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installing the oil pump and distributor
oil and spark
oil pump
I also overhauled the oil pump which only required one gasket between the pump and this large pickup screen and tube. I made said gasket from gasket material that I got at my local Auto Parts store. While the pump was apart, I laid a straight edge across the housing and measured the gap between the tops of the gears and in between also. Luckily they were in good shape, no pitting and no grooves worn into the housing or cover. I could not find actual spec.s for clearance, but it should not be more than a couple thousandths of in inch otherwise it will not build the proper pressure to keep the engine lubricated. Also make sure the copper feed tube is clear of debris, hardened oil crust, etc. I used a small pipe-cleaner styled brush to clean out the inside followed by a liberal dose of carburetor cleaner and then blew through with 120 psi of air pressure. You might also notice the gap in the pan gasket. I ordered a lower end gasket set (called a conversion set for some reason) but when I went to install them they were all too small. I was told that they can shrink over time which was news to me. The front engine cover gasket had the same issue. My remedy was to split the gaskets and apply a small bead of RTV to fill the gaps. |
getting "dizzy"
I used to have a pen pal in Australia that I met through another automotive club about 30 years ago. He always referred to the distributor as a "dizzy." And I almost made myself dizzy trying to figure out the position to reinstall the distributor. The shaft is in two parts, one is part of the distributor itself, then there is this second shaft that runs off the camshaft. There are two 'ears' on the bottom of the distributor that must line up with the two slots on this shaft, which must also be in line so that the Number One spark plug terminal is in the proper position after the dizzy is installed. These ears and slots are off-center so can only line up one way. Dizzy yet?
First of all, obviously, the egine's number one cylinder has to be at Top Dead Center (TDC) on the compression stroke - not the exhaust stroke! In order to maintain the correct position of the distributor, the way Austin assembled them, I had to first set the piston with number one terminal at the 5 o'clock position, then figure out the position the distributor ears, then install the internal shaft so that the slots would align with the distributor ears. The internal shaft has to mesh with the camshaft gear and turns counter clockwise as you lower it into place. I marked the block to reference the position of the distributor ears, and after a few attempts got the shaft slots to line up as shown. It is also a good idea to install this with the oil pan off, as it is easy to miss the mark and the shaft will fall inside and end up in the pan, which means you have to take the oil pan off to retrieve it! |
ol' sparky
After looking at several photos and artists renderings, I determined this was the correct position of the distributor for my engine. The blue mark at 5 o'clock indicates where the number one spark plug terminal will be once the cap is installed. By the way, I was able to find original side terminal distributor caps on eBay. My previous information showed that these had been discontinued many years ago in favor of a top terminal design, so I do not know if the ones I bought were New Old Stock (NOS) items or aftermarket, but they look and feel just like the old cap. I bought two so I would have a spare just in case.
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