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I am looking to replace the distributor on my 1972 corvette, however this would be the first time I have done this and I am not fully informed regarding these distributors. any information would help, I would prefer to keep the vehicle as original as possible.
I am looking to replace the distributor on my 1972 corvette, however this would be the first time I have done this and I am not fully informed regarding these distributors. any information would help, I would prefer to keep the vehicle as original as possible.
Why do you need to replace it? Hopefully you still have your original points distributor? Contact Jeff at advanceddistributors.com and he will help you. Please do not replace with a cheap *** hei unit!!
clean up and run what the car came with. the only real advantage of HEI or similar is the points don't wear out in 10k miles. we don't go anywhere near 10k a year.
Thank you for the information wilcar, I will look into it, however how would I be able to identify if it is indeed an original, I have reviewed all of the records I received with the vehicle and the entire assembly was never replaced, the point's and condenser and the distributor cap were replaced in the 80s and the cap was later replaced in the 90s for the final time.
Thank you for the information wilcar, I will look into it, however how would I be able to identify if it is indeed an original, I have reviewed all of the records I received with the vehicle and the entire assembly was never replaced, the point's and condenser and the distributor cap were replaced in the 80s and the cap was later replaced in the 90s for the final time.
Does it have the tach drive on it? If so it is a cast iron unit and most likely has a metal band around the shaft with a part number on it. Am sure others will chime in with more detail. Contact Lars on this forum and ask for his distributor tune up papers! I bought my first Corvette distributor( cast iron dual point 1110891) in 1964 to use in my 57 Chevy with 327. Cost me $18 !!
I''m not entire sure if it has a tach drive on it, I will have to inspect it in a few weeks as I am currently away from home on business. Thank you for all the information, I look forward to fixing it and bringing it back to working order
As Wilcar mentioned, there may be an aluminum band around the housing just above where it enters the intake manifold. If it's there, and original, it should be embossed with 1112051 corresponding to the engine (Interesting that this GM chart for the '72 shows what appears to be gross HP rather than the advertised net HP. Or maybe they copy/pasted from '71?):
As Wilcar mentioned, there may be an aluminum band around the housing just above where it enters the intake manifold. If it's there, and original, it should be embossed with 1112051 corresponding to the engine (Interesting that this GM chart for the '72 shows what appears to be gross HP rather than the advertised net HP. Or maybe they copy/pasted from '71?):
The original distributor for my ‘71 270 hp is tagged 1112050, so you might be right on the carryover from ‘71.
As Wilcar mentioned, there may be an aluminum band around the housing just above where it enters the intake manifold. If it's there, and original, it should be embossed with 1112051 corresponding to the engine (Interesting that this GM chart for the '72 shows what appears to be gross HP rather than the advertised net HP. Or maybe they copy/pasted from '71?):
The original distributor for my ‘71 270 hp is tagged 1112050, so you might be right on the carryover from ‘71.
Thank you for the charts and image, they helped out a lot. I can confirm the part is an aftermarket distributor, so sadly not an original, any information regarding a replacement would be greatly appreciated, I would still like to keep the entire system old school.
Thank you for the charts and image, they helped out a lot. I can confirm the part is an aftermarket distributor, so sadly not an original, any information regarding a replacement would be greatly appreciated, I would still like to keep the entire system old school.
If you are seeking originality, the distributors aren't particularly difficult to come by. It'll have points and condenser as HEI was not installed in Corvettes for another 2-3 years. The Corvette distributors have a horizontal cross gear that drives the tachometer. Is your tach working with your current distributor? A pic of what you have may help.
I believe the car currently has a pertonix distributor in it with a flamethrower II, and the tach works, although it is a bit jumpy and varies by +- 100 rpm regularly. I also wanted to replace the distributor as the currently installed on has been causing problems with ignition and overall performance. I would be able to get images of everything in about a week, but until then I am unable to provide anything. I can review the records and see when the replacement occurred and what it was replaced with.
Edit*
The Distributor cap was replaced with part#1971244 Nov. 12th 1976
The Distributor was removed and replaced, also being stated as "modified" February 10th 1977, no part#s were provided
Points were replaced with Part# 1966294 and Condenser was replaced with Part# 1932004 On Feb. 27th 1978
Points were again replaced with Part#1876600 Jun. 20th 1978
In 1983 On February 8th, Contact and Condenser was replaced along with all 8 spark plugs, no part numbers were named
On December 13th 2000 the Distributor was rebuilt "So the tach would work" *No record of previous complaints of the tach not working, was probably sitting for the past 10 yrs*
In 2001 A Distributor Cover was ordered, nothing fancy just a piece of metal with mounting brackets to cover the distributor cap
In 2003 on January 13th, A Breaker less SE Ignition Kit was purchased and shipped to the owner Part#41508 Ordered from Corvette America Auto Accessories of America Inc.
On June 23rd 2008 the owner provided an ignition coil to be installed, the vehicle at this time has a record of having electronic ignition already installed *No Part number for this coil was provided*
Last edited by Blink_32; Apr 30, 2022 at 01:37 PM.
Reason: Information
I believe the car currently has a pertonix distributor in it with a flamethrower II, and the tach works, although it is a bit jumpy and varies by +- 100 rpm regularly. I also wanted to replace the distributor as the currently installed on has been causing problems with ignition and overall performance. I would be able to get images of everything in about a week, but until then I am unable to provide anything. I can review the records and see when the replacement occurred and what it was replaced with.
If it actually has an aftermarket Pertronix distributor in it then I would say its very very likely the tach has been converted from cable drive to electronic. If what I’m assuming is correct then i would be more inclined to think you have an electrical issue causing the bounce. My brother's 68 has a converted tach and it bounced terribly. When i was going through the car I found two things. 1. The bird cage ground behind the dash was really loose and basically jacked up. Couldn’t get the sheet metal screw tight. Drilled it out slightly and put a 1/4 rivnut in. Birdcage ground secure there. 2. The birdcage to chassis ground was garbage. Im not particularly found of the OE ground solution. With that said as i was looking i noted that part of the steel bird cage was exposed in behind the drivers front wheel. Drilled, installed a rivnut and added a ground strap right to the frame. After that everything inside the car worked 1000x better. Your tach bounce is likely a similar problem if it has been converted which I suspect.
As for the performance issues. What kind of issues are you having? While it might be an ignition problem alot of times bad parts are actually just poorly tuned or poorly matched. What is the total timing and advance of the current setup? By what RPM is the advance all in?
Also some of what your suspecting is ignition related could also be fuel related. If it has a stumble and is cutting out, could be a fuel pressure or float issue vs ignition. Could also have a hell of a vacuum leak that would cause a super lean/stumble/backfire condition.
1972 454 Replacement Distributor
