Oldsmobomb

Can anyone furnish the correct shaft end play (gear end) for a distributor in the 394 engine? (the olds shop manual is silent on this)
I have mine out and the end play seems excessive compared to others I have worked on - but another thread mentioned that Olds distributors have large end play specs. There are currently no washers of any type between the distributor gear and the distributor body. The gap is 1/8" give or take. Other distributors have had a wave washer or very thin washer in place.

Also, what is the correct material to use for the gasket that seals the distributor upper machined boss into the well in the block? Is this gasket a standard round, flat gasket? What thickness? The one I'm replacing has ears/wings on it like a saucer - but I believe that may be from improper sizing and the edges bending up during previous installation.

Thanks for the help.

Oldsmobomb

Have found some help from parts counterman - the distributor to engine block gasket is the standard round (hole in center) gasket, we've all used. Standard gasket material, nominal thickness.

Still no input from the forum on distributor end play tho ?? Possible that it doesn't matter as long as not excessive ? How 'bout all of you that have rebuilt your motors ? Did you check this or just reinstall the distributor as-is ?

StarfireFan

Hello Oldsmobomb. I had my distributor rebuilt locally and installed Pertronix in it. The technician advised me that he had to shim the shaft to take out most of the end play to make the Pertronix unit work properly. I was led to believe that the breaker points mechanism can operate with considerably more end play.