Thread: V8 distributor advice

Never been very impressed with Mallory dissy's.
Contact Performance Ignition in Melbourne who make Scorcher Distributors about whether they can build one for the Rover. They use all Bosch components, so parts can be obtained anywhere, and have built a number of distributors for me over the years, and all were excellent. To give you an idea of what they can do, their Formula Ford/BDA distributor is based on a Bosch/Nissan body ! The 351 Cleveland one I had built used a Holden spread cap and rotor. You can either specify the advance curve, or they can do a recommended one for you.
http://www.performanceignition.com.au/

Definately worth the money.

In the UK , you can buy new Lucas for less than GBP 200, so go for it. Look at the LRO ads.

Remapping curves can only be done using a dyno and timing swings, and this is very expensive and unless you have done mods to the engine, is rarely IMHO cost effective.
Re the amp. I believe so but maybe change the coil to the specified type for the later amp. I am not sure that they are the same.
Regards Philip A

Originally Posted by rick130

Never been very impressed with Mallory dissy's.
Contact Performance Ignition in Melbourne who make Scorcher Distributors about whether they can build one for the Rover. They use all Bosch components, so parts can be obtained anywhere, and have built a number of distributors for me over the years, and all were excellent. To give you an idea of what they can do, their Formula Ford/BDA distributor is based on a Bosch/Nissan body ! The 351 Cleveland one I had built used a Holden spread cap and rotor. You can either specify the advance curve, or they can do a recommended one for you.
http://www.performanceignition.com.au/

Definately worth the money.

I second that, my old man had them build a dizzy for his 84 rangie 3.5 (in 84) and i have his old dizzy now on my 81 rangie, when i first put it on it was like bolt on performance, better acceleration and improved economy
.

Philip, I agree that re-mapping an ignition curve for a standard engine is a waste of time, but it looks like jasper is on LPG, and in my experience more advance earlier in the range is beneficial if running straight LPG.

Originally Posted by loanrangie

I second that, my old man had them build a dizzy for his 84 rangie 3.5 (in 84) and i have his old dizzy now on my 81 rangie, when i first put it on it was like bolt on performance, better acceleration and improved economy
.

Have a look at the thread "Will a GM hei distributor fit a LR/RR V8. Answers all ignition questions for the little petrol engine.

thanks guys. i knew that someone on the other side of the world would be of help! might just go with the new lucas then. would like to get one specifically made up, but going from Scotland to Melbourne is a hell of a way to go!!!!!!

cheers yo all.

As Rick points out, LPG can use much more advance than petrol as it is slower burning. But if you use petrol at all you must have 2 curves.
The best way to do that is fit a Unichip which can have alternate curves for LPG and petrol.
BUT You really need a high compression ratio also to take full advantage of LPG, maybe 11:1.
So unless you are willing to rebuild the motor for LPG and buy a unichip , all of which is many GBPs, you should just try the best compromise using a standard dizzy and maybe advancing 10 degrees static or so( to maybe 16 static), and see how much advance it will take before pinging on 98 or 100 RON .
This will give much better performance on LPG
Regards Philip A

thanks Philip, i unfortunately know that i could do with a far higher comp engine to get the best out of the LPG but it's the ££££'s that are stopping it from happening. i think that i will stick with an original set up and see how i get on with advancing the timing.
my original question was regarding suitable distributors and as no-one seems to have anything bad to say about the original lucas items, then i think i'll stick with it.

finally though, can i replace the 35DM8 (amp behind coil) with the 35DML8 (amp smaller on dizzy body)? as i can buy one for half the price of everything else??

thanks again.