will mostly solve your dwell issue as Pertronix eliminate adjustable dwell. Your timing will still fluctuate a little because of the worn distributor shaft. The only way to fix it is to re-bush/re-build it or replace it.

Get a new mechanic,really if he can't set the motor @ TDC on #1 pull the dizzy and check advance plate movement and general condition you don't need him,Pertronix will work fine even if its worn (as mentioned).
Never seen timing float 10 - + ever,hell we never stop learning however ....