Topic: distributor number ?!

[mhubert89]

hi,

can someone told me what suppose too be the good distributor number for my 68 289 4 speeds ?

right now i have a distributor with C7OF-12127-B and on the shaft C8OF-12131-A !

thanks for your help !

[jwc66k]

There are a couple possibilities:
C7OF-12127-D - 2 barrel, 4sp, Thermactor smog.
C7OF-12127-A - 2 barrel, 4sp, no smog (a possibility).
The other distributors listed have equipment that you don't have (AT).
Your current one is:
C7OF-12127-B - 2 barrel, AT, no smog.
There might be a better answer in the 68 service manual.
Jim

[J_Speegle]

Also check the date for some additional info. Side of the dist where the stamped dist id number is - just at the bottom stamped into the aluminum

[mhubert89]

There are a couple possibilities:
C7OF-12127-D - 2 barrel, 4sp, Thermactor smog.
C7OF-12127-A - 2 barrel, 4sp, no smog (a possibility).
The other distributors listed have equipment that you don't have (AT).
Your current one is:
C7OF-12127-B - 2 barrel, AT, no smog.
There might be a better answer in the 68 service manual.
Jim

i dont have a smog...what about this parts number..i was thinking that the one i need ? C7ZF-12127-F !! but you told me that the number can be C7OF-12127-A ?

[mhubert89]

did they have some difference between a automatic distributor and a manual one ? like shaft, gear ect...

[jwc66k]

i dont have a smog...what about this parts number..i was thinking that the one i need ? C7ZF-12127-F !! but you told me that the number can be C7OF-12127-A ?

C7ZF-12127-A is shown being used on a 4 barrel carb (w M/T and no smog) but there were no 289 4 barrel engines in 1968, the engine would have been a 302 (J code). A 289 4 barrel may have been planned but was never built.
C8OF-12131-A  is the casting number of the housing and is probably on all 68 (and on?) distributors.
Again, find a 68 Ford Service Manual and see what it says.
Jim

[J_Speegle]

did they have some difference between a automatic distributor and a manual one ? like shaft, gear ect...

Would not be (generally) a physical difference but differences in timing, advance, emission concerns ....... between applications All depends on year and application

[jwc66k]

did they have some difference between a automatic distributor and a manual one ? like shaft, gear ect...

The differences were internal, a selection of different combinations of weights and springs, to give an advance curve required for certain options (transmission, carburetor, pollution control), at a certain rpm of the distributor (which matched the different rpms of the engine). There was also the vacuum advance that was generated from a port (hole) in the carburetor that actuated a plate inside the distributor. Inside the vacuum advance housing were springs, stops and spacer to also give the desired advance curve. There were also way to "tweek" the curve while on a test stand. It's not anything you can do without the test stand.
Jim

[mhubert89]

if they have some difference...why if i want to buy a new rebuilt ( like at NPD) you dont choose between auto or manual and they said that is no difference ??

[jwc66k]

if they have some difference...why if i want to buy a new rebuilt ( like at NPD) you dont choose between auto or manual and they said that is no difference ??

There is one reason for the one size fits all: if sellers tried to keep the correct distributor for each small block Mustang for the 64 to 73, they would have a lot of inventory; the same applies to the rebuilder and to the intermediate parts distributor. So it's rebuilt to a general specification that will work. If you go to a distributor specialist shop, they will rebuild to your car's requirements. It's the weights and springs that make the differences. I used to have a friend in a retail auto parts store that would let me got thru the boxes of distributors and carburetors looking for the stamped ID markings on the castings that I wanted. That ID was the critical part. When rebuilders prepared a casting for rebuilding, they bead blasted, or acid dipped, the ID off in their process of getting the dirt off. I've found usable cores on e-bay but even that source is getting scarce.
Jim

[J_Speegle]

if they have some difference...why if i want to buy a new rebuilt ( like at NPD) you don't choose between auto or manual and they said that is no difference ??

Don't think NPD and others sell different 65- 66 fenders for a V8 or a 6 cylinder or a GT same basic idea.

Because, like many Ford replacement parts, it consolidates inventory, saves them money, you don't have to stock as many versions........ Leave it up to the customer or shop to figure out the final turning issues and get you in the neighborhood. Consider that the Feds are looking at the emissions of a almost 50 year old car replacement parts as they did when the car were being produced.

In general, its were we get "factory replacement" sort of parts - they'll work but not always correct for our focus

[mhubert89]

oki thanks, i will try to find one for my application ...