Rebuilt Distributors Won't Fit

chuckbrandt · #1 (**permalink**) 07-15-2003, 08:12 AM

Have any of you had this problem? I was rebuilding a 289 the other day and the distributor was worn out. I bought 2 different rebuilt distributors and neither of them would fit into the block! It's the weirdest thing I've ever seen! So I ordered a MSD distributor just to see if it would fit, and of course it did. So I kept it and moved on, but still I wonder what gives on the rebuilt ones.

Chuck

Woodz428 · #2 (**permalink**) 07-15-2003, 08:17 AM

You weren't clear on what didn't fit. Did it not go into the hole or did it not seat? The only explanation I could think is that either the dist. you got were incorrect (but getting 2 is unlikely) the other is that the oil pump hex wasn't lining up causing it to not seat. I've had to rotate the engine back and forth a little sometimes to get them to drop in.

chuckbrandt · #3 (**permalink**) 07-15-2003, 08:23 AM

This is a 289. The portion of the distributor housing that has the o-ring in it, would not fit into the corresponding hole in the block. With a calipers it measures an interference fit by about .004. The distributors were identical the the original in all other respects.

CDB

Woodz428 · #4 (**permalink**) 07-15-2003, 10:27 AM

Does sound strange. Since they were rebuilt I guess it's possible that the surface was blasted with a coarse enough material that it raised the surface some. I've never encountered the phenomenom, but have a supply of distributors I use to rebuild.