We'll good news...
Joe at Danbury Comp, took my engine back with great ease to investigate what caused the distb. gear to fail. Within 10 days, he had the motor torn-down, checked for collateral damage, and re-assembled.
No visiable damage to bearing or cylinder walls, etc.
The cam was replaced with an Isky cam similar to the Crower, the high volume, high pressure
oil pump was replaced with a standard Ford Motoco. Cobra Jet unit, a new distb. gear was installed with modifications to both the gear and shaft for direct
oil lubrication.
Since it's a nice day, I might leave work early and take the drive from New Haven to Danbury to pick it up. From there I hope to have it installed back in the car by 12/16/02. (I took the entire car apart to clean everything while the engine was being repaired). If all works out, I might get one last ride in 2002 - pending snow and ice.
It's been so long since I drove the Cobra, I'm begining to think the 4.3 in my S10 has a lot of power.