Delco 12 Cylinder Distributor Identifcation

[Guest Rebuildman]

I have been trying to ID this distributor, so far no luck. Number on tag is 1111551 dated 8G15. With the 7 digit # my guess would be 1948 date code. Unit appears to be N.O.S. cam lobes show no wear and the points are script Delco parts. Any guesses would be helpful. Thanks!

[Guest stude8]

You have a real tough one to figure out here. The distributors with numbers starting with 1110xxxxx or 1112xxxxx are dated 1959 and 1960 era. I went through about 9 auto parts catalogs I have on file and none have any reference to 1111xxxxx series parts??

I suspect it might be a marine application distributor but don't have any catalogs for that subject.

Stude8

[nickelroadster]

I have a 1939 Delco-Remy catalog in which the distributors end with the number 1111507. The cast iron part of the distributor is identical to a mid 30s double fire distributor that I had used to rebuild an earlier pot metal housing on a twenties distributor (no longer have the data plate for comparison). I would tend to agree with stude8 that it might be a marine or maybe a fire truck application. It is quite possible that this is an older design (with that heavy cast iron housing) that was reused for a different application.

[Restorer32]

If the rotor is the correct one for the dist it must be from a true 12 cylinder rather that a Twin Ignition 6 as in American LaFrance engines.

[mikewest]

Auburn 1932-33

[Guest cben09]

What am I seeing here,,,

One terminal for a coil

Two points

One condenser,,

Do the points open together or at intervals,,???

Cheers,,Ben

[Guest stude8]

Well I went thru many part catalogs I have for Guaranteed; Niehoff from 1931 #15, 1941 #23, 1942 #24; Shurhit 1942 #90; Universal 1934 and then last was a Niehoff 1966 book. The 1966 book listed Industrial and Marine applications, a large 236 page edition. It showed many listings with "1111xxx" prefix's but NO 1111551?? I did find the following three closest numbers to the target #:

1111506 Austin-Western 4 cyl Sweeper for 1949;

1111534 Hyster 4 cyl lift trucks 1949-64;

1111716 Ingersol-Rand Air Compressor 1954 - 59.

This search confirms it is most likely a industrial or marine application in the 1950 > 1964 era. Check with a boat yard that may have a marine parts catalog that covers the early 1950's.

Stude8

[Guest Rebuildman]

Thanks for all the responses! I have several books for Delco distributors that are used for setting the advance curves, it is listed but no information is given for application. So it appears to be a good number. In response to the question on the points, if I remember correctly there are 12 lobes on the cam, and only one coil wire in the cap. I will have to look again to confirm. So if it is indeed for a boat, what 12 cylinder motors did they use? Were they converted auto eengines? My main objective is to try and get this piece into the hands of someone that can use it, I'm sure someone would have a use for it.

[Guest Rebuildman]

Thanks for the response. Is this a guess, or are you pretty certain? Auburn 1932-33.

[Guest Bob Call]

How about 1930's Packard Twin Six?

1932 Packard Twin 6: Engine 1 View

1932 Packard Twin 6: Engine 2 View

Or, a Lycoming V12 (1932 Auburn)

Lycoming "BB" V-12 Engine | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Lycoming "BB" V-12 Engine | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Lycoming "BB" V-12 Engine | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Lycoming "BB" V-12 Engine | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Edited March 5, 2013 by Bob Call (see edit history)

[nickelroadster]

Only problem with the distributor on the Lycoming Auburn engine is the distributor cap shows it to be a double fire unit with six cams instead of twelve on the pictured distributor. This was basically a double fire six cylinder distributor that was modified with a slightly different rotor to work on a twelve cylinder motor. Notice the two coil wires on top of the cap. Even if it was basically the same distributor, the innards are quite different from the pictured unit. I believe Cadillac v12s also used the double fired distributor with a different rotor. What did fire engines with the Pierce v12 use?

[Guest ALF V-12]

I'm sorry if I'm replying to an old topic, it came up in some Google search results. Here's a picture of the inside of the distributor used on the Lycoming-derived "Junior" V-12 Engine utilized by American LaFrance from 1936 through the 1960's. Two condensers and two sets of points.

This engine, of course, is just a larger-bore, dual ignition version of the original Lycoming "BB" V-12. (The image links posted in one of the previous replies for the Lycoming "BB" V-12 are from my Flickr Photostream. That engine is on display at the Auburn-Cord-Duesenberg Automobile Museum in Auburn, Indiana. I was taking pictures of it to reference for an engine build I'm working on.)

Anyway, as for the picture of the distributor I have included with this post, I have many of them as we build the "Junior" V-12's at our shop. The one I just grabbed off of the shelf has a similar number on its tag (11x4202) as the original poster's, for what it's worth.