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Atwater-Kent Distributor Cap


Steve Braverman

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Steve -

This is posted on the HHFC website. I don't know how old it is. Stick with the Atwater-Kent if you can. It's such beautifully made stuff -

tom

Charles Bouteiller has reproduced the distributor caps for the Atwater Kent Model RA and others. For the cap: $100 Rotor $35 Points $35 His Phone is 413-528-2815, Monterey Rd, Great Barrington,

MA 01230 During the Winter, he can be reached at 352-793-9122, C.O. Sunter Oaks RV Park, 4602- County Road 673, Bushnell, FL 53513-8358

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To be fair, I don't think his pricing is necessarily that far out of line. Ignition dealers routinely get $200 for such a cap that is NOS. The time involved in casting a new cap with mold-making, electrode setting, etc, is certianly high. There is an extremely limited market for this cap, hence a small run and higher cost per part.

But $200 is pretty standard for new stuff. Same for points and rotor. Ssearch and dig and they can be found for less at swap meets, from other Club Members, etc. But for one-stop-shopping, be prepared to pay more, sometimes much more.

Tom Rasmussen

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Tom, when someone doubles the price of an item with no stated justification that, to cheapskate me, is toooo much. He already has sold product from the mold so all or most of that expense should have been recovered by now.

Gordon

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I had looked into having A-K caps reproduced about 15 years ago, and nobody would even talk to me. I don't think his prices are that out of line, I just question whether it's worth it to me.

With Dad's first Series 10, we had a lot of problems with distributor caps cracking. We bought an NOS cap, only to have it last one year and then crack. Since a new cap was not an option at the time, we had a Delco distributor fitted to the car. It now runs fine. Spending $300 on ignition parts seems like a lot of money, but truthfully, with the way we'll probably drive this car, the parts will last forever.

If it were one of my side-drafts, I would think differently. I put a lot of miles on my '32, and when I needed a set of points a couple of years ago, it was nice to be able to buy them at Pep Boys.

We have no intentions of ever showing this car for judging, it will be a driver. So, we have a conundrum, a $150 Delco conversion and an infinite supply of cheap parts, or a $300 tune-up and authenticity.

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  • 10 months later...
Guest cben09

Hi,,,I was pounding around the keyboard a few days ago,,,,guess what,,,,try,,ATWATER-KENT .com,,,they are in Worcester ma,,make a replica of early battery radio,,[if the original mfgr makes it,,,is it a replica],, they do modern ? tank sending units,,Are they still supplying Detroit,,There was a voltage regulator,,looked like Packard,,say '29'32The whole thing sounded friendly,,,but remember this is a business not a hobby,,,as for the high priced cap,,,If you think he's making too much,,you could supply a few dozen on speculation,,,I have seen projects that will never break even,,,even if the price were tripled,,Don't cry in your beer,,,Cheers Ben

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Steve, Several decades ago I had piece of the cap break out at one of the clamping areas. I used some white epoxy on it. It held and I'm quite sure it functioned electrially as i carried it around as a spare for as long as I owned Bertha. You could try that on the inside of the cap as a coating over the crack(s). Gordon

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