First please remove the O-ring and apply tape where any metal dust/shavings might enter the distributor. You'll see there are two diameters to the shaft. One is roughly 1 inch and the other is more like 15/16". Essentially what I do (lacking a lathe) to remove the flange is to just carefully make several hacksaw cuts (removing little crescent shaped pieces all around the flange) and then slowly use a common file to make it the same diameter of the larger part. You can see me doing that in the images below. You can also see a reason to be careful with your hacksaw.
You'll be surprised (I think) how easily this work goes. Just work carefully and slowly and please don't obsess over perfection. With aluminum it is common to get a stray nick or two. Those won't matter. Now replace your O-ring. Then as you see in the image below a clamp-on collar will be used to establish a new flange matching the same measurement of the OEM distributor (or the Langdon distributor which also mimicked the OEM dimensions). The bottom of the flange will be 2.76" from the bottom edge of the driven gear or 2.143" from the top edge of the driven gear.
Once that is done, you'll be ready to install, connect new plug wires and set timing. When you install, the rotor will rotate counter-clockwise as it goes in by about 1.5 inches (on the circumference of the distributor body) and you can wiggle it a bit if you didn't guess the location of the oil pump just right...I use a light to look down the hole and estimate where the tang will be after it rotates. Make certain you connect with the oil pump driven slot. Hope this is helpful. Please contact me via PM or at
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