All I needed to do was drop in the distributor. Seems easy enough. Right?
I decided to check the ohmic value of my spark plug wires. All the wires were good except #3. It was open. Lucky for me, I had a new set of wires on hand. I cleaned all the distributor posts in the cap. So far, so good. Only one minor setback.
Now I an ready to drop the distributor. I am using a Moroso oil pump, not the normal Melling HV pump that I have used for 30 years. The Moroso pump is one piece with a detached drive shaft that is not captured by the block. It can be removed from the distributor hole in the intake manifold.
when I attempted to drop the distributor, it would not go in at all. Normally, it drops in at two places, call it zero degrees and 180 out of place. This one would not go all the way in in any position.
At this point, I am blaming everyone that has a part on this motor!
When I settled down, I decided to remove the drive shaft. I tried a magnet. That did not work. Then I thought about a very long nose pair of pliers that I purchased to work on my riding mower.
This little tool was a life saver. I grabbed the shaft and looked at the slot in the shaft. Compared to the other drive shafts, the old ones are beveled inside the slot where the distributor connects. I took a file and beveled the Moroso shaft and the distributor dropped right in place.
I stopped stressing out and blaming all those other manufacturers!
May 9, 2022