[Healeys] BJ7/BJ8 Distributor

Ron Huseman ronhuseman at sbcglobal.net
Mon Apr 26 19:54:13 MDT 2010


Healey List:

 

Almost 5 years ago, I started on a restoral of a true 'basket case' BJ7. I
had never restored a LBC before and the parts I began with were simply a
pile of rusted junk. Thanks to the advise, parts and encouragement many of
you made, the car is now fully restored and running like a champ.

 

However, I have one last issue that I want to resolve before the car is
deemed "completed". Everything in the car is truly a "BJ7" part, either
restored from the original car, or scavenged from many of you who assisted
me in my efforts. The engine block I had was from a BJ8. I was told that it
was the same block as my BJ7, but with some bigger carbs, etc. so I used it.
At the time I didn't realize it, but the tach on an 8 is electronic, and the
7 is mechanically driven by a unit between the block and the distributor.
Since I have a BJ8 engine, the distributor had no drive for the tach cable.
The distributor now in the car is a 25D and works just fine..however, the
tachometer sits there and looms at me from the dash like a sick puppy
wondering why it's not being fed!

 

Is there a distributor/drive part that I can buy that fits the BJ8 drive
gear and also has the mechanical drive unit I see on other BJ7s? Is the
mechanical drive unit I need a part that will fit between the BJ8 drive gear
and the 25D distributor? I'll replace the current distributor is I have to.
When I look at the available drawings and photos of my distributor vs that
of a BJ8, it seems like there is no difference. I just do not see the
mechanical drive unit on either of the documentation I have. 

 

Can someone explain to me what I need to make this work??

 

Thanks to all of you who have so generously contributed to my slow,
cumbersome efforts to restore this beautiful car. I call her "MYRTLE" after
my maternal grandmother. She too was fickle and demanding, but well worth
knowing. (She also lived to be 100!)

 

Ronald Huseman

ronhuseman at sbcglobal.net


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