We recently finished building my 351W, now actually 408, and decided to use a MSD distributor, part 8458 with vacume advance. My engine builder believes that vacume advance is a good idea for street driven cars since it allows them to run cooler and get better fuel economy. I agree.
The cam we used is a Comp Cam part 35-452-8 nodular iron unit. The distributor came with an iron gear as well. So, we figured iron gear to iron gear would be just like stock...no problem. Unfortunately, the iron gear on the cam was hardened along with the rest of the cam, and wore all of the teeth off the distributor gear in a matter of 15 minutes run time!
So, we immediately called the distributor company, and they said use a bronze gear on the distributor. We also called the cam company, and they said use a steel gear. So now what?
After much research, we determined that a steel gear is the right answer. But there was a better answer! Comp Cams makes a composite gear, part number 35100, that works with ANY cam metal type (billit, cast, nodular, steel, whatever)! It's on the way here.
The really good thing about all of this is that I decided to break the engine in on a dyno. It's a whole lot easier to find out you have a problem when the engine is on a dyno than when it's in a car! And the dyno is the perfect solution for engine break-in!
When most guys get a new engine installed, they fire it up for the first time and walk around the car with it idling, admiring their handiwork and that great sound at idle, checking for leaks, etc. Nothing could be harder on a new engine, except maybe forgetting to put
oil in it!
Anyway, the dyno has a super
oil filtering system so you can check for particulate content, etc, and it caught all of the debris that didn't fall to the bottom of the
oil pan, so the engine is fine. Just a few red faces!