I've been out of
Paul, thank you for your thorough reply. Until just recently I've been away from Y blocks for 20+ years, first into street rods and then into flatheads. I dug around in my stash of Y block parts and found a 1959 core distributor and it measures less than 4.900 also. Maybe my measuring method or tool is faulty. I get the same measurements with a digital and a dial caliper, admittedly not machinist quality. I have a bare 292 block stuck away in a corner and will dig it out and see if I can check the distributor there.

Thank you so much again for your informative post. 

I have a Cardone 2808 distributor. The gear measures 5" from the mounting base surface to the bottom of the gear but the hex shaft measures only 5 13/16".   Am I to believe that this distributor is of no use in a Y block?
Bill

Got 4 distributors from Napa. They all had the wrong shafts. Not Napas fault all ordered with right part number. Have since found a core that needs rebuilding. Now to find a shop that does in house rebuilding locally. Has a few missing pieces but is the right distributor. Thanks Bill

I sent an Email to the Tech Dept at Cardone asking about the Problem posted here. Asking if they were  aware of the problem with Shaft Length and has it been corrected?  Response was not having a problem and they are built to OE Specs. Maybe it was just One batch assembled wrong or have there been any recent problems with these? I have purchased 2 in the past and not had any problem with them except for one with excessive vertical free play which I corrected using Shims. Email- tech@cardone.com

  

I replaced my 1955 Load-a-matic with a 57 Ford distributor I ordered from Mac's last summer.  I replaced the intake and carb at the same time.  I ordered a 1957 312 distributor on their website.  I had a 57 distributor out of another engine that needed a rebuild.   My 57 distributor was the kind with the ball bearing advance plate.  The Mac's distributor they sent me was the type with the two piece advance plate.  I had no problems installing the Mac's distributor in my '55 292.  About two days after I swapped distributors the car quit running and left me on the side of the road.  After Triple A towed me home, I replaced the points and condenser with quality parts and have had no issues since.  I have put about 600 miles on the car since then with no problems.   The car runs great.  I hate to pull the distributor to see if the shaft length is correct.  The oil looks fine and I have no reason to think there is a problem.  Should I be worried?

I just bought a cardone (part #30-2808) from O'Reilly's to upgrade the load-a-matic that's in my '56 truck. Upon closer inspection, it looks like I have the same issues y'all have pointed out; incorrect shaft length and gear in wrong spot. 

What are y'all using for distributors now? Should I order from one of the vendors like Mac's? I'd prefer to get one through a local auto supply that would allow me to swap in the future if there's ever a problem. 

Thanks in advance!

Kent — Round Rock, TX
'56 F-100  | '56 Crown Vic  |  '57 Fairlaine 500  |  '57 Thunderbird

If you buy a remanufactured distributor, it will most likely be Cardone, no matter who you get it from or the brand on the packaging.  The best thing at this point seems to be to take the distributor to a shop that actually does rebuilds in house.  I don't have any suggestions for that.

If you try another vendor, find out where theirs are rebuilt and state the issue with Cardone and that you don't want to receive one with the same issue.  If they say theirs is different, try it but make sure to get the name of the person you spoke with.  That way, if it is just more of the same, you have some recourse - they should refund in full and pay return shipping.


Lawrenceville, GA

They may be expensive if you find one, Mac's (for example) wants $200 for their part #12127-2109 plus a $50 core, which if I had to guess is not included in the catalog price. And then shipping. So likely getting close to 300 bones.

I bought one (as I recall) from this guy several years ago. No problems. Keep in mind if you go this route the supplied points & condensers in the rebuilds are generally no good, and must be replaced with NOS.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.com%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F301031593632

$200.00 + Core seems to be around the Average Price.There's several listed on Ebay with some even higher than $200.00. Rock Auto sells them for a little less than $200.00 + Core but they are Carcone Units too. There is a shortage of Cores because they never get the 57+ Ones turned back in. A couple of Years ago there were no rebuilts available from Carcone for awhile because they ran out of Cores.I don't know of anyone else selling rebuilt Ones except Carcone. If You go on Ebay there are new Ones from Offshore with Electronic Ignition available. Anyone tried One of these? When I contacted Carcone by email a few Weeks ago they claimed they were not aware of any Problems with these 30-2808 Units. Shortage of correct Cores right now does not bode well for the Future needs. About a Year ago there was another Supplier on Rock Auto  who claimed that they had brand new Distributors for Y Block. When I contacted them directly to verify that the Units were for Y-Block they realized they were not. The Listing is gone from Rock Auto. Only the Carcone Units are listed. The only real difference between the Y Block Distributors and most other Ford Distributors is the length of the Shaft. Gears are different but thats not a problem to get correct Gears. If You look at the ID # on the Housing of the 30-2808 Exchange Units they are from several different Years and Applications. The housings are the same for Years. The Shaft is different for Y Blocks. I have used 2 Carcone  exchange Units without a problem with shaft length or Gear Location but both were purchased more than a Year ago. The problem with Shaft Length an Gear location seems to be within last 6 Months.Maybe Carcone is now having these redone Overseas like a lot of other Automotive Suppliers and that's where the Problems are coming from??? There are a lot of Offshore Condensors that are Garbage as We are finding out. By the way the correct Part # for the Carcone Y-Block Unit is 30-2808. I see some different #;s in prior Posts which I think are incorrect for our Y-Blocks.

  

........The Shaft is different for Y Blocks. The correct Part # for these Cardone Distributors is 30-2808. I see a different # in previous Posts.