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Distributor Help for Chrysler 300


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I have a '63 Sportster 300 Convertible with a 413. The ignition uses the prestolite/autolite dual point distributor and the vacuum advance is shot on mine. I've rebuilt the distributor with new points, condenser, rotor and cleaned up the mechanical advance plate so that everything works great except for the vacuum advance. A new distributor is $300 bucks, so I'd rather find the last part I need which is a new vacuum advance. Can anyone point me in the right direction as to what part # I need to be searching for and A) whether any local channels (Napa, Carquest, Advance, etc) would carry a replacement, or B) whether any of the specialty MOPAR parts dealer would carry one.

Thanks in advance for any help!

Robert

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It seems that the Prestolite dual point (cast iron housing) distributor was used on other Chrysler high performance 4bbl V-8s into the later 1960s. After that, the aluminum housing Chrysler dual point was used until the later electronic systems became available in the early 1970s.

Seems like the Prestolite contact point set is different than the Chrysler point set, so if you find later model listings for that same point set, that might also generate a later application that might also generate a vacuum advance unit that was available (hopefully). As for a part number, there might be something stamped or cast into the unit you have, but by this point in time, whatever you get will most possibly be a "generic" unit with a general advance curve. If it's one with a screw on front vacuum port, then you can alter the rate of advance by shimming or unshimming the spring in there. In other situations where they are sealed, there are some that have an adjustment screw inside, that is worked by an Allen wrench that is just small enough to go into the vacuum port (where the vac advance vacuum hose slides on).

If the auto supply people have no luck (I suspect they'll have to get a genuine paper book out for the older models!), then you might pick up a copy of one of the Mopar magazines (Mopar Action or Mopar Muscle or Mopar Collector's Guide--most are sold at larger newsstands and the book store chains) or Hemmings Motor News. Most everyone that has NOS or replacement parts has an ad in those magazines.

On the other side of things, it's HIGHLY possible that your points will not set correctly due to wear on the breaker cam contact lobes (on the distributor shaft, what the points' rubbing block rides on to open and close the points). I bought a used 440-6bbl distributor years ago and put it into my '67 Chrysler 383 4bbl (with the appropriate Mopar Performance adapter) in the hopes of a little better performance from the longer dwell of the dual point system. I discovered that when the points were gapped to spec, the dwell reading was not in the desired spec area. Tweaking was really no help either. One night, I pulled it out and put a dial indicator on the points and checked each individual lobe in an effort to hopefully make sure the point gap was correct.

What I found was more lobe-to-lobe variation than I desired to find. I also determined that even if the gaps were set (generally) to a median value, the dwell would not be enough greater than what a single point would yield to be worth the effort.

I also discovered that many modern point sets do not contain the little vial of point lube grease (this was in the later 1980s). At that timeframe, many people who had point ignition systems were complaining about their points not lasting "anytime", so they were all headed toward "having to" convert to electronic ignition.

So, if the lobes on your distributor are a little rounded off or worn (as I suspect they are), getting a new shaft from a reman facility might also be something to look for, or a reman Prestolite distributor (the part number tag screws on so it can be changed for cosmetic reasons, just as the advance weights/springs can be swapped into the fresher distributor from your existing unit. That way, you'll end up with a fresh shaft and bushings and your existing advance curve. The reman unit might also come with a new vac advance unit too.

There are advantages to staying with the point ignition system. One big one is that it takes about 8 volts to fire the plugs on the Chrysler electronic ignition and about 10 volts with the Orange Box supplied with the Chrysler conversion kit. Meaning . . . points will tolerate a weaker battery to start the vehicle than the electronic control box will for that system. I've seen that happen, too.

On the other side of things, it's pretty easy to install the Chrysler Mopar Performance electronic ignition conversion kit. Contrary to what they claim, you can use your existing voltage regulator (do NOT use the higher voltage Mopar Performance unit!), which I'm doing on my '67 Chrysler. I also spliced the harness going to the control box so I could hide it out of sight and run the extended harness along with another existing harness under the hood. If done with finesse, the biggest thing that will be seen is the extra wire coming out of the distributor. In the Mopar hobby, the conversion to electronic ignition is kind of an accepted modification that no body really gets excited about. I'm not sure about the 300 Club people, though.

If you have any questions about my experiences with the conversion on my '67 Chrysler, please email me direct. Only thing is that a fully charged battery is more important than with points. The Chrylser kit comes complete with everything needed (just get a regular control box and don't use the orange box) and follow the instructions.

Many hobby people like the Pertronix unit too, but to me the main advantage of the Chrysler kit is that it is fully production based (all the way up to about '78 or so) so parts should be more available when the time comes, if it ever does.

I'm not sure where the "new" distributor you mentioned was coming from, but if it is really NOS, then it should be worth that much money. If it's a reman for that price, that would be a different situation to me. By shopping around, the Chrysler kit can be had for about $175.00 or so, depending on who has it.

By the same token, if you're near a large metro area with some "embedded" old parts stores, they might have something in their dusty back room that you could use (as in a reman distributor, possibly) or possibly an advance unit. FIRST hurdle would be finding someone that knew what a point distributor was, much less "Prestolite".

I believe there are some vendor listings in the Online Imperial Club website that might be helpful.

If you have any other questions on that conversion, email me direct.

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

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Thanks for all the great info. Using www.partsvoice.com I was able to track down an original vacuum advance for my distributor. I found the distributor part # stamped on the small aluminum tag on my distributor. It was covered in paint and crud, but after scraping it clean, it seems I have distributor #2098313 which is the tach driven distributor used on the J and K car in 63 and 64. Don't know how my convertible ended up with it, as the convertible was a non-letter 300 in 63. Chrysler did offer the upgraded 413 which I have, but I thought it came with a different distributor without the tach drive?? Did all 413's have the same distributor for 63, or did someone back in the day do a swap out?

I did check the lobes and bushings, as well as the weights and springs and everything looks to be in pretty good shape considering. If I can get the vacuum advance corrected, I'll likely stick with the points for now.

As a side note, another chrysler owner looked up in his mopar book and said I should have distributor #2098495, but I can't find this number anywhere. He also said I needed vacuum advance #2084868, which in fact turns out to be the one I needed, even for the tach drive distributor (according to the parts house). I found a picture of the #2084868 VC and it looks like mine, so I'm crossing my fingers, but these part #'s for different distributors has become confusing...Anyone who has a complete 63 parts book can elaborate. The car in question is a 1963 Chrysler 300 Convertible with a 413CID engine.

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