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.