Replacement Distributor - thoughts?

[eddiereed]

Hi All,

First time poster here - am now a proud owner of P5B for all of 10 days. The car runs fairly well if smells quite 'petrol-ley' (may be its because it's been a while since i've been in an older car!). Anyway, i've had a look at the dizzy cap and it looks like it needs replacing as the points are scored/ pitted. Same for the rotor arm. While i was there I also measured the dwell angle with a brand new out of the box meter - which recorded an angle of 3 degrees (that can't be correct??). Also the distributor looks like an after market job as it's sealed beneath the rotor arm and say something like 'Requires no adjustment as set at factory', which may explain why i can't find the dwell adjuster screw (i could be looking in the wrong place, but it's not obviously where it should be according to the original workshop manual i have.)

So the question is what aftermarket distributors are fit for purpose. I propose swapping out with the one of the car at the mo. My research so far suggests original distributors are hard to come by, but there are options (such as these: simonbbc.com/lucas-35d-v8-rover-v8-type-distributor-from-powerspark-d2-or-d29/). Also open to electric solutions, but really seeking the wisdom of the forum here!

[Phil Nottingham]

Welcome - best to complete your profile though

No need to replace the (correct) dizzy if the points/rota arm are worn! Just replace the parts + the condenser and cap. The dwell adjuster is on the side of the correct Lucas dizzy.

The dwell should be 26deg at idle with vac disconnected and plugged. Timing around 3-6 deg BTDC depending on fuel used

The later PB5s had an uprated baseplate that does not cause the dwell to vary as the earlier type does. Both suffer wear in the drive bushes eventually.  Get a second-hand one?

No petrolic smells should be apparent.

What year is yours - they are great cars if looked after properly. Obtain a factory Workshop manual - the club sells them

[eddiereed]

Thanks! I’ll complete my profile now! My car is a 1973 P5B with 116k on the clock and the last owner had since 1987. I’ve already got a user manual which I know will prove invaluable. I’ll look to replace the dizzy cap and rotor arm pronto! Thanks 

[Jens Munk]

I bought one of these several years ago, and it has worked flawlessly since.

The old one advanced too fast and it was prone to knocking/pinging/pinking. All gone and runs like a charm.

[djm16]

How about posting some pictures of the dizzy here?

The smell of petrol is either a float chamber flooding, or a petrol pipe leaking. Do not ignore.