In need of a rebuilt distributor for my 1985 FJ60. (1 Viewer)

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Interesting....ebay auction shows "302" stamped on it....wonder if there is any significance there or if just some generic stock number.
302 on the post? Ah yes I see. Different length, different style. PN is different too.
 
302 on the post?

The question(s) I would have...assuming the housing is the same size and shape....is the difference in the rod length or in the travel of the rod or both.

1959447
 
It’s been a long time since I gutted that one. The post might be attached to the little cup that is part of one diaphragm but I don’t remember. I did post a thread on it so it could be resurfaced easily. It would take some ingenuity but w/ the lot like we all are, that’s nothing new.
 
The question(s) I would have...assuming the housing is the same size and shape....is the difference in the rod length or in the travel of the rod or both.

View attachment 1959447
Lots different. Post style, length. No o-ring on the OD of where the pot fits into the diz. Who knows. Find a bad advance, gut it and buy one of those, gut it too and see if they could be made to work together. At most your out $115. Putting the ‘new’ pot back together requires a special tool too to crimp the edges closed. There’s some issue w/ heat too. Like I said, it’s been a few years since I did all that research.
 
Gotcha... forgive me....my puzzle brain goes into overdrive on stuff like this.... sometimes. Its not a problem that I have to solve right now....that I know of. Now I'm wondering if an Fj80 setup with its ICM would work.....Ok Google.....
 
Gotcha... forgive me....my puzzle brain goes into overdrive on stuff like this.... sometimes. Its not a problem that I have to solve right now....that I know of. Now I'm wondering if an Fj80 setup with its ICM would work.....Ok Google.....
Idk... lmk what you find.
 
Aren’t 40’s a single port? That would mean a single diaphragm...
Correct. Not sure what he can do with a dual diaphragm, but I would think it would be worth an email to find out :)
 
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Correct. Not sure what he can do with a dual diaphragm, but I would think it would be worth an email to find out :)
Its possible. Keep us updated.
 
I just called him and left a message. Let’s see what this guy can do... I got my lovely new one from a great gal on this forum @NeverGiveUpYota, but it can’t hurt to know if anyone can someday rebuild the old ones.
 
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I just called him and left a message. Let’s see what this guy can do... I got my lovely new one from a great gal on this forum @NeverGiveUpYota, but it can’t hurt to know if anyone can someday rebuild the old ones.

Does anyone have an old one they’re willing to send to Jeff so he can determine if he can rebuild them?


His response to my call:
“I can rebuild the standard vacuum unit but I don’t know that I can rebuild the dual vacuum set up unless I make some extra tooling. I know what they look like but if you had a spare that I can disassemble, that would help me figure out if it’s rebuildable or not?
Rebuilding the entire distributor can greatly enhance drivability and performance, even if you think your trucks are running well now. ”

And:
“The whole concept of using two different vacuum advance units welded together is actually pretty silly. Only one of them really needs to be functional. Every other vehicle on and off the road proves that to be the case. ”
 
This is Jeff from Advanced Distributors. I just registered so I could explain myself a little more thoroughly.
I'm willing to try to rebuild one of these vacuum units, but getting both vac cans to operate my not be possible. It depends on how its built, and how long it will take me to make the proper tooling to crimp it back together.

By looking at the vac unit, they are not opposing diaphragms. I'm guessing both advance the timing, but can verify when I get inside one. That would mean one has the ability to add MORE advance than the first one at full pull, so its like a stepped timing curve in the mechanical advance: primary and a secondary side with a stronger spring for additional timing.

More importantly is rebuilding and recurving the distributor so your engine timing is far more precise throughout the entire usable rpm range. I'd bet every one of your distributors is off by at least 10 degrees somewhere in the rpm range, even if Cardone cleaned and lubed it for you (they don't even know what a rebuild is.) They're butchers. They smash all the parts together in a tumbler until they're clean then pack the works with grease where no grease belongs, just so it feels tight. Gummy mess.

The rod on most of these distributors is threaded, so you can screw it in and out of the housing to alter the length. The length affects phasing, meaning the alignment of the rotor and the distributor cap terminal when it fires. Get it wrong and the rotor fires into the dead space between cap terminals. You can actually cut the rod and weld a section in to lengthen it if you're very careful. It may be the only viable option?

Distributor rebuilds start at $200, but you could approach $400 with a vac rebuild and everything necessary to get really great performance. For most vehicles this rebuild equates to a performance gain similar to a lightened flywheel, raising compression, or adding a really good performance cam. More often than not, the new timing curve is what pulls together all sorts of performance upgrades and allows them to play well together. If you want to get in touch with me, you can search my company online. I've rebuild thousands and thousands of distributors like yours that have no other industry support.
 
This is Jeff from Advanced Distributors. I just registered so I could explain myself a little more thoroughly.
I'm willing to try to rebuild one of these vacuum units, but getting both vac cans to operate my not be possible. It depends on how its built, and how long it will take me to make the proper tooling to crimp it back together.

By looking at the vac unit, they are not opposing diaphragms. I'm guessing both advance the timing, but can verify when I get inside one. That would mean one has the ability to add MORE advance than the first one at full pull, so its like a stepped timing curve in the mechanical advance: primary and a secondary side with a stronger spring for additional timing.

More importantly is rebuilding and recurving the distributor so your engine timing is far more precise throughout the entire usable rpm range. I'd bet every one of your distributors is off by at least 10 degrees somewhere in the rpm range, even if Cardone cleaned and lubed it for you (they don't even know what a rebuild is.) They're butchers. They smash all the parts together in a tumbler until they're clean then pack the works with grease where no grease belongs, just so it feels tight. Gummy mess.

The rod on most of these distributors is threaded, so you can screw it in and out of the housing to alter the length. The length affects phasing, meaning the alignment of the rotor and the distributor cap terminal when it fires. Get it wrong and the rotor fires into the dead space between cap terminals. You can actually cut the rod and weld a section in to lengthen it if you're very careful. It may be the only viable option?

Distributor rebuilds start at $200, but you could approach $400 with a vac rebuild and everything necessary to get really great performance. For most vehicles this rebuild equates to a performance gain similar to a lightened flywheel, raising compression, or adding a really good performance cam. More often than not, the new timing curve is what pulls together all sorts of performance upgrades and allows them to play well together. If you want to get in touch with me, you can search my company online. I've rebuild thousands and thousands of distributors like yours that have no other industry support.
Jeff, I’ll call you because I have a ton of photos of one I gutted last year.
 
Just dawned on me I have a spare distributor too. Tell me tho... I didn’t think to ask, how can a recurve be done w/o a truck avail to test it on? Or @distributorguy are you not recurving and simply rebuilding?
 

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