Greetings, Scions....
I discovered while rebuilding the Spitfire that the plate inside the base of
the distributor which holds the weights for the mechanical advance was
frozen from years of sitting and non-use. In other words, the weights
cannot move out from centrifugal force, they are stuck. I have dismantled
the distributor however I cannot get the plate with the weights out because
it is sandwiched on the shaft between the bottom of the distibutor housing
and the flange on the driveshaft of the distributor itself. It would appear
from the Bentley and Haynes manuals (neither of which shows HOW to get it
apart by the way, they only show the whole enchilada outside of the housing)
that one would have to drive out a pin that exists on the lower part of the
shaft, thus allowing the shaft to be withdrawn from the housing.
Has anyone ever done this before? The "pin" on my Spit (1964 Mk I Spit with
Delco vacuum advance dist.) won't drive out with a punch and has a "rivet
head" top, such that it appears the only way to release it is to use a fine
grinder and grind away the top of the "rivet head", thus allowing withdrawal
of the shaft so I can loosen up the weights and replace any parts that
require replacement. I am concerned about how to put the whole thing back
together after taking the shaft out.
This is the first major roadblock I've run into on this whole project so
far, and the damned thing is ALMOST done (Arrgghhhh!!). Shoot, if I can
just get the distributor back together properly IT WILL BE DRIVEABLE!!
(yippee). So any and all advice would be appreciated. Thanks gang. (and
happy turkey day).
Ross D. Vincenti
64 Spitfire 4
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