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?

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.