1934 or 1937 Rotor by color?

jchochole

jchochole

Senior Member
Geeze, it has been an ordeal trying to fire my 34. So, while verifying my plug wire order on the 37 distributor the previous guy installed, I see my rotor is black!

Does this mean the dude swapped the dizzy for the later model and didn't install the correct rotor?! My car will not start and pop at all and I have spark, gas and compression.

Help! Been an ordeal.
 

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flatheads are very new to me, so take this for what it's worth (which may be nothing!)

but unless there were multiple and incompatible rotors for diver's helmet distributors throughout their reign, all i can say for sure is that it looks like mine on the diver's helmet distributor on my '41. don't think i'd be worrying too much about color as much as design. a lot of caps/rotors i've familiar with are often either black or brown depending on the manufacturer.

BTW, i bought my '41 in a "no start" condition, thinking i could get it going. a new set of points did the trick. only then did i discover that once the engine warmed up, i had to wait for an hour or so for it to cool down again in order for it to restart.... a new condenser fixed that.

note that the grounding ******** the old condenser was designed to sit under one of the brass screws used to attach the coil to the distributor body. very convenient IMO. not so on the new condenser! the grounding ******** it is designed to fit under one of the three rather inaccessible bolts that hold the distributor to the timing cover. boo!
 
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I did have the original coil top but opted to use an external coil when I couldn't get it to fire. So, I have both.
 
jchochole said:
Geeze, it has been an ordeal trying to fire my 34. So, while verifying my plug wire order on the 37 distributor the previous guy installed, I see my rotor is black!

Does this mean the dude swapped the dizzy for the later model and didn't install the correct rotor?! My car will not start and pop at all and I have spark, gas and compression.

Help! Been an ordeal.
Click to expand...
567261
 
From your picture, it looks as IF the carbon coil button is making contact with the rotor, the ONLY thing we cannot see is IF the "Spring" to the points is making contact, look back up behind the rotor towards the motor and make sure your spring on the adapter is making constant contact. IF it is making good contact, your next move would be to use a multi meter and make sure you are getting voltage to the adapter, then make sure you are getting voltage to the adapter during starting......IF you have both of those, the first quick move would be to try a new condenser.
 
The tang that slip into the end of the cam is offset. Did you rotate the disy to get it properly in the cam slot. If so there will be no gap between the disy and the front of the block.

You can test that the points are working with a multi-meter. Clip one of the multi wires to the disy case and the other wire probe laying against the copper rotor band and NOT the sharp tip. With the points closed you should have ohm continuity of zero or very close to it. As you rotate the tang you will lose continuity when both points have an air gap. This tells you that the points and rotor are doing their job but you must set the points gap properly too.

As Huey and Rockfla have mentioned, it is very likely the condensor.
 
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The rotor looks like there is something on it— not clean and dry, dirt on the rotor could short out the spark
 
The rotor is 37-41. The caps on the dist look to be 32-36 they will miss making contact I.e spacing you can see it in your picture
 
jchochole said:
Geeze, it has been an ordeal trying to fire my 34. So, while verifying my plug wire order on the 37 distributor the previous guy installed, I see my rotor is black!

Does this mean the dude swapped the dizzy for the later model and didn't install the correct rotor?! My car will not start and pop at all and I have spark, gas and compression.

Help! Been an ordeal.
Click to expand...

yes, you and the previous commentor may be on to something, as it looks like you may have earlier caps on a later body and innards, or at least some kind of a mismatch of distributor parts, as you have guessed. :)

in any event the two tips of the rotor should come within a hair's width of the contacts on the caps.
 
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The distributor housing is a later one, there are no holes to adjust the points.
The distributor rotor looks like a later one, the brass tips for the spark to jump from are smaller than the earlier rotor.
Make sure you have the matching later inner caps. I expect you have the correct inner caps since I think the early caps would stick into the distributor too far and hit the rotor, but I could be mistaken.
 
Consider doing a compression test may determine sticky valves. Ford went to red Bakelite during the war effort to save carbon. Color doesn't mean much when it comes to function. The rotor with the steps on both ends is typical 37-41. How about a photo of the engine?
 
Any of the early Ford ignition systems can be installed depending on the front timing cover bolt pattern but a person has to match all the components to what they have on the engine. The points sets have to be adjusted for the installed distributor housing. Many early distributors have been retrofitted with the 1941 and later advance rotor mechanism since it was the replacement part for all of them. Get a condenser that works. Have a coil that works. The vacuum brake should also be functional. Once it's all good then make sure your firing order is correct. The cam drive slot is offset so the distributor can oy be installed one way. Ford and Mallory tried to make it foolproof but it's only as good as the maintinance done. The Ford instruction book is pretty good on how to work on them.
 
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