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Distributor Overhaul with help from Milt Schornack How a distributor overhaul improved everyday performance
Milt Schornack is
a name long associated with Pontiac performance. He worked
at the Royal Pontiac dealership in Royal Oaks, Michigan in their heyday.
Remember the Royal Bobcat cars? Today, he still works on cars
via mailorder modifications. He has a website set up with information
on his services. Milt and his son Jim run it at http://www.miltschornack.com
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I needed a distributor overhaul and a conversion to electronic ignition. |
Pulling the distributor. The easy
steps!
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Get the air cleaner out of the way. The distributor is behind
it. I'll bet you knew to pull the hoses off it before removing
it.
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The air cleaner is off. So far no tools involved.
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Screwdriver time. Twist the two screws that hold the distributor
cap on. Note the exact position of the distributor cap before
you whip it off. It will have to go back on the same way.
Now take off the vacuum hose that goes to the distributor.
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Also remove the ignition wire that connects the distributor to the coil.
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Socket set time. Fit a socket to the distributor hold-down
bracket bolt. Its at the base of the distributor shaft.
One measly bolt holds the distributor in place. This picture
shows the bolt and hold-down bracket after being wrenched free.
Note that it's oily. My gasket between the distributor and
intake manifold was leaky. A new gasket was only $2.50 at the
local auto parts store. Looks like a little flat donut.
No big deal. The new gasket will keep oil from leaking onto
the intake manifold.
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Note the exact orientation of the distributor before you do anything else.
It will rotate in the hole. Note exactly how its rotated in
relation to the firewall.
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Then start rotating and pulling upwards on it. It will come
right out.
Look at the old distributor.
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This is the old distributor we just took out. You can see the
points and condenser on it. It has the word "REMFG" stamped
on it, meaning it was previously remanufactured or rebuilt.
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Milt later figured out that this distributor started life in a Firebird,
not a GTO. No big deal, it will still work perfectly in my
GTO.
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Examining the splines. It's oily and that's a good thing.
There was considerable endplay in this shaft though. Milt was
able to fix that up.
Send old distributor to Milt.
Then wait a short while. It comes right back in the mail
like a boomerang.
Get it back again.
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Here is the new stuff Milt sent. He re-worked my old distributor
to have a Pertronix Ignitor in it instead of the old points.
Look at the other stuff he sent. Instructions, the Pertronix
leaflet, a box with a new Pertronix Flamethrower coil, some crimp-on ends
for the new Pertronix wires, etc.
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Here is a closeup of the little black Pertronix unit. Sorry,
the camera got TOO close! Its a fuzzy picture.
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This one shows how the black Pertronix unit does not actually touch the
spinning detents on the shaft. That's the beauty of the thing.
It does not rub on it or wear it out! A yellow hand points
to the air gap. Another fuzzy pic, but that's the last one,
really.
Put in a new coil if you want to.
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The old rusty coil before removal. It was the original one.
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The shiny new coil after installation. Looks better.
I rotated it so the Pertronix sticker does not show.
Put in new distributor and make adjustments.
Installing the rebuilt distributor is easy. The instructions
Milt supplies are adequate. Mine was a little harder to get
oriented correctly because I forgot to pay attention to how the old one
came out. You're supposed to note which plug wire the rotor
is connecting with before you yank the old distributor out.
I had to go back to the shop manual which basically told how to orient
it. Put the distributor in the hole with the vacuum advance
valve sticking out toward the drivers side of the car. And
I also had to remove the first spark plug and feel where the cylinder was
at the top. Had to crank the engine with the coil wire removed
a few times to get the cylinder to the top. They call this
top dead center. When the piston in cylinder #1 is up, sitting
at top dead center, the rotor is supposed to be making contact with plug
wire #1. At this point, timing, or advance is zero.
Connect the Pertronix wires to the coil. See the printed instructions at this point because you may have a resistance wire to contend with. My car did not have one.
Plug off the vacuum advance hose. Then whip out a timing light, start the car. Rotate the distributor a little bit till the timing shows 12 degrees. That's it. Enjoy better performance and a smoother running engine. The best part is - there's no more points to adjust or replace.
Sound interesting? Arrange to have Milt Schornack do his magic
to your distributor or carburetor at http://www.miltschornack.com
You might also be interested in the book about Milt Schornack's days
at Ace Wilson's Royal Pontiac Dealership and the Royal Bobcat cars they
built...
Milt
Schornack and the Royal Bobcat GTOs book by Keith MacDonald & Milt
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