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I just wanted to share a lesson learned about clone Bosch 009 distributors that are on the market —
While Roy and I were building Emma’s 1641 engine, we installed a carburetor (Holley Bug Spray) that does not support the standard Bosch 205 vacuum advance distributor. So I went looking for a Bosch 009 mechanical advance-type distributor and found one WITH AN ELECTRONIC IGNITION MODULE INSTALLED for $69.00. What a deal!!Needless to say, sometimes you really do get what you pay for. The distributor seemed to work fine when we first installed it. But I was having some weird problems getting the engine to idle and run well. The problem was that the trouble could have been ignition coil, wires, plugs, fuel, carburetor, or timing, or ???.Turned out that when the “el cheapo” mechanical advance distributor was set at 32 degrees before top center @ 3000 rpm, it would only return to 25 degrees before top center when you come off the throttle…and then sloooowly eased back as the engine vibrated. Naturally we swapped everything else out first, then tried the distributor.The E$%I distributor was so poorly made and so loosey-goosey that cleaning and oiling did not help. It was mechanically binding as the internal weights tried to swing back to rest.So if you change out the distributor for a mechanical advance one, be sure to check that the advance mechanism snaps back to rest as it is supposed to BEFORE you put it on the car and start having to troubleshoot ghosty problems.I wound up biting the bullet and purchasing a Pertronix mechanical advance distributor with built in electronic ignition module — twice the price but none of the hassle…— Happy Jack –the fellow who not only squandered $60 trying to save $60 but spent hours and hours troubleshooting self-induced engine problems in the process…I hope you find solace in the fact that yours is not an uncommon circumstance. 😉
Saving up front often costs in the long run!Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
Hope the Pertronix works for you. Suggest you check its advance also. Since German Bosch distributors are NLA, this is far too common a problem…
Early FF TDr on 69 VW pan
Slowly coming back from the ashes...Happens with rebuilt stuff too.
Replaced the distributor in my ’65 Plymouth. Timing and dwell set to exact factory specs. But after just a couple miles, car would start stumbling & coughing and would soon stall. Go under the hood, timing would be way off.After demonstration my insanity over a few weekends (doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results), I finally brought the car to a shop that specializes in old Mopars.Took them three days to figure out what was wrong.During the rebuild process, parts get sandblasted, then polished. The cam that the points ride on was not polished properly and was acting like a file. Just a few minutes of running would wear the block down and throw off the timing.Paul Mossberg
Former Owner of a 1981 Classic Roadsters Ltd. Duchess (VW)
2005 Intermeccanica RoadsterIf you own a TDr and are not in the Registry, please go to https://tdreplica.com/forums/topic/mg-td-replica-registry/ and register (you need to copy and paste the link)
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