8ba distributor questions

cas3 said:
After reading GB's last rant, and knowing GB, from years of posting his adventures, to picture the movable distributor one would normally say we are thinking outside the box.

In this case, Gb probably made the box, out of wood of coarse, and is thinking inside his own box. So, in this case, I suggest a cable wrapped around the dizzy, on to a shaft, like a kids go cart steering, , thru the fire wall, under the dash (less damage) and a wood workers knob with a back board with indicators on it made of wood of coarse. White oak, scarce on the island, but I can snd you some if you wish. perhaps a piece of mahogany off the scraps at the boat yard next door. just some thoughts here...carry on
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Dang it Skip! Hadn't thought of that. So this knob not only rotates the distributor remotely, but with a ring of numbers around the perimeter, one can see at a glance where the timing is set? Unfortunately I'm committed to a long day in the woodshop as I have put off three jobs for contractors that seemed small and simple at the time and now they are all coming due at once. Yikes it's 4am and I've had breakfast and coffee and heading to the shop. I'll start this clever pulley system next week and catch up on reading about Gus and the Model Shop. My new role model......
 
“In this case, Gb probably made the box, out of wood of coarse, and is thinking inside his own box.”

Yup….dropped the trees…..sawed the logs….built the box…spent the next two weeks with one foot in the box…. one foot out….and then shared his new invention with us…..
I can see it all happening from way over here…….Mark
 
flatford8 said:
“In this case, Gb probably made the box, out of wood of coarse, and is thinking inside his own box.”

Yup….dropped the trees…..sawed the logs….built the box…spent the next two weeks with one foot in the box…. one foot out….and then shared his new invention with us…..
I can see it all happening from way over here…….Mark
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Chuck Norris bows before GB.....:D
 
I identify more as somewhere between Rube Goldberg and Theodore Suess, maybe a little Red Green, but with aspirations toward my new acquaintance Gus.
 
GB SISSON said:
... Without a vehicle to drag outa the woods this winter, or an engine, transmission or transfer case to overhaul, I just might finally get bored. I can envision an arm off the distributor with a ball end, this arm fastened by the same screws that secure the vac advance can, then and a choke rod off the arm coming through the dash. I can also imagine a vacuum gauge in the cab which might help me see the results of timing adjustments on the fly. I currently have a vintage Allstate vacuum gauge mounted on the firewall for under the hood tests. Then there's the new intake manifold I want to build with enlarged ports for the 2110 carb I'm running....
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I'm concerned that with the distributor you are solving a problem that doesn't exist. I'm sure the manual adjustment setup would be entertaining, but I'm also confident the engine will not run better as a result of the efforts.
Modifying a manifold to match your 2110 sounds like time well spent, but will not take up near enough of your winter hours.

We need to find GB a new project! Anyone know of an affordable flathead or Model A truck near Orcas Island that needs some time (not money) spent on it?
 
I completely agree with Fred on all accounts. Ever since I installed the new Vac advance unit from napa and timed it with my trusty craftsman, I am quite happy with the distributor. Couldn't resist the banter about the manual advance because as I have stated before, "If I am not creating I am not really happy". Last week I actually made a 1/2" thick aluminum plate with the 3 bolt carb pattern. I used the 2110 style gasket outlined with a fine sharpie on one side and the 8ba gasket on the other. I removed the base from my small cordless router and used a carbide cutter to shape the two conical holes so that the incoming charge would not come up against that 'brick wall' of a ledge. At the bridge in the center, the holes line up and of course the 2110 side they enlarge to the outside. I know this is a stop gap measure, but I'm overcommitted in the woodshop still. It is ready to install, but here's the rub. I have a condition that I recall in my mother called 'essential tremors', so my hands have become kinda shakey. My routing stayed within the lines for the most part but this wood type router bit was very aggressive so my 'porting' job wasn't exactly pretty. Next I sanded the holes with 60 grit and cleaned surface with MEK and filled the lows with JB Weld and smoothed it out real nice with a small drum sander.
Now some will say that since I did not enlarge the cast iron intake, I have no gain in using the 2110 over the 8ba carb. Two things though. I think the accelerator pump system is superior and as Dale pointed out in my '276' thread, that carb 2110 looked to be brand new. In my driving style I doubt I will notice any difference in speed or power when I install my fancy plate, but my mental health will surely improve while driving, knowing that my incoming charge will have now meet with an inclined plane, not a wall. Wasn't this thread about distributors???
 
Just for information, I use a device called a "Rota-Broach" to enlarge the Merc intake manifolds to 2G size. I use a scrap 2G base as a guide and mount the manifold on my drill press. The "Rota-Broach" cuts cast iron about as quickly as it does aluminum and allows the manifold to be enlarged all the way down.
 
Keep thinking about the Model A, or actually an AA. If I found one that wasn't an 'express' It would be my mission to convert it to one. Thinking some 4" exhaust tubing, quartered for the bed's bottom radius. Here I go hijacking my own thread....The pictured express was at the Lynden tractor event in 2023 (NFS). Shoulda never let go of the one pictured towing the pig roaster. It already had the long running boards. Shoulda, woulda, coulda never ends. :)
PS, many here lament the banning on Charlie NY, as do I. But I miss Peethoovie every time I post a photo.
 

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Well Tim, you do have the mad enlargement skills! And Mark, yes it was about a year after 'The Waltons' showed up when I bought my first AA at 19. Early '28 with script stakebed, long running boards and rear fenders. The PO wanted one of the 12' skiffs I'd been building and 750.00. It ran so well that I eventually sold my '65 F100 DD. And yes, both Petes gone. I was just getting to know Pete the cam grinder from Washington. I think I'll go back and read the rulebook. I would hate to get banned from this joint.
 
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