Hi, started taking heads off a 455.Anyone know the trick of removing the distrubter,got the hold down bolt out dist =.came up about 3/8 inch does it have to be in a certain position?Pulled one head off found a scuffed cyl wall guess it goes to machine shop,any suggestion on over sizing.Its a 1973 455 cid in a 98 sunday driver to be.

 

Try turning the rotor button while pulling up on the dist.

 

Spray some penetrant around the sides of the distributor body in the machined hole in the block. Work it up and down and try to spin it till it comes out. Sometimes they get stuck from oil varnish inside the block area.

 

You may have one of two problems, both unfortunately common. The aluminum distributor body gets sludge buildup on the bottom end in addition to galvanic corrosion from being in a cast iron block, which can prevent easy extraction. Penetrating oil will help this. The other problem (which unfortunately sounds like your problem) is that the oil pump drive shaft gets wedged in the distributor gear. There is a pressed-on retainer on the lower end of the shaft that is supposed to prevent the shaft from being pulled up when the distributor is removed. Unfortunately, with the shaft stuck in the distributor, it appears that the retainer is doing it's job. Short of pulling the oil pan and pump, the only way around this is brute force. Keep pulling up until the retainer either breaks or slides off the end of the shaft. Yes, it will fall into the oil pan. It can't get past the oil pump pickup screen, so you'll just have to live with it.

The other risk is that the next time you pull the distributor, the (now unrestrained) pump drive shaft may start to come out with the distributor then fall free into the pan.

 

Thanks Joe I think you got it with the second cause,dist moves freely i was going to force it but thought i,d get a second opinion.
But right now i have a bigger problem I pulled the right side cyl head and found that #2 cyl is scuffed looks like a broken ring,so I'll have to eboore it would like to just go .030 over but have to see what it needs.While i'm at it thinking of changing cam for higher lift and changing intake would like to get about 300 hp from it with a smooth ilde and rumble sound.Got lots of research to do first time doing any thing like this should be fun.