Crappy Parts Store Duraspark Distributors

[dholder]

I need a new/rebuilt distributor. So far, I have bought 3, and all had some type of issue. Two Cardone, that the pickup coil was loose, contacting the trigger wheel and one Richporter Tech. that the shaft endplay was excessive and the gear was not in the correct location on the shaft. Anyone have a suggestion on which store has good units, or are they all a POS and I should just pick one and go for it? All 3 of the ones I bought were new units, would I have better luck with rebuilt?

 

[SHX669]

Davis Unified Ignition {D.U.I.} makes replacements with full length bushing and custom timing curve. A little spendy at $230 -$260 but they're supposed to be pretty good and they're a direct reproduction - size wise anyway.
They also make replacement ignition modules and coils .
SHX

 

[dholder]

Yeah, I know there are some extremely good and extremely expensive units available. But I would like to get just a plain old replacement Duraspark unit. I just wish I could find one that is assembled correctly, from a local auto parts store. I read threads where all the advice is "just go get one for a 1985 Mustang with manual trans". Are all those people just installing what they are given? Because what I am being given could not possibly last very long.

 

[dholder]

I just removed the collar and gear and re-drilled the shaft to get the correct dimensions. I used the original Ford gear because the replacement units gear was a slip fit and not light press fit.

 

[ntsqd]

Bought one new from Rock Auto. Forget the brand (*might* be "World Power Systems"), but it came from Chino Did this on the suggestion of a friend who builds 3-6 new 460's a month that he ships complete. His customer has him break them in on a dyno so they're ready to go to work when they get them. He's been using that brand for about a year and hasn't had or seen a problem.

 

[blubuckaroo]

When you buy a distributor, you get one that will fit. That's it. But the advance curve will be set up for anything from a 74 F150 to a 78 T-Bird. The only way to get it right is to set it up for your particular vehicle. It doesn't matter if you buy a stock Duraspark or a high dollar aftermarket one. The best thing to do is buy one, put it on a distributor machine, and set it up properly. Most tune up shops can do this. One option I've found is Reincarnation in Tacoma WA. They will take a rebuilt Duraspark distributor and set it up for your car and engine. You need to provide them with your car's weight, gear train/ratios, engine, and cam card. You'll get a distributor and initial timing recommendations. It only cost me $160. It's just plug and play! It's been running great for about six years now.
http://www.reincarnation-automotive.com/Duraspark_distributor_recurve_instructions_index.html

 

[dholder]

Like I said, I removed the collar and gear and reinstalled to proper endplay and gear location specs. Problem solved.. The part supplier is obviously not providing a quality product. I was just asking if anyone could point me to a higher quality replacement part, based on their experience. Not worried about advance curves at this point.

 

[blubuckaroo]

Like I said, I removed the collar and gear and reinstalled to proper endplay and gear location specs. Problem solved.. The part supplier is obviously not providing a quality product. I was just asking if anyone could point me to a higher quality replacement part, based on their experience. Not worried about advance curves at this point.

With the Reincarnation option I referred to, you're pretty much guaranteed a good working distributor since it has already been run on a distributor machine.