I've got my distributor out for a maintenance and I've got a few questions:

1. My 1961 Oldsmobile Service Manual still hasn't arrived in the mail. Until it arrives, is there any good documentation available around here?

2. I need to remove the baseplate (the plate that the points and condenser screw into) so that I can clean out the wasp nest (!) that I've found in the base of the distributor. To remove the base plate, do I need to drive the pin out of the helical gear to remove the top end of the distributor? It looks like I can't get the vacuum advance mechanism out without doing this, as there is a screw that is attached from beneath the base plate.

3. Is there supposed to be an O-ring on the distributor shaft? My distributor doesn't have an O-ring, but it looks like it should have one (between the arrows in the photo). If it should have one, can anyone tell me the proper size Viton O-ring for the application?

thanks.

 

Yes.

Tap out the pin, remove the gear, and then slide the points plate and the shaft out of the housing.
Then clean and re-grease.

The vacuum advance should come out by moving the points plate to the right position, but since you're removing the points plate anyway, it doesn't matter.

The O-ring is a standard FelPro part, #424.

What documentation do you actually need? All you need to do is take it apart and put it back together.

- Eric

 

Things were sort of gummed up and sticking. It wasn't clear how things came apart until I drove that pin out and tried to remove the shaft. It wouldn't come all the way out because of carbon build-up. It took quite a bit of penetrating oil to free up the shaft.

The vacuum advance was hard to get out. In it's relaxed position, it's mounting screws were covered by the points plate. To get the vacuum advance off I had to manually activate it (pull on it) to allow the points plate to be rotated far enough to make the VA mounting screws accessible. Once the screws were exposed it was easy enough to get the VA off.

The points plate is another matter. It looks like it's not supposed to come off. It looks like it slips onto the distributor housing, and is pressed into place and held there semi-permanently by a bushing. In other words, the points plate isn't removable unless I cut out the bushing and press in a new bushing. The points plate spins freely enough on the bushing that I can get everything clean beneath it, but the points plate doesn't look like it's meant to come out. The instructions would be helpful, because I get the impression it's not meant to come out without destructive bushing removal.

Thanks for the part number on the O-ring. By any chance would you have a look-up for the paper gasket that goes between the distributor and the manifold? I'll need to order one of those when I order the O-ring.

While I've got your attention, what sort of grease is spec'd for reassembly?

Thanks.

 

Okay, although "basically the same" as the later distributor, you '62 distributor is slightly different.

First, it has an oiling tube.
Second, the points plate is held in place by a snap ring.



The Service Manual doesn't specify lubrication because the distributor has an oiling tube, but I would grease the whole shaft with a decent grease.

The points cam and wick should be lubricated with a good points cam grease, such as Bosch 5700002005.


- Eric

 

thanks for posting that. my eyes must be worse than i thought -- that snap ring didn't look like a snap ring to me.

 

I've been trying to find the distributor to manifold gasket on the FelPro and FedMogul web catalogs. No luck. Can anyone provide a part number or a reference as to where I can obtain one?

 

I don't know the 394, but the distributor arrangement on the following series of V8s i essentially identical, and they don't use a gasket.
Also, the '72 Parts Manual index doesn't list a gasket for the distributor.

My bet would be there's no listing because it doesn't exist.

The early '60s guys will know for sure, though.

- Eric

 

1. distributor gasket. when taking off the distributor, i found part of a gasket there. there definitely used to be a thin paper ring gasket there, though it looks like it got worn away by making timing adjustments. less than 1/4 of the gasket was left and the rest was gone. i haven't had any luck finding it at the auto supply stores. i did pick up a suitable piece of gasket making material if i need to try to roll my own.

2. distributor o-ring. now that we know that my 62 distributor is different from the later distributors, i'd like to double check on whether or not it uses an o-ring. i don't know much about the internals of the 394 motor so i could really use some help here.

i know that on a small block chevy there is no o-ring in that groove on the distributor. that cutout in the distributor shaft is part of the oil gallery. the driveshaft mounting orifice has two holes drilled 180 degrees apart (toward the front and back of the block) that are part of the oil gallery for the lifters. oil flows through the gallery, around the spinning distributor, and out the other side. on a smallblock chevy, placing an o-ring here would starve the oiling system and create problems.

to verify this, i took a look at a stripped 350 chevy block this morning. it definitely uses that circumferential slot in the distributor shaft as part of the oil gallery for the lifters.

i don't know how the 394 oiling system works. my engine is still in the car, so I tried climbing up against the firewall to take a peek into the distributor hole, but all i accomplished was to bang my head on the hood. I couldn't get in far enough to see anything.

i could really use some help on this. i'd really like to know if NOTHING is supposed to go into that slot, or if it's supposed to have an o-ring in there. something makes me think that there weren't a lot of o-rings in engines back in 1962, but I really need some help from those of you who know the internals of the 394.

thanks.

Edit: stamped aluminum ring on the distributor reads: 2C8 1110989

 

> following series of V8s...

did something fail to make it into your post, like a missing cut and paste? or a link?

 

There is supposed to be an O ring on the distributor. There is not supposed to be a gasket between the block and the distributor . If there is one there it's because some mis-informed individual put it there.

