1929 Dodge Brothers distributor replacement

Hello Ladies and Gentlemen ,

I'm in the process of rebuilding my 1929 Dodge Brothers Sedan. As you may already know the casing on my distributor is made on pot metal and is not usable. Is there a replacement that may be used from another car or year? I found a replacement casing but $450 is beyond what I can pay right now. Any suggestions.

Appreciate any help, Thanks!!!

db17

Along time ago this problem was resolved by using the Bosch 009 Volkswagon distributor. A good Machinist can make short work of this and your supply of caps, rotors, and points are available anywhere. You should be able to find one in the $50 range.

If you want to stay original and pay $125 for caps, $75 for rotors, $50 for points then give me your distibutor number and I will sell you one for $275 (Minus cap, rotor, and points) :cool:

They made cast iron versions of this back in the day....I have one on my car and had a spare I gave away to another DBer......not sure how rare they are.

The 29 dodge cars used a 6 cylinder engine. The photo shows a 4 cylinder VW distributor. It would take some serious machining to make that conversion and stock VW parts would be no help afterward.

I stand corrected.

Thanks Bob, and Bill for the response.

Bob if these were also available in iron would you know what vehicle they may have been available in?

Bill, I have a couple of other places to look but if nothing turns up I may take you up on yours. To make sure we are talking about the same thing, the model is TBU, the type is, Looks like 108, the length of the shaft that inserts into the head is 2 3/4 inches. The diameter of the bowl is also 2 3/4in.

Ok DB17. Earlier today I must have had a senior moment. I'm back on track now! Here is what should be on your engine. Let's verify that first. Also a first name would be nice.......

I have one of the iron distributors in my '29 DA. It is exactly the same, as far as I know as the pot metal one. They can be found at flea markets. If you disassembled your distributor CAREFULLY I think you could epoxy the inside to reinforce it?

Db17,

While reading your thread, I thought to myself what I would do in your situation. From time to time, I've met individuals whose hobby is to cast various items, usually artistic decorations, out of various materials. I believe that there may even be certain clubs and organizations devoted to this endeavor. I think I would try to contact these people and see if anyone would be interested in recasting your distributor housing, making several copies, perhaps out of aluminum.

Machinist Bill, How difficult do you think it would be for a competent machinist to do the finish machining on these rough castings?

I dunno, I'm just thinking.

Most Machine shops charge anywhere from $85 to $125 per hour. There are two castings that would have to be machined (Top & Bottom) I see about 4-5 hours here. That's why it's better to use an updated distributor and the only machining would be the body diameter and for the rotor shaft drive gear.

Now your up to the same price as the Australian cast part.

DB17, like nearchoclatetown I, also, have my cast iron distributor that I got with my '29 DA in '71, so I assume it's original.....there was a guy named Jason who was on this board with a user ID '1930' who has my spare and he might have another?

As a last resort there IS one thing that will work: KwikPoly

Read about it there >>> http://kwikpolyllc.com/

Paint what you have with KwikPoly........it's remarkable stuff!

The main problem with this old pot metal it just doesn't crumble it also distorts so repairing it with an epoxy is really not the way to go in my opinion.I have learned this from experience Also sellers know that these old pot metal bits are fragile and any that are serviceable demand big bucks I wish you luck Ron

If epoxy gets above about 50 degrees C (about 120 deg. F) it will soften, so might not be the best thing sitting directly on top of an engine!

These old cars can be a headache at times. But allot of fun at others.

Trying to keep this car original is getting expensive.

Thanks for your input. I can see why some people just give up and hot rod them.

But I'm not!!!!

Well, if I wanted a hotrod I woulda bought one from the beginning....while it may seem expensive at times it doesn't seem as pricey as many people I know that spend a lot of money going out to eat, barhopping or shopping! I also have cold beer for those "headache" times!

A friend of mine modified an old 6 cyl Chevy distributor for his Victory 6. He did a write up about it in the DB News a few years back. works very well.

Dave

In Aus the early holden bosch distributor vju6ar17 and the vju6br36 models can be used for the standard/victory /da and 2249/2251 senior 6 vehicles

There is machining required around 1.5 hrs max to make a sleeve and shorten the shaft

Timing issues minimal, advance begins at 550 rpm and advances 10.2 degrees per 1000rpm

Timing can be corrected with the advance retard lever or you can have it sorted with a distributor shop

Perhaps this distributor is found in USA vehicles

Good luck

db17 any luck or progress with your distributor ?

the one I use looks the same physical size as the bosch 009 only a 6 cylinder version

No, no luck yet on the distributor, but I did get a carburetor. One thing at a time. I'm also working on a DB 1917 touring Car so I have plenty to keep me busy. Thanks for asking. One will pop-up sooner or later.