Billy J Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Have an American Bosch distributor on a 1925 Essex and an Auto-lite distributor for ( not known ? ) . Both distributors are for 6 cylinder motors with mount and drive identical. The Bosch cam is a much larger diameter than the Auto-Lite and has very rounded lobes ( not worn ). The Auto-Lite distributor has a smaller diameter cam but with sharp lobes ( looks standard to me ). The dwell space on both cams appear to be the same width. The main difference I see is the points would be open longer on the Bosch distributor ? Since the Auto-Lite will fit exactly the same as the Bosch should the motor run as well with it ? Is there a chance it could harm the motor ? Reason for question is I have a damaged distributor cap on the Bosch but it runs. The Bosch distributor cap appears unavailable. The only source that listed one was Hagens in Washington and they have closed ? I have can get parts for the Auto-Lite distributor fairly easily. Any advise or suggestions would be appreciated. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rusty_OToole Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Different design approach but both should work equally as well. Differences to look out for will be in timing and advance curve. A good man with a distributor machine should be able to modify the unknown to have the same curve as the old one, or you could just cowboy it and hope for the best. Might be easier to ask after a good Bosch distributor cap tho. All you need to find is one good one and it will last for many years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter R. Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 (edited) I assume your American Bosch distributor is a model T-6200 and your Auto-Lite distributor may be a IB-4001 or a IBA-4001. Essex used American Bosch equipment from 1922 to 1926. American Bosch distributor T-6200 was used from 1923 until mid 1926. Sometime in 1926 Essex started to use Auto-Lite equipment. Auto-Lite distributor IB-4001 was used from mid 1926 until 1927 and 1927-28 Essex Super Six's used Auto-Lite distributor IBA-4001 or IGB-4014. So the 1926 Essex either used a AMB T-6200 or Auto-Lite IB-4001 distributor. I guess Auto-Lite took over American Bosch around 1925 because early Auto-Lite distributors (IB and IBA) and distributor caps look very similar to American Bosch designs. Auto-Lite continued to use the AMB contact arm and gave it an AL part number. So one and the same contact arm has an American Bosch AND an Auto-Lite part number. But only the points are interchangable on T-6200 and IB-4001, cap and rotor are not. American Bosch obviously disappeared as an ignition equipment supplier for cars by 1927. To make a long story short, I can supply you with perfomance data for both your distributors so you can compare and I suggest you can either use a AMB or AL distributor without a problem. Regarding NOS American Bosch distributor caps contact Tom VanMeeteren (Old buicks 2). I'm sure he has some in stock. If not, get back to me. Edited August 12, 2021 by Peter R. (see edit history) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old buicks 2 Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Billy, yes I have those distributor caps in stock. We are the people that picked up Hagan's inventory when they decided to close shop. Contact me 402-359-5762 or tsvanmeet@gmail.com Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy J Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share Posted August 12, 2021 Peter R. My brother owns this 1925 Essex and just passed. Trying to get car running for family. The Auto-Lite distributor has id IGB-4014 9H. I don't know if brother ever tried to use it in the 25 Essex. If you have any kind of data on the Bosch T6200 and the Auto-Lite IGB-4014 9H I would appreciate. The Auto-Lite appears better designed to me as it has a more modern style condenser and rotor. I would prefer to use it if possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Schramm Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 If you are trying to get a car running, I would suggest that you look at my write up on the basics. This assumes that you have fresh gas in the car, changed the oil, and it still will not start. If you have any other questions, pm me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter R. Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 (edited) 3 hours ago, Billy J said: If you have any kind of data on the Bosch T6200 and the Auto-Lite IGB-4014 9H I would appreciate. Billy, I haven't found the test data on the T-6200 yet but here's something to start with: Edited August 12, 2021 by Peter R. (see edit history) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter R. Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Regarding Auto-Lite distributor IGB-4014 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy J Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share Posted August 12, 2021 Peter R. Thankyou very much. The Auto-Lite IGB-4001 was used on the 1926 Essex and shows a dwell of 37.5. The IB-4014 shows 36.0. Close, but not the same. By visual checking with calipers they appeared the same. If I knew the 25 & 27 motors had the same internals, I might try the 4014 but to be safe I will stick with original Bosch. If you do find the data on the Bosch, I would appreciate it. Thank you again for supplying this data. Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter R. Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 17 hours ago, Billy J said: If you do find the data on the Bosch, I would appreciate it. Bill, I'll go through my American Bosch master catalog tonight. Here are some pictures of a 1927-28 Essex Auto-Lite IBA-4001 distributor in comparison with a AMB distributor. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter R. Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 AMB and AL distributor caps (AL on the left) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy J Posted August 13, 2021 Author Share Posted August 13, 2021 Peter R. Thank you again. The AMB distributor on this 1925 car is a little bit different from the 1927 picture. I assume changes were made during production depending on supply. I will add these pictures and sheets to my Essex distributor documents. Very much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter R. Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 (The AMB distributor on the above picture is not Essex. Just a sample to compare). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter R. Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Bill, I found some more info about Essex in the AMB catalog. It says 16 deg, automatic advance on T-6200....but at what rpm? Further I found AMB distributor service instructions. They describe AMB distributors and how they are being adjusted. I will gladly scan pdf's for you and send them to you by email if you wish. Send me a PM with your email address. Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billy J Posted August 14, 2021 Author Share Posted August 14, 2021 Peter R. I'm not permitted to send personal message ? Would really like the data on the distributor. My e-mail is bill.johnson.76240@gmail.com Thanks again Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter R. Posted August 14, 2021 Share Posted August 14, 2021 Bill, Check your email. I‘ll also look up the data on IB-4001 so you can compare (the 26 used both distributors, T-6200 and IB-4001). Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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