I have a stock 1957 Ford distributor with a Pertronix unit in my 292.  I would like to replace it with a full centrifugal advance distributor with an adjustable advance curve.  Did anyone ever make such a thing?   What are my options?

Many of the Mallory distributors were mechanical advance only.
 
It’s easy enough to convert the Ford distributors to be mechanical advance function only by doing some reconfiguring the mechanical advance curve and simply not hooking up the vacuum advance chamber.  Just making the curve where it comes in quicker with no other changes is a big improvement for those OEM distributors.  The 406 and 427 Ford distributors were mechanical advance only so that would be the baseline for modifying a Y distributor to fit your needs.
 
I use a large number of MSD distributors for the Ford Y builds and while these have vacuum advance capability, the mechanical advance portions of those distributors are easily tailored to be suitable for mechanical advance only.  The MSD distributors also come with instructions and parts to remove the vacuum advance chamber from their distributors.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

A few more questions please.  Assuming you are going to modify a stock 1957 Ford YBlock distributor by removing the vacuum canister.  Do you cement or otherwise fix the vacumn advance plate so it doesn't move?  How much total centrifugal advance do I want for a street driven YBlock?  Does this require modifications to the distributor's centrifugal advance mechanism? If so, what are those modifications?  At what RPM do I want all the advance in?  Thank you!

The simple thing is to put a rubber plug on the vacuum cannister, and just set the centrifugal advance with the springs/towers.  There is a stiff spring, and a weaker spring attached to the weights and two studs.  You can control the amount of tension on the springs by bending the studs outward to stiffen/slow the rate, or inward to quicken the rate of advance.  If your distributor has a round stud, you can put a sleeve over the stud to limit travel for less total timing.  It is best to have all your timing in by 2500-2800 rpm by most opinions.  Some folks like to set the full at 3000 rpm to help stave off detonation if under a long uphill pull.  A smooth linear advance is best, and you may have to change either spring to get the best results.  Joe-JDC

JDC

I wish to remove the vacuum advance canister totally.  I assume I could engineer a fixed plate for my 57 distributor?  Anyone ever tried this?  Why would you want to limit total timing in the distributor? 

When I remove the vac advance unit, I first faze the advance plate to line up with terminals in the cap, then drill a hole down from the advance plate to the bottom plate and with a small spacer bolt the two together. Its then locked and only centrifugal advance works and is fazed correctly with the dist cap.    

A street car needs a vacuum advance system, my car likes 50 deg. advance cruising down the freeway, when I push on the gas the vacuum goes away and so does the advance, without it your car will feel like it's laboring to run at steady highway speeds.   

I’ll have to ask if you have a Thunderbird distributor or just a car unit that does not have the tach drive.  If it’s a Thunderbird distributor, then it’s obviously worth a lot more unmodified.  I have had to reverse engineer one of those tach drive distributors on a Thunderbird rebuild where a previous owner had eliminated the vacuum advance chamber and the current engine build required it.

I’m assuming you are just going for the ‘look’ in wanting the advance chamber removed.  If it’s just a plain car distributor without the tach drive, then modifying that distributor so it does not have the vacuum advance chamber is doable but that’s a lot of work for the appearance gains you get considering the distributor is essentially hidden behind the intake manifold.  Be aware that the ball bearing breaker plate assembly in the 1957-1959 distributors are just a tad more difficult to work with than the later model pivot style breaker plate assemblies.  But if intent on having no advance chamber, then another suggestion is using a 289 HiPo distributor (does not have the vacuum advance chamber) and move the shaft and other related parts from a 1960 and newer Y distributor into the 289 HiPo distributor housing.  While you’re in there, the springs and advance curve can be modified for optimal driving and performance.  The advance specs provided by Joe-JDC above are a good starting point.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)

For regular street use, doesn't removing the vacuum advance tend to hurt fuel economy?.. 


Paul

Thanks for the input.  My TBird currently has a stock 1957 passenger car distributor.  The only modifications are a Pertronix Unit and lighter Mr. Gasket springs in the centrifugal advance.  My vacuum canister is new and functioning.  I set my timing with a degree timing light at 36 degrees full advance with the vacuum disconnected.  My car seems to respond better with the vacuum line connected.  My car does not ping and pulls strong for what it is. I am happy with the performance, but I am always looking for ways to improve it.

I have had a lot of hot rods in my day.  I'm old school and have never used a vacuum advance distributor. I always considered vacuum advance distributors as low performance.   All my Hipo Fords used either stock full centrifugal advance or aftermarket distributors.  When I put a timing light on my engine and watch the pointer, the timing mark does not advance quick enough.  It seems to lag compared to my previous experience with Ford distributors.  I'm trying to get all the advance in by 3,000 rpm.  Years ago, this could be remedied by a quick run down to the machine shop.  No one has a distributor machine these days.  Should I leave well enough alone or is there performance to be gained here?