Distributor point plate repair

M

mrraford

Senior Member
Over the years, I've accumulated a pile of distributor plates that to some degree the fiber insulator plate has dissapeared or has become damaged.
Anybody here know whether these are reproduced? I have some very nice plates that just need a bit of TLC to be redeployed.

MRR
 
Can't help with the fiber plate. But just as important is making sure the center hole in the upper plate has no slop on the center casting. It pivots on this and any slop will translate into point gap variation. I have a box full of old upper plates and all have some wear at this location.

If you have bunch of these plates and at least some have no appreciable wear on the center hole, you could probably transfer the fiber pieces from the worn plates to the good ones.
 
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Go to your local hardware store and go through the boxes with various sizes of fiber washers. There ought to be at least one that is close enough to replace the original washer on the upper plate. If the thickness isn't enough, try two washers. If the outside diameter is too wide, either ignore it or trim to suit yourself.
Marshall
 
Preening the perimeter of the center hole can sometimes compensate for wear. Dress with a file. Same goes for the tabs that ride in the outside edge of the casting.
 
He is talking about the fiber insulator plate that is riveted to the plate. I haven't tried replacing one yet as I have a huge stock of original plates but I might try it one day. One would have to find an insulator board that is the same thickness and cut it to shape, drill holes and rivet it back in.
 
The problem is just about every original plate out there has a worn center hole which will cause point gap variation. There is an excellent reproduction of the upper plate that fits perfectly with virtually no slop, and its under $10. I just used one and it is great.

https://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/product.htm?pid=976336&cat=41666
 

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chrs1961815 said:
He is talking about the fiber insulator plate that is riveted to the plate. I haven't tried replacing one yet as I have a huge stock of original plates but I might try it one day. One would have to find an insulator board that is the same thickness and cut it to shape, drill holes and rivet it back in.
Click to expand...

ndnchf said:
The problem is just about every original plate out there has a worn center hole which will cause point gap variation. There is an excellent reproduction of the upper plate that fits perfectly with virtually no slop, and its under $10. I just used one and it is great.

https://www.snydersantiqueauto.com/product.htm?pid=976336&cat=41666
Click to expand...

Thanks for the cue on that as I was not thinking about that item. Putting myself in the shoes of someone who needed one -or some, I would draw it in CAD and then either 3D print one or two, -or have them waterjetted out of a sheet of material from McMaster-Carr.
 
The insulator itself might be easy enough to fabricate. It's also fairly easy to rivet onto the plate. The big issue is the post on which the points rotate would need to be fabricated and riveted to the new insulator. I don't think it would be easy to remove it from an old insulator and reuse. As posted, the Snyder repo is pretty good for the money. I know, I know .......... it's hard to not be able to reuse an original part that you're hoping might be brought back to life.
 
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