Stupid Distributor Questions

SSDA67 said

You Are Overthinking the Visual Here...YOU ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING DIFFERENT By Changing the Clog than you are by just turning the Distributor.The Shaft of the Distributor Stays PUT while the Body of the Distributor changes and the Point of Contact..Take a Spare Distributor and put the shaft slot in a Bench Vice.Now Turn the BODY of the Distributor and Wallah you will notice that the Cap RIDES on the BODY NOT the SHAFT....Therefore you have changed EVERYTHING.....THIS IS DIFFERENT With The CHEBBIES....It is VERY Easy to get it OFF a TOOTH Or Clog).......The ONLY time you should have to change the intermediate shaft a Clog or So is when you run out of room for the Vacum Canister Etc...and it hits....
SS

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Totally agreed. Waggins no disrespect meant but your confused by thinking that indexing the intermediate shaft differently your changing rotor phasing. The rotor phasing can only be affected by the position of the rubbing block (points) or the reluctor (electronic ign.) on the dist. shaft in relation to the rotor. You want the points to just open (as verified by and ohm meter) or the reluctor to pulse the pickup right when the rotor is pointing at the dist. cap terminal. No matter where you index the intermediate shaft rotor phasing will not be affected.

That's why it's called rotor phasing because the firing mechanism is phased to fire when the rotor is pointing at the dist. cap terminal.

As was stated already you do want the intermediate shaft indexed so the rotor will be pointing at front drivers side intake bolt. That will position the dist. so a full range of adjustment can be utilized without the vacuum advance can hitting.

I have many times over the yrs. bought cars whose engines had the intermediate shaft indexed wrong (by people that didn't know how to do it right) so that the #1 plug wire could end up anywhere around the cap and as long as the firing order is right and the timing is set right they ran perfectly fine. I always straightened them out so things looked neater and were the way the factory designed them.