The distributor out of my 1957 Ford ( not loadamatics) has a shaft that is 6 inches long. ( from the part that touches the block to the end of the shaft. My replacement from Napa ( 48-2808) is only 5 3/4 inches long and the gear is off a 1/4 inch. Napa ordered me a second distributor and it to is 5 3/4 inches long. I have a friend who has some old cores and they are all 6 inches long including loadamatics. Question is are these Napa distributors compatible or are they all packaged wrong. I know these units are rebuilt from different years and parts but I would think the length and gear should be the same length. Thanks Bill

I'm not around a known good one to check at the moment, so assuming that the originals you have measured have nothing wrong, then I'd say Napa (probably Cardone) has something wrong with the distributors they are providing.
I think small block distributors are shorter, but otherwise indistinguishable.  I don't know that spec, though.  I wonder if they don't have Y-block shafts and have mistakenly assumed that it is the same as that for another engine.  Does the tooth count match?


Lawrenceville, GA

The NAPA # is "correct" but the dimensions don't sound right.

I just checked two OEM distributors and the shaft is 6". I had a friend return two Cardones, one had the hole for the gear pin redrilled and the gear moved 1/4", I forget now what the other reason was.

There's a post on the Facebook Y-Block group about a similar problem with Cardone.  I'm pretty sure that no matter where you get the distributor or how it is branded, it is actually a Cardone, so there must be a problem with them.


Lawrenceville, GA

   Gear placement: 302 ford dimension from bottom of distributor housing mounting flange to bottom of gear for all 289/302 distributors:    4.031"-4.038"


    Gear placement:y-block,from bottom of distributor housing mounting flange to bottom of gear for all y-block distributors:
                    4.991"-4.996"
    This measurement can only be taken accurately with the distributor shaft pushed to the bottom and some type of straight edge clamped to the bottom of the distributor gear.Use a high quality digital caliper.
    A 302 distributor housing fits the y-block without problems,but the shaft is .958" too short. If an attempt is made, the gear will not fit tight.A Y-block shaft can be used to replace the 302 shaft if it is in good shape.The gear must run on the pad in the block with .008"to .012" end play or it will not live very long.
    Cardone has likely run out of y-block distributors cores and are trying to make y-block distributors out of 302 cores,that can't be done without using .958" longer shafts,they are just making junk,and they could kill your engine.'

     john2747    
   

"Monarch, thank you for bringing this issue up.
John2747, thank you for providing these specs. I've been running a Cardone distributor in my '55 272" for about three months. I'm going to pull it out and measure it tomorrow. 

EDIT: I couldn't wait until tomorrow to measure it. I went out to the shop and pulled the distributor. This one measures 4.922 with the shaft pulled down and 4.890 with the shaft pushed up against the stop at the housing. The overall length of the shaft from the shoulder that seats on the block surface to the end is 6", measured with a ruler. So mine is .070-.100" short from the mating surface to the bottom of the gear. How big of a problem is this?

I have the Loadomatic that came out of the engine. It measures 4.914 to the bottom of the gear, .008" less than the rebuilt unit.

     Gene
I have read about bad Cardone rebuilds in the past,it seems they only do "cosmetic" rebuilds.Y-Block specs for distributors are in the 1957 ford shop manual.With the distributor removed from the engine they give a measurement of .022"to .030" total main shaft end play,this can be measured with a feeler gauge at the gap between the bottom of the housing and the small collar that is pinned to the shaft.Your measurements indicate that your distributor has .032" shaft end play,that
should be close enough.Using your measurements for the shoulder to bottom of the gear it appears that the gear was pressed on the shaft about .076" to far,or the gear is from another distributor,or the original pin hole was drilled crooked and
the gear was turned 180* when it was reassembled.Taking that measurement is a bit tricky,the ford mechanics used gauge
to position the gear.Double checking the distributor in an empty block,with a feeler gauge is allot easier.With the distributor installed in the block and clamped down and the main shaft pulled up a gauge of .008"to .012" should be ok
between the gear and the machined pad in the block.With the main shaft pushed down the gear must make contact with
the pad.If it dose not contact the pad then it is not located properly.There is a weight plate pinned to the shaft near the top when the shaft is pushed down it contacts the top of the shaft bushing,but it is not meant to run like that,and will wear away the top of the bushing,not good.Perhaps finding a good used distributor that has never been rebuilt is a better way to go.I think the 59 to 64 distributors are better than the earlier ones.I hope things work out.

                john2747    

I bought a cardone rebuilt dist. a couple of years ago. The first time I told them I wanted a dist for a '64 ford truck with a 292.  They went with the listing for the eng. size in Liters, and I ended up with a 289 dist.  we finally ordered one for a '62 truck with a 292. got a dist that looked correct, but by the ford # on the dist, it was a 302, modified for a y-block. It had a shaft that was to short just as you guys describe, but unfortunately I had already converted it to a ford dura-spark  internally , and could not return it. I did not use the dist. as I was concerned about not having enough of the oil pump drive shaft engaging in the dist. I was afraid of a pump shaft failure or some thing related going wrong and destroying a new eng.  ended up buying a MSD electronic dist. still not sure I will use it. may have firewall clearance problems when I put the eng. in my '30 coupe. anyway , I think the cardone dist. are not very good.

I recently had a similar problem with a 57 Tbird I worked on, checking the distributor out the advance was chewing into the bottom of the housing and it was full of aluminum shavings, when investigated it was found that someone had installed a thick gasket under the distributor flange where it rest on the block. This caused the gear to not rest on the pad in the block down by the oil pump shaft. Rotational forces on the gear were pulling down on it creating the wear in the housing. Like John states is is important that the gear rest on the block then check up and down movement of shaft in distributor. Being a Tbird with tack drive there was no other option but to make it work! unobtainium!

55 Vicky & customline

58 Rack Dump, 55 F350 yard truck, 57 F100

59 & 61 P 400's, 58 F100 custom cab, 69 F100, 79 F150, 82 F600 ramp truck, 90 mustang conv 7 up, 94 Mustang, Should I continue?