[C2] 63, 300 hp distributor question
02-27-2018, 12:24 PM
#1
Safety Car
Thread Starter
63, 300 hp distributor question
The breaker plate ground wire that attaches from the breaker plate to the cast housing, is it a black wire or green wire? All I've seen/remember were black and now I've found a green one that I think is incorrect. This is on a 63, 300 horse, April build car.
02-27-2018, 12:45 PM
#2
Team Owner
My 270hp May 61 C1 wire was green...
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pop23235 (02-27-2018)
02-27-2018, 12:59 PM
#3
Safety Car
Thread Starter
Thanks Frankie. Seems there were things moving around back then other than appearance items. Thought this was a "fix" till I realized the tab was spot welded and the wire soldered. Tab is on the top of the plate while the 64 is on the bottom of the plate. Think I'm going to call green good and move on!
02-28-2018, 01:15 PM
#4
Race Director
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It's not uncommon at this point for that ground wire to break, which kills the ignition. There is a repair wire available from NAPA that can be installed without removing the distributor.
The wire on my March-built SWC is black as is the wire on the replacement breaker plate I bought from GM. The breaker plate is long gone from GM, and I know of no aftermarket replacements.
Duke
The wire on my March-built SWC is black as is the wire on the replacement breaker plate I bought from GM. The breaker plate is long gone from GM, and I know of no aftermarket replacements.
Duke
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pop23235 (02-28-2018)
02-28-2018, 02:08 PM
#5
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In ref. to SWCDukes comment on the replacement ground wire from NAPA, I found this on a Studebaker site (at one point they used Delco distributors):
http://studeblogger.blogspot.com/200...stributor.html
"If your ground wire has gone missing, you can get a replacement from NAPA; it's Echlin # LW42. It comes with two spade-lug ends; you can attach the other end under the nearby pointset hold-down screw instead of trying to crimp it to the breaker plate."
Plasticman
http://studeblogger.blogspot.com/200...stributor.html
"If your ground wire has gone missing, you can get a replacement from NAPA; it's Echlin # LW42. It comes with two spade-lug ends; you can attach the other end under the nearby pointset hold-down screw instead of trying to crimp it to the breaker plate."
Plasticman
Last edited by Plasticman; 02-28-2018 at 02:12 PM.
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pop23235 (02-28-2018)
03-01-2018, 10:21 AM
#6
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The last distributor I overhauled and optimized the spark advance map a few years ago was a low original miles (<60K) '65 L-79. It had spent about 20 years in storage. The ground wire must have been barely hanging on by a strand or two because it broke off at the breaker plate joint as I removed the breaker plate.
We had to jury rig a solution to get the car home, but the owner bought the NAPA repair wire and installed it a couple of days later.
Copper "work hardens" and becomes brittle with movement, and that wire is constantly moving in response to the VAC, so inevitably it will fail.
Duke
We had to jury rig a solution to get the car home, but the owner bought the NAPA repair wire and installed it a couple of days later.
Copper "work hardens" and becomes brittle with movement, and that wire is constantly moving in response to the VAC, so inevitably it will fail.
Duke
Last edited by SWCDuke; 03-01-2018 at 10:28 AM.
03-01-2018, 10:30 AM
#7
Team Owner
My 63s breaker plate wire was hanging by a few threads when I purchased the car; luckily I caught it before complete failure and repaired it. I didn't know about the NAPA repair wire - worth looking into.