I am in the process of trying to decode the work of previous owners of this 1946 3600 pickup. The engine casting numbers indicate that the 216 engine is actually from 1949. Somewhere along the line, the electrical system was converted to 12 volt with a reducer for the dash gauges. So far, so good. What's making me crazy right now is trying to figure out what I have for a distributor. There is no label on the outside but the breaker plate indicates that it's a model 1112403, serial 5L15 so that looks like a solid 1955 to me. At least the breaker plate is from '55, not sure about the casting though. Also, in looking at the rotor, it seems much longer than the standard rotor from 1946 or 1949. I measured it to be 1.687" long from contact point to the back of the rotor arm.
Also, I have to replace the vacuum advance, which looks like its a 1949 model in order to fit the engine geometry.
So with this mishmash of parts, how does this affect performance and/or settings? Is the dwell setting any different from year to year? Is the timing curve affected, if so, how? Is there any reason for me to be worried that this setup will be a problem? I'm assuming that my tune-up kit will be points, rotor and cap from '55 and gapped to '55 specs. Do I have that right? Will I have to make any adjustment to the timing other than the standard setting? Oh so many questions I have... Thanks in advance for your sage advice.
