Click on image for the lowdown. 
====
| | | Forums66 Topics128,012 Posts1,055,315 Members48,419 | | Most Online14,466
Apr 26th, 2026 | | AD Chevy Trucks  Over 6,000 pictures Brad Allen has an awesome collection of Chevrolet factory pictures that he has set up from film strips. Check them out!
Lots of work on Brad's part ... pure enjoyment (and references) for you!
| | THANKS!
For helping keep this great
old truck web site
on the Internet for over 30 years! and not clogged down
with Ads!  Again, thanks!
| | | | Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 279 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 279 | What is involved in rotating the distributor body in my 235 so the electrical connection from the distributor to the coil is not in close contact with the valve cover? If it is too complicated, I'll leave it as is. I tried to make sense of the shop manual instructions for distributor assembly, but would prefer not to remove the valve cover if possible. It probably is fine as is, but I worry about it arcing against the valve cover. Does it require totally removing the distributor? Thanks. | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,743 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,743 | Loosen the clamp at the bottom of the distributor housing, rotate the housing so the connector points away from the engine, and retime the points to fire the #1 cylinder with the housing in its new position. You'll need to swap the plug wires around to coordinate the firing of #1 with the new rotor/cap relationship.
Get the #1 cylinder to top dead center of the compression stroke, (both valves closed) and give the housing about 1/2 turn to put the connector away from the engine. With the pointer and ball aligned in the hole back above the starter, rotate the distributor housing clockwise until the points close, then back up until they just barely open. Lock the distributor housing down in that position, and use whatever distributor cap tower the rotor aligns with as #1. Then follow clockwise with the other plug wires as 5-3-6-2-4. The engine should start and run from that point, and the timing can be tweaked as necessary for best performance.
Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 279 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 279 | Jerry, is your instruction a 2-stage process (paragraph 1 and then paragraph #2), or is the entire instruction in the 2nd paragraph? Also, will the distributor rotate 1/2 turn (180 degrees) with the shaft still mated to the oil pump, or does it have to be lifted out in order to make a 180 degree turn? Sorry for the confusion, but I want to make sure I do this right. Also, I just checked and I believe it is close to TDC right now. I can see a triangle on the flywheel and it is close to lined up with the pointer. Can't see the b-b, but does it sound close? The rotor is close to centered on #1 as it sits. | | | | | Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,743 Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) | | Kettle Custodian (pot stirrer) Joined: Feb 2004 Posts: 29,743 | The second paragraph is actually the procedure. The distributor housing doesn't have to be removed- - -just loosen the clamp that holds the housing to the vacuum advance and turn the housing about 180 degrees. Then you'll have to re-set the timing and plug wire routing to make a different cap tower align with the #1 plug. The pointer/ball alignment happens twice, once when #1 is on compression, and again one turn of the crankshaft later when #6 is in firing position, so it's an absolute necessity to know which cylinder is on the compression stroke. If the rotor is pointed to the #1 plug wire right now, just turn the distributor housing half a turn and rearrange the plug wires accordingly.
Jerry
"It is better to be silent and be thought a fool than to speak and eliminate all doubt!" - Abraham Lincoln
Cringe and wail in fear, Eloi- - - - -we Morlocks are on the hunt!
There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man; true nobility is being superior to your former self. - Ernest Hemingway
Love your enemies and drive 'em nuts!
| | | | | Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 279 Shop Shark | | Shop Shark Joined: Mar 2001 Posts: 279 | Great! Thanks for the help Jerry. Much appreciated. | | |
|
|