Forget what you know about a small block Chevy. The 394 is not a small block Chevy.

Hope your service manual comes soon.

 

Thanks. It certainly doesn't help to make things any clearer when I see someone advertising a "fully restored 1962 oldsmobile distributor" that doesn't have the o-ring:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/1962-Oldsmob...d3ef07&vxp=mtr

 

I consulted the paper copy of the 1972 issue PN manual to find the following surprise:

Group 2.363

===================
555995
"GASKET, dist. mtg."
49-64 exc. F85, J88
===================

Indicating that perhaps no O-ring is used on pre-'65 Big Car V8's
now adeed to my Excel database of course

I admit I have not worked on the pre-65 big V8's much beyond parting some out. I remain uneducated in this aspect.

I have redone some later distributors though, and you should replace the bushing[s] if worn much- shaft movement affects dwell... which affects timing.

So THAT is what the bushing with the retainer clip groove is for! I have been removing that excess part of the bushing.

Yes, the shaft gets gunked up and can be hard to remove. Polish and lube your shaft before reinserting it, of course.

If you did not mark the gear and shaft before removal, then use a small drill to test one and the other orientation to get the pin thru right the first time. One cannot drill right exactly thru the center of the shaft, so when the hole is made, the two parts are mated in that orientation. Spin one around a half turn, and the hole will not line up well all the way thru.

Replacing the bushings is pretty easy once you find them [Corvette suppliers]. I also bought an affordable reamer [Amazon, 12.5mm] of the correct size and made pilot [centering] tools from hardware fittings in order to facilitate the reaming of the new bushings to proper size and in line with one another. Worked great.

If there is a hole in the side of the upper bushing and "dried cheese" in the cavities next to it, replace that hard stuff with fresh new proper grease.

 

Well, I knew that I didn't imagine that distributor mounting gasket being there -- what was left of it, anyway. It was obviously put there by someone a long long time ago, and ignored or not even noticed by everyone whose been there recently (for the last 20-30 years or so). I only found it when cleaning the gunk off of the top of the manifold, and there wasn't much left of it. I guess I'll go ahead and make a little gasket out of gasket material. Can't hurt.

I guess we don't have a consensus yet about the O-ring on the big Gen 1 Rockets. It'd be interesting to hear what others have to say. I'm hoping that someone familiar with the Gen 1 Rockets can tell me whether it's supposed to be there or not.

corvette suppliers -- thanks.

 

I hate it when I'm wrong, but:






... And there is no O-ring either...

- Eric

 

Wow. Do you actually have that gasket, or did you just locate an image somewhere?

Interesting that there's no O-ring. I'd love to hear from someone who knows the inside of this engine -- Now I'm wondering if the oil gallery might be similar to the small block Chevy, and whether that groove is for the passage of oil. If that's the case, then putting an O-ring on there would be a really bad idea.

Thanks to everyone.

 

Yes, there is supposed to be an O ring . Check out #34 in the following illustration;

 

Yes, Charlie, that almost fooled me, too.

But if you look at the Parts Manual, you will see that O-rings are listed only for V6s and '64 and later V8s:




And, no, sorry, I don't have a gasket - that was just to show you what it looks like.

- Eric

 

I use the gasket on all of my rebuilds, haven't used an "o" ring and they work just fine without any leaks. The distributor is easier to turn by hand when setting it up.
Steve

 

Steve, I'm not sure that I fully understood what you were telling me when I first read this. Are you saying that having an o-ring on the distributor makes it harder to turn the distributor by hand when you're setting timing, and taking the o-ring off makes it easier? And that's the only reason you don't use the o-ring?

 

If an O-ring were used, the official PN manual would list it.

You must have the PN to procure the right part.

That's where I got my info.

We strive for perfect accuracy.
Sometimes we attain.

 

Hi Bob, when I have to reach over everything from the side and not hit my head on the hood while trying not to scratch the fender with my belt buckle or something. I can undo the bolt and move the distributor and have it stay in the position without moving back to where it was or just back a bit from the friction of the "O" ring. The oil doesn't leak past the gasket so I don't use one.
I have rebuilt a few of these engines for 62 and 63 Starfires and 98s over the years for both myself and others and the only leak I have had is from the 2 piece BEST 3A45 rear main seal when I replaced it rather than the rope style, I'm going to try it on another engine this weekend and if the best seal leaks then I'll stay with the rope from now on.
Hope this clears things up for you Bob

 

I know exactly what you're talking about.

In 1962 the wings haven't yet completely disappeared from the Oldsmobiles. The front fenders rise to form a sharp crease that runs along their entire length. It reminds me of the batmobile. So whenever I'm laying down on the fenders to reach the ignition system, I've always got a sharp fender edge poking into my chest, belly or legs. That's the one thing that I hate about working on this car.

I haven't had my engine running yet, just cranking. I'm surprised that the oil hasn't been pumped very far up the shaft. So far I've only got oil to just above the helical gear. I'm hoping that the oiling gets better when the engine is actually running, as the lack of oil flow makes it look like no gasket or o-ring would be needed.

thanks for your help.