Posted by daveS on Sunday, July 29, 2007 at 11:23:42 :
Hello all,
I decided to purchase a used Auto-lite distributor as a spare for my Dodge wcs. And have run into a slight problem.
Both trucks have a standard 230 cu. in. flat head 6 cyl. engine, one is 6 volt and the other is 12 volt. The 12 volt truck has a Sears rebuild block from the early 70s, and the 6 volt truck has a rebuilt M37 block. Both the 6 volt and 12 volt trucks have an Auto-lite IGS-4703 distributor. with centifugal advance.
My spare distributor is an Auto-lite IGS-4203B, with a vacuum advance. The gentleman who sold it to me said it was from a Dodge 6 cyl. engine, of the same general vintage. My ancient copy of Motors (mostly 1940s vehicles) said it fit 1942 Dodge and Plymouth cars.
The problem is that the IGS distributor won't work in my engine. The distributor fits into the hole, but the shaft doesn't engage the oil pump. I measured the shafts on the IGS and IGC distributors, and the IGS shaft was 1/4" shorter. Both distributors use centered slots on the shafts.
I have search the PIF and Forum Archives, plus Google, but can't seem to find any information on why the spare distributor won't work. I realize that the 236 and 251 engines need a distributor with a longer shaft, but thought all 217 and 230 engine blocks were identical. Do I need to replace the oil pump in order to make it work?
Thanks in advance.
Dave
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