Distributor ????

I have a Pentronix "Flame Thrower" distibutor and coil setup. Should I have this thing recurved. What do I gain by doing this? Works fine just wondering. 1971 MGB. Mikek

Uhm... I am not sure what your question is, but if things work fine, I would say... no... Don't fix it when it ain't broke.

The Pertronix part of it is the electronics part of it. That is a "given" and won't change. It is about as precise as it will ever get.

What will change is the manner in which the spark is delivered, that is the timing of the occurrence during the different periods of engine speed. This "timing curve" is critical to how the engine functions.

OEM or aftermarket distributors are made on an assembly line and will almost always come out the other end performing within a reasonable specification tolerance and will almost always make the engine "work just fine".

A custom serviced distributor on the other hand takes into consideration all, if any mods, and is re-made to do its job within a much more narrow set of specs resulting in a more controlled ignition curve that is best for a particular power plant.

It really boils down to what you are satisfied with. If you like the way your engine runs now and need or want nothing else, leave things as they are.

If you want to get a noticeable improvement in performance and have an extra hundred bucks in your pocket, ship the thing to Jeff and get something back that will actually produce the improvement.

Most folks that I have heard of are amazed at the transformation, from starting through every day running to maximum output.

Jack

Actually, a recurve on those is pretty quick, and is around $50 including shipping both ways.

Here's what I see with that distributor: Bad (loose)shaft bushings when new, anywhere from 18-28 degrees of crank advance, at anywhere from 300-1000 rpm start point and a 2000-3200 rpm finish point. That's not what I would call precise and consistent assembly work. I used to sell these distributors, but I had to spend 30-45 minutes fixing every one that I sold, so I knew folks would be happy with them. I do recurve them for folks who want better performance, but its honestly a pain in the butt and a Chinese-built compromised version of the original Lucas design. Will you benefit froma recurve? There's a 90% chance that yes, you'll get a decent improvement from the work.

Jack's right about going to Jeff. The Pertronix unit is okay, but has a generic "off-the-shelf" curve profile. Sending the unit to Jeff with any specific info about your car (even if just to say "It's bone stock") will result in an optimized curve profile and improved performance.

Thanks all, thats what I wanted to know. The distributor setup was installed when I bought the car. It was part of the sales pitch, "new distributor", but had no idea of its quality. I will be sending it off to Jeff. Mikek

Sent my Flamethrower distributor in to Jeff. Called him up and we talked about options. Great guy and right to the point, thanks Jeff! He will be replaceing all the internals into an original 45D case, recurving and shipping back. Hope to see some improvements but above else I should have a distributor that lasts a long time. Mikek