Restarting my 348 project!!

409gang

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 1
It looks like the distributor gear is bottoming out on the oil pump drive shaft. It could be the tang on the oil pump drive shaft or the shoulders of the drive shaft.
 

Tim

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
Yes James it does, the sleeve keeps the distributor from going down farther. That why I think the issue is the intake being low.
 

427John

Well Known Member
If it were an intake manifold issue a stock W distributor would have the same problem do you have one to check?It doesn't matter if it is a truck dist. just to check.If a stock W distributor sits in there with no problem then the issue is the adapter sleeve not placing the bottom of the distributor shaft and gear in the right position.
 

63 dream'n

Well Seasoned Member
Supporting Member 4
If you have another distributor put them both through the Intake..... does not matter which intake ....... and measure from the bottom of the intake to the end of the distributor gear and see if they’re both the same........
 

Tim

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
If it were an intake manifold issue a stock W distributor would have the same problem do you have one to check?It doesn't matter if it is a truck dist. just to check.If a stock W distributor sits in there with no problem then the issue is the adapter sleeve not placing the bottom of the distributor shaft and gear in the right position.

John I have a truck distributor and it does the same thing. Took some jiggling to make sure it was engaging the gear and shaft but the rise out of the hole is the same gap. I can feel it turn into the cam gear so I know I doesn’t need to go any farther. Difference in the truck dist is it doesn’t need the sleeve for oiling like the SBC.
 

Tim

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
James, the intake is brand new. Edelbrock performer RPM dual plane. I’ll measure when I get home and see what I get. What’s the block to the top of the flange hole/distributor seat?
 

427John

Well Known Member
Is the engine still out of the rig so you can pull the pan to visually verify that the cam and dist. drive gear mesh is close to centered?That will tell you if it is a drive shaft length or manifold flange problem.It probably won't be perfectly centered but should be close if drive shaft length is correct.I would pull the pan flip it over so I can get a good view of the cam and dist. drive gears and gently push the dist. in until the drive shaft bottoms on both ends and check the mesh if it looks good then measure the gap you have add some for a little clearance and then build a stack of gaskets and shims to equal that.Make sure to account for gasket crush also,you could measure thickness of an old gasket to get compressed thickness and use that for the thickness of the new gasket even though it will initially be thicker.
 
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Tim

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
Ok here’s what I got, measured intake and James it’s the same as your stock one.
I thought I had 2 w motor distributors And a SBC. I have one w and 2 SBC. I was using the 2 SBC which are the same. Thinking one was W. “rookie as Don calls me” I found the W motor one and stuck it in the hole first picture and fits as supposed to.
second picture is the difference in length of the W and the SBC. Approx 1/2 inch
The next picture is the sleeve in the hole
Next is the sleeve and the collar clamp. The sleeve sticks up a bit From the collar and the rise from the intake flange and the top of the sleeve is exactly the difference in length from W to SBC
Last pic is the SBC in the sleeve with the collar. There’s a bit of space because I didn’t want to jam the sleeve on that old test dist but normally the sleeve would go all the way on
Still needs shims and gaskets as first thought but the sleeve from show cars is accurate and right according to the length of the SBC distributor.
John, the oil pump shaft is 409 which it needs to be to make this work.
With everything in the way it’s supposed to be the dist is snug and doesn’t move around
 

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409gang

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 1
Tim I will be at the garage tomorrow where my car is at, I will look at it to see how mine fits. John at Morley's put my motor together and I don"t remember if that tube extended above the adjustable collar or not. It may be that the distributor sits on the top of the tube and that adjustable collar holds the distributor and tube up to the right height. I will also get some pics of that hold down clamp for you
 

427John

Well Known Member
What sets the depth of how far down the sleeve goes,is there a small shoulder that bottoms on the lower alignment bore?I didn't realize the adapter was a 2 piece deal.Doesn't the bottom have to be in line with the oil passages to complete the oil circuit to the lifters?The pictures leave me with more questions than answers.
 

Tim

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
Tim I will be at the garage tomorrow where my car is at, I will look at it to see how mine fits. John at Morley's put my motor together and I don"t remember if that tube extended above the adjustable collar or not. It may be that the distributor sits on the top of the tube and that adjustable collar holds the distributor and tube up to the right height. I will also get some pics of that hold down clamp for you

that would be good Steve, I’m thinking the collar and the dist flange are tight to each other and shims/gaskets between the collar and intake
 

Tim

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
What sets the depth of how far down the sleeve goes,is there a small shoulder that bottoms on the lower alignment bore?I didn't realize the adapter was a 2 piece deal.Doesn't the bottom have to be in line with the oil passages to complete the oil circuit to the lifters?The pictures leave me with more questions than answers.
John, the sleeve is exact fit at the bottom. There’s a ridge just before the cam gear it bottoms out on and won’t go any farther unless you hit it which would ruin it. There’s holes around the bottom for the oil passage and there’s no wrong way to install it. I have to grind off the test dist so the sleeve goes to the bottom of its flange and when I talked to Bruce at show cars about it he said the sleeve is the right length that when in the hole on that ridge and the top at the dist flange it shouldn’t need shimming. He didn’t say if it did need what to do but it would make sense that the sleeve stays at that bottom ridge and the dist shaft lifts out of the sleeve according to how much needed. Once that’s determined you tighten the collar so it doesn’t move. I need to file off that test dist so it moves on the sleeve and I can do a proper test fit
 

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Tim

Well Known Member
Supporting Member 4
With it in the hole sleeve on the dist shaft the way it’s supposed to be the up and down play at the rotor is .010

when Steve gets a pic of his I’ll know if the collar it on the intake or up against the dist flange.
also you can see the height and why a stock hold down doesn’t fit
 

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