Was looking for a dizzy cap for my ‘78 fj40…is it correct that the only option is NOS Toyota/yec with the aluminum terminals inside the cap?
Distributor cap???
- Thread starter HTC42
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I hate the aluminum contacts myself. When I did the tune up on a friends 77 Celica back in the mid 80's I bought her a NAPA cap that had brass ones. I have always had a Delco dizzy since I got my rig in 82. Late last summer I put in a chinesium Delco. Their points lasted a few days, but my real delco points fit and so did the cap. Worked fine after the swap.
My favorite scraper for the aluminum ones is the small blade on a swiss army knife. You can clean them a few times before you need a new cap.
My favorite scraper for the aluminum ones is the small blade on a swiss army knife. You can clean them a few times before you need a new cap.
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- #3
I’m getting more justification to put that aluminum head LT1 in…
I just watched a vid a few days ago on aluminum engines. Basically you just throw them away if the go bad/wear out. Over heat them once and they're done. Cast iron lot heavier but more durable for tractors.
Oh and the aluminum oxide that builds up on the electrical contacts is an insulator - not conductive to good spark.
Oh and the aluminum oxide that builds up on the electrical contacts is an insulator - not conductive to good spark.
wimberosa
SILVER Star
The 78+ caps appear to be long gone. I have a 79 with a decent cap but other issues. The only new toyota cap that appears to be available for these later 2Fs is the fj60 big cap dizzy. You could put the fj60 distributor on there with a dented push rod cover change. Fundamentally I think we're at a juncture where you either go fj60 dizzy (gives you a few more years) or put a DUI on there.
Holy %x&#! I didn't know the caps for 78+ were NLA. I don't even see an aftermarket version on Rockauto. That means I have a bunch of 78 stuff that's useless now. Oh well.
I've been running early or late points distributors with Pertronix units/
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- #8
DUI? Davis unified?
The dizzy drives the oilpump, that's not a place to cut corners looking for a bargain
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- #11
If the distributor shaft were to shear, the engine would stop running before you lose oil pressure most likely.
I have run a Delco dizzy since 82 as it came on my rig. I "work" on it late 2000 and replaced it last summer as it was just wore out. The Amoron chinesium unit ($115) more or less dropped right in. The points arm bent in a few days - put in my old Delco units from the dead dizzy and it runs like a champ.
When I learned to drive, dad taught me to look out the windshield, glance at the review mirror, look out the windshield, then scan the instrument panel, then look out the windshield run that endless loop forever. Nothing sneaks up on you from behind and you will notice any problems like climbing coolant temp, low oil pressure, or amps before there is an issue.
That said my OEM oil pressure gauge/sensor never work "good". I installed a lighted direct read gauge on the steering column. I ran a piece of fuel hose over the oil tube from the back of the gauge to the engine side of the fire wall - that way if the tubing broke I wouldn't get a face full of hot oil.
I always smell the coolant when it starts to leak before it shows on the temp gauge.
When I learned to drive, dad taught me to look out the windshield, glance at the review mirror, look out the windshield, then scan the instrument panel, then look out the windshield run that endless loop forever. Nothing sneaks up on you from behind and you will notice any problems like climbing coolant temp, low oil pressure, or amps before there is an issue.
That said my OEM oil pressure gauge/sensor never work "good". I installed a lighted direct read gauge on the steering column. I ran a piece of fuel hose over the oil tube from the back of the gauge to the engine side of the fire wall - that way if the tubing broke I wouldn't get a face full of hot oil.
I always smell the coolant when it starts to leak before it shows on the temp gauge.
Well, there's that, but I dimly recall back in the day, when all the hep kids were putting Holley carbs and GM dizzys in, that some slight mis-match between GM gears and Toyota gears reportedly somehow allegedly lead to engine seizures secondary to oil starvation or somesuch. Or so I hear. Word on the street was that if you swapped your Toyota gear on to the GM shaft, all was cool. Didn't really concern me as I never considered that swap so I didn't pay a lot of attention. I was perfectly happy with a '69/earlier type real Toyota vac advance type with the Pertronix in it.
It just made me wary of any not Toyota parts in that general area.
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- #14
There are a lot of different types of aluminum used in casting engine parts and their durability is vastly different. For example, the aluminum heads on 22RE engines are often garbage. I had a 4Runner I did a head gasket job on with multiple comebacks for smoke out the tailpipe. Turns out coolant was seeping through the casting from the water port into the exhaust port and down out the manifold… nothing funnier than telling your service writer that coolant leak was the wrap hole on the muffler
wimberosa
SILVER Star
I'm wondering if you could swap out your old dizzy gear to the new HEI so the mismatch with the cam wouldn't occur. I've heard the story @Pighead notes multiple times and assume there is some truth in it.
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- #17
It appears to me that the Chinese have found there is a market for cruiser parts globally and are stepping in to grab the market share. Not sure that translates to functional parts or not.
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- #18
I’m guessing you might be able to swap the gear and shaft… s***, I might just have to build a distributor
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- #19
I’ve chosen for scientific purposes to order a questionable hei distributor to measure and inspect. Free returns.