24 stud rebuild question.

KDL

KDL

Senior Member
Engine back from a fresh rebuild. I plan on using the helmet head distributor that came off. Looking at it last night I noticed the cam seemed to be set back too far for the distributor to reach. Sure enough it is. The cam that came out has the pressed on fiber gear. The new cam is an Isky 217700 with a bolt on aluminum gear. Obviously this isn't going to work. So my question is, what went wrong, and short of reusing the original cam and gear, what's the fix?







 
Yep, requires the adapter.
 

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KDL said:
Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Part ordered. This site is great.
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Be careful about your selection on those adaptors. Some are basically junk. The machined tolerances on some are so poor that they will allow the distributor to assemble 180° out of phase and the distributor shaft will rotate just as well as it would if it's assembled correctly. If you can find an original adaptor, that was made back in the day, you will be much better off than if you use a modern repro version. There have been previous post on this problem.
 
I received my adapter from Speedway. Looks good and has an offset so it will only go in one way. I was surprised by the size. I assumed it would be just slightly smaller than the inside of the cam gear for a snug fit. It's quite a bit smaller. What keeps it in place? Or does it just stay where it belongs on it's own?
 
There's a Canadian 1946 shop manual, sold as a reprint with extra pages as "1939-48 Ford and mercury Shop Manual," which has full dimensions for making the adapter*...
This version (I have seen many!) has .910" OD. Maybe someone here can scan that.
The book is a WWII outgrowth, and that drawing is in there because Ford of Canada switched production of its many military vehicles to 1942 design in mid war and '42 engines started showing up in a war full of '40-41 hardware.

*Page 413 in reprint edition.
 
I use a blob of grease and then when the distributor is put on it cannot go anywhere. I am using a speedway adapter on my engine
 
The ID of the cam gear is about 1.5". The OD of the Speedway adapter is 1.25". I got a second adapter from C & G and that one has an OD of 1.37". I like the fit of the C & G one better but there is still plenty of room for the adapter to move around. Is this normal and acceptable?
 
Just so you know the complete picture, if you decide you would like to use a crab style distributor, if you swap in a 2 bolt timing cover, it will bolt right on.

Mart.
 
Thanks Mart. More good info.

Ron, The Isky part number for the cam is 217700, the same cam Speedway sells as part number 450-217700 listed for '32-'48. Hope it does the job.
 
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