[Rewind]

Changing out the gear on my distributor like suggested ... may have ran into another issue . Is the pin that holds the gear on the Mallory distributor shaft , off set ? I mean .. not centered kinda like the drawing below. i know a stock hei gear will fit the shaft but the hole lines on one side only .

 

[Rewind]

 

[BillK]

Rewind,
I have never seen one like that ? Might want to call Mallory and ask thier opinion.

 

[Rewind]

Iam more lost then i was .....
I called the number on the Mallory site and was told i did need to change the gear for the cam iam using , However when i asked about the hole being offset , i was told it would be impossible cause otherwise i wouldn't have a roll pin in it now .

 

[Marv D]

When Mr Gasket bought Mallory they moved tech from Nevada to ...... Ohio or Egypt,, Iran somehwere that they don't even have a hands on person on the staff. So take what the phone jocky's tell you with a grain of salt.

Mallory bronze gears come with only ONE hole drilled in them for good reason,, the hole is NOT always centered. I have one of the Mallory $60 gears sitting on my shelf as a reminder that things are NOT always as you expect. I took great pains to drill the gear EXACTLY through the center. When I went to put the roll pin in it wouldn't go through. The hole in the distributor shaft was off-center just 'that' much. I was told this is 'common practice' at Mallory. I was a big fan of Mallory ignitions until Mr GAsket screwed the company up so bad you can't trust anything they say, or any product they sell any more!!
just my opinion

 

[Keith Tedford]

One time there was a guy trying to get the Delco distributor back into the engine. The distributor wouldn't go all the way down. He had taken the thing apart. When he put it back together, he got the gear end for end and the roll pin went in just fine. Just wouldn't fit the engine very well. Perhaps Delco stuff was better built than the new stuff. I'm almost afraid to buy ANYTHING from the aftermarket any more.

 

[Jcdubs]

My Mallory uni-lite is drilled .020 offset. I ended up buying a gear with one hole and drilled the other. After I purchased a pre drilled one. Why they do stuff like that is beyond me.

 

[MM Racing]

My Mallory was drilled off center as well. I took it to a local machine shop and they redrilled the hole (in the new gear) and installed the pin for me. I also don't know why they would do that but it is not too uncommon.

 

[Rewind]

Thanks Guys , i'll order a gear with one side drilled , Summit won't have them till july thou . Jegs don't even list it on the site unless i missed it .

THou i think the offset is odd , at least i know its common now .
Thank you again .

 

[Marv D]

Call Sam Solace or go to his site Centuryperformance.com He'll get you fixed up with anything Mallory.

 

[Schurkey]

Awww, nuts.

I didn't copy and save the photos before they got deleted from the server. The photo of the offset pin was priceless.

Hey, Rewind--If you send me a copy of that photo I'll put it in my "Showroom" archive on the Team Chevelle server, and it'll be available for the whole world to see.

 

[Marv D]

Thanks Guys , i'll order a gear with one side drilled , Summit won't have them till july thou . Jegs don't even list it on the site unless i missed it .

THou i think the offset is odd , at least i know its common now .
Thank you again .

I had to destroy the gear to get the pin out, but if you haven't already fubar'd things up,,, why wait till July???
Just turn the gear 90° and drill some new holes. It's not going to hurt the strength one bit!

 

[Rewind]

Awww, nuts.

I didn't copy and save the photos before they got deleted from the server. The photo of the offset pin was priceless.

Hey, Rewind--If you send me a copy of that photo I'll put it in my "Showroom" archive on the Team Chevelle server, and it'll be available for the whole world to see.

I put it back for you temp . i hate looking at it .. lol ..........

Actually i did call back and this time was told it was very common , and they suggested using the gear with only one side drilled .
I thought ok , asked for the correct part number , he gave me a part number and that was one that was out of stock till july on Summit . Decided to email summit about the one they do have and was told for sure it only has one one hole drill , i asked Summit to verify the part number , they did and again said it has one hole only drilled . So i was giving the wrong part number also .

Marv D . i thought about that , just debated since it was offset already , if it may make it weaker . But still even then i was told not to use a bronze gear on a solid flat tappet cam .

 

[p-hanny]

most distributors I have torn apart (GM, Ford, chrysler etc..) are offset. I usually mark them when I take them apart so I dont get it 180 off when going back together (makes it easier on me)
As to why they are offset? Well I could give you one answer, if I do an intake gasket on a car I mark the distributor and the rotor position. When I put it back together I put it back exactly where those marks were. Check timing to get exact ""but rarely need to adjust it"" . If that gear was able to be put on two ways you wouldnt be able to do that because it would be off for sure. I would think if you put it on 180 out (if even only by 10-20 degrees but still off maybe not even start) I dont know if thats why they do it that way but I sure do like it for what I do for a living. Good luck with it.

 

[70 beater]

I have 4 Mallory distributors and all are offset,and I know atleast 2 of the gears interchange,but a gear from an HEI will not work.I wonder if an Accel gear would fit the Mallory,being the same thing?Do you think they do that so you have to get the replacement from them?

 

[Schurkey]

Thanks, Rewind. I trust this means you don't mind if I save 'n' use that photo. Like I said in my earlier post; I've saved it on the Chevelle Tech server in my Showroom account.

I have 4 Mallory distributors and all are offset... ...Do you think they do that so you have to get the replacement from them?

No, I suspect they do it because they're too careless and lazy to do it right. Their fixture or jig is worn out--if they even use one--and so they pop a hole in the thing any old place that looks easy at the moment.

Which, frankly, is similar to how I feel about the Mallory Unilite. Under-engineered and fragile (in terms of over-voltage protection); Mallory expects you to buy an add-on protection device at extra expense because they couldn't be bothered to build the thing robust enough to begin with.

 

[ccrider86]

i must have one the few that were drilled straight,i just changed the gear on my unilite with a comp cams gear.went together just fine.

 

[Sandy]

I just removed and replaced a new bronze comp cams gear on a chevy msd billet distributor. The guy that installed it the first time put it on with the gear end "down". Sure glad it was drilled centered with a hole on each side cause it made punching out the roll pin very easy to do.

Not sure if this is typical, but there is a fair amount of "play" laterally where the distributor sits in the intake manifold. I am NOT using the O Rings cause it is a standard GM block.

 

[Schurkey]

Not sure if this is typical, but there is a fair amount of "play" laterally where the distributor sits in the intake manifold.

Common as dirt, especially with aftermarket distributors. I think they machine the hole oversize to allow for machining tolerance stack-up--no matter what, the distributor should go in.

The guy that installed it the first time put it on with the gear end "down".

Ok, maybe not "no matter what". Woof.

I am NOT using the O Rings cause it is a standard GM block.

Yeah, you don't want to tear or shred the O-ring. Fine for blocks that have had the sharp edges beveled off some, though.

 

[70 beater]

Their fixture or jig is worn out--if they even use one--and so they pop a hole in the thing any old place that looks easy at the moment.

Been worn out for a long time I guess then,or they eyeballed it pretty good,pulled a gear off one a couple of years old and it fit fine on one over 20 years old.Whatever works I guess.