Can anyone tell me their opinion on what to do with the distributor in my 57 chevy 235? I have not seen the engine run but it seems to be complete and in great condition. I got the distributor out today and it looks to be in decent shape. There is some play in the shaft and the gear is a little loose on the shaft. The gear rivet seems to be coming loose although I doubt it would ever cause any trouble. At the very least I would like to get rid of the points and go electronic ignition, and should probably replace the vacuum advance. I doubt a 60 year old rubber diaphragm would be in the best shape. Should I work on my stock distributor or just replace it with an aftermarket? I figure a new coil, lobe sensor, and vacuum advance for my stock distributor will cost me about $200. There are some new HEI distributors on Ebay that fit a 235 and are ready to install for $100. They are a Top Street Performance brand which I never heard of, so they are probably a generic Chinese part. I don't need a high end distributor, I just want something reliable and maintenance free. Is there any well know brand distributors for a reasonable price? What would everybody do?
