I have a 74 vette with a 350 and the tach stopped working the other day. No big deal i thought i know that with tach gear drive distributors the tear gear wears out.... however i took it out of the car, took the brass thing that the tach drive gear goes into out and found a lot of metal shards, and that the internal gear that drives the tach gear is chipped and basically wasted. Not sure where to go from here, any experience with this, suggestions.

Thanks
Jon

 

Jon,

You are actually lucky assuming the distributor shaft bushings are still good. If not you can replace them and repair this on your own.

The 1974 distributor had a tach thrust Teflon button that snapped in the back wall of the distributor housing directly behind the drive cross shaft. Look in the distributor housing and see if this button is still present. If present look for another cause listed below, if not present then you’ll need one of these before you repair.

Here are areas to check before ordering parts for the repair.

1. Look inside the distributor coupler (The brass part the cross gear rides in) for lines. These lines will be where the outer lips of the cross gear ride in this coupler. Wear can be present there and cause the gear to **** slightly and again miss align the teeth.

2. Check the distributor upper and lower bushings for excess play. Excess play in either bushing will cause the main shaft to **** and yes you guessed it, miss align the teeth.

3. Between the distributor coupler and the tach cross gear there should also be a thrust washer. Without this washer the shaft will move in and out and cause tooth wear.

The only hard part about rebuilding it is the removal and install of bushings should you need them. You must pay close attention to the depth and alignment of the upper bushing.

If you don't want to do this on your own feel free to call sales, we can rebuild this for you.

Below I’ve listed links to what it should take to repair this distributor.

Distributor Overhaul Kit Major 62-74
http://willcoxcorvette.com/product_i...ducts_id=24498

Distributor Shaft Bushing Installation Tool.
http://willcoxcorvette.com/product_i...oducts_id=3334

Distributor Shaft Bushngs. Upper & Lower 62-74
http://willcoxcorvette.com/advanced_...keywords=27456

Willcox Inc.

 

Nice answer Willcox Inc.

 

Thank you!

 

that is some awesome information and is gonna be a great help, thank you very much.

Jon

 

Jon,

If you try to build it and have a problem contact me, over the years I've built many of these.

Willcoxcustomerservice@willcoxcorvette.c om

Willcox inc.