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?

Wow!  Thanks for the detailed explanation.  I never knew what the vacuum advance did until now.  Makes sense.  As for my car, I have tried it both with and without the vacuum advance connected and it definitely drives better on the street with the vacuum line on.  It idles better as well. I have been working on my 57 distributor and found it to be someone finicky.  I think this is due to the roller advance plate mechanism.  I can see why they replaced it.  

If the ball bearing type breaker plate is NOT worn, it can easily be soaked in solvent, flushed and blown out with air thus removing all the hardened decades old lube. It's a precision made part, I believe by Timken. Think of all the saved money by switching over to the stamped pivoting breaker plate. One neat feature of the ball bearing assy. is the points or what ever is mounted on it rotates in a true arc about the cam, for what ever that may be worth.  It is important to insure the bonding ground wire is in good shape and secure. Also, I have discovered with success, a Ford Duraspark magnetic pickup assy. can be mounted to the bearing plate with modifications. If anyone is interested in doing this, I'll be glad to post pics. That being said, if the bearing plate is worn, they are pricey when ever one is found. Hope this helps, JEFF....................


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It is important to insure the bonding ground wire is in good shape and secure.

Correct as if the DIST is not grounded correctly the current will pass through the plate and cause the ball bearings to go out-of-round.

This plate style was better but also costly to FORD.

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JEFF, I'd like to see the pictures of your breaker plate conversion.



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Lord Gaga and all: I'll try to post 6 pics, if the site will allow but please keep in mind there is a great deal of explaining that needs to go with this. Contact info could be exchanged via personal messaging if desired or I'll do my best otherwise


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THANX! Mark ...

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NICE. Thanks.
What was the method for locating the roll pin slot and the holes in the breaker plate?
With the Autolite distributors getting real scarce, this is a great way to convert a better designed ball bearing plate dist. to a magnetic pickup (if you have access to a lathe)!

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I think any Ford Duraspark era shop manual covers phasing of the pole piece and reluctor with the #1 distributor cap tower. That makes utilizing the breaker plate real estate rather cut & dry. If I can remember correctly, I only needed to drill and tap one hole for the modified pickup coil base/bracket.  I also drilled/taped another to secure the bonding wire. Like, was able to utilize one of the existing breaker point threaded holes too.  The ball bearing plate lent itself very well for this conversion not only because it rotates in a true arc but also for it's flat surface.  The reluctor slips over the existing distributor cam and the "paddles" hang down surrounding the cam like a spider with a captured fly. A felt pen marks where the #1 tower is on the dist. rim and with the rotor in place, the parts can be positioned for proper phasing. Then mark the dist. cam where the roll pin needs to be from the slot in the reluctor bore and cut the slot there. The holes are slightly oversized in the pickup coil to allow for tweaking before tightening the two screws. The shim washers elevate the coil to better match the height of the reluctor. Because the reluctor will raise the rotor up, I sanded the open end of the rotor enough to allow it to firmly seat on the can thus engaging the rotor key slot. This doesn't affect the rotor at all. You may ask: Why is he doing all this?  I find the Duraspark mag trigger is the most precise trigger out there. It produces a usable clean signal at a much slower cranking speed than the Pertronix device. It will allow the use of a MSD box and it's matching coil. It is also very concentric meaning every trigger event is exactly the same. On an oscilloscope, the pattern is rock solid with no jittery oscillations in cadence with distributor RPM. Not only does the engine start at the touch of the key but the idle is very smooth. I have another distributor equipped with Pertronix and I can notice these differences. Very minor and probably insignificant but if something can be improved upon, then why not? With the MSD box the exhaust smell is also improved. I've been running this setup for a couple years now and IMO, found ti to be the best. There are probably several items I forgot to mention but if brought to my attention, I will try to do my best. I haven't touched on the electrical part of this but MSD supplies the basic schemes for this setup. Hope this helps, JEFF..............  I have to ask:  There may be a simpler way to secure the reluctor to the existing cam other than cutting a slot for a roll pin. There is practally no torque/force on it but at the same time, it CAN'T be allowed to slip. One other aspect of this conversion is I can easily go back to Pertronix, points or? anytime.


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I should have added that a Pertronix will trigger an MSD box also but for reasons stated above, I found the magnetic device to be more precise at a slower speed.


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Thanks much for taking the time to share that info. It's a great solution.
 I personally never thought much of the tiny reluctor of the pertronix, your comments about a smooth more stable signal with the Motorcraft unit confirm this.

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I have a NOS Plate if You need it Phil. Bought it on Ebay for $75.00 and then bought a NORS One which has a lot more Balls in it so I will use it instead. The Balls in the Originals tend to go flat also because they only move a little each  timele each time the Plate Advances as well as because as noted lack of a Ground Strap causes the Balls to deteriorate.