Distributor rebuild/replacement on a 3.8

Technical advice Q&A
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Peter B.
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#1 Distributor rebuild/replacement on a 3.8

Post by Peter B. » Wed Oct 31, 2012 8:08 am

Hello,
I do have a ?62 3.8 whose distributor needs either a rebuild or a replacement.
Is this a proper alternative: http://www.simonbbc.com/distributors/6c ... c-ignition
Right now I have a DMBZ.6A (Lucas # 40617A).
Or give the original one to "The Distributor Doctor" ? They offer a rebuild for about the same price, as SNG Barrett offers an exchange.
Or go down the 123 GB lane, as my mechanic suggests?
Must admit, I want to keep the looks as original as possible.
Brings to the next point, electric power consumption. Still have the C42 dynamo, but already a kenlowe fan, and the prevoius owner warned me, that there is no charging below 1500 rpm. Does this get worse with an electronic ignition? Do I have to alter the dynamo as well, change to alternator?
Questions over questions, so help is much appreciated!
Best regards
Peter
?62 3.8 OTS
"No one compares to the cat"

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david muir
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#2

Post by david muir » Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:47 am

Hi ,
Had my distributor rebuilt by Distributor Doctor. Car had been going 'fine' but thought after 40 years could do with a bit more than the usual maintenance.
Turned out the unit was from something like a 420G and so had completely the wrong advance profile! (how many others out there are wrong?). Unit was rebuilt to correct spec. and the before and after advance graphs sent back with unit. Car is a lot livelier now(difficult to measure obviously) and i'm very pleased with result.
I had weighed up the points/electronic/1-2-3 options but have never had any bother with properly maintained points (and it's all visible!).......guess I'm a bit of an analogue bloke!
Turnaround time was quite long (>10 weeks) so maybe now is the time to do it?
David

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Peter B.
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#3

Post by Peter B. » Wed Oct 31, 2012 11:54 am

Hi,
yes, 10 weeks at least, the offer is send now, completion earliest mid of January....
Regards
Peter
?62 3.8 OTS
"No one compares to the cat"

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Dave K
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#4

Post by Dave K » Wed Oct 31, 2012 9:46 pm

I don't know what happened here but I replied to this thread yesterday and so did Heuer but both posts have gone!

I had my dizzy rebuilt by Holden www.holden.co.uk they show the cost on their website as ?120 but don't know if that includes VAT.
I then replaced the points with a Pertronix +ve earth system and flamethrower coil. The system has worked perfectly for the 6 years it's been on the car. You can get a service exchange or have your own rebuilt. They have 3.8 and 4.2 dizzy's in stock, it doesn't mention +ve earth ones though so you may have go for a rebuild of your own unit.
The Pertronix is cheap and looks original as it fits under the dizzy cap with no outward signs that it is fitted.

I might be wrong here but shouldn't your car have a C45 dynamo? I changed the dynamo for a +ve earth alternator because the either the dynamo or regulator would pack in regularly. I now get the system charging at tick over rather than the 1000 rpm with the dynamo.

I would also ditch the Kenlowe fan and go for the Coolcat version which only takes around 2 amps when running I think the Kenlowe is around 7 or 8 amps.
Given the choice I would change my car to -ve earth but after paying for a radio upgrade, JEC oil pressure gauge and sender plus no end of other stuff in +ve earth it would have cost too much. The +ve earth alternator looks just like the dynamo and works perfectly, lights (H4) wipers, radio, blowers etc all on at the same time with no problem.

Electronic ignition won't change anything on the charging system.

Dave

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abowie
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#5

Post by abowie » Thu Nov 01, 2012 6:47 am

I bought a SimonBBC distributor with electronic ignition module and "sports" coil. It was the recommended one for my 4.2l FHC. I also bought their plug leads.
I had the mechanical advance curve on the distributor checked by an auto electrician. The curve was very different to that of the standard distributor. No advance occurred before 1700 RPM, and advance then went through and continued to over 7000rpm. At no point was it correct.
The general build quality of the distributor is poor and it does not fit the standard distributor cap.
Given this, I had my old Lucas distributor overhauled and fitted a Pertronics Ignitor. Unfortunately I reused the "sports" coil. This destroyed 2 Ignitors, and then the SimonBBC electronic module as well before I worked out that it was faulty.
Finally, the leads are poorly made. It is almost impossible to remove the leads from the distributor cap without breaking them.
I did contact SimonBBC about these issues. Their response was to ask me to return the components to me for them to check. As the postage cost to do this was over half the cost of buying the parts in the first place I decided not to proceed.
I have had my old distributor rebuilt for less than the postage cost and am currently using it with points.
Andrew.
881824, 1E21538. 889457. 1961 4.3l Mk2. 1975 XJS. 1962 MGB
http://www.projectetype.com/index.php/the-blog.html
Adelaide, Australia

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tim wood
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#6

Post by tim wood » Fri Nov 02, 2012 11:58 am

HI,
I have a good 123 unit which I no longer need.
Its the standard unit suitable for all 3.8 & 4.2 cars.

If you are interested drop me a note. Would be a good saving on a new unit.

tim

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Dave K
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#7

Post by Dave K » Fri Nov 02, 2012 4:44 pm

What Peter didn't mnetion in his post above is that his car is a +ve earth car so he needs a 123 with +ve earth or similar.

Dave

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Peter B.
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#8

Post by Peter B. » Mon Nov 05, 2012 5:52 pm

Hello all,
thanks for the valuable input, good to get some first-hand experiences.
Tend to get my distributor overhauled and then go for the ignitor, had that in my old 2+2 as well, and it served me well.
But still the 123 seems appealing, so Tim can you tell me if yours is +ve earth? Thanks!
Best regards
Peter
?62 3.8 OTS
"No one compares to the cat"

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Dave K
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#9

Post by Dave K » Mon Nov 05, 2012 6:09 pm

Peter,

For info you can buy +ve earth 123's.

Dave

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tim wood
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#10

Post by tim wood » Mon Nov 05, 2012 6:21 pm

Hi, my 123 has a separate earth wire and didn't work until I grounded this which means that it isn't earthed through the casing as you woulud expect.
However I've not tried it as positive
earth and wouldn't guarantee this.

Sorry!

Tim

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