MTFCA Forum

Iam looking for any information related to the American Bosch front plate distributor. Parts books, installation information and the like. this is a type T448 that I have obtained. Any help is much appreciated.
Bryant

Here's some
There are instruction for the American Bosch 600 which is a clip on with centrifugal advance - no the same

I did see some of those pages so I printed them. I was kinda wondering where the rest of the book is? I found a guy that can get some internal parts but looks like the cap will be a little tricky to find. Any one else mess with these?

Bryant wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:11 pm

I did see some of those pages so I printed them. I was kinda wondering where the rest of the book is? I found a guy that can get some internal parts but looks like the cap will be a little tricky to find. Any one else mess with these?

Because of the cap/parts issue, I run an early vw 009 cast iron dizzy. Early(56?) mechanical advance unit & disable the automatic advance. Parts can be bought.

speedytinc wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:21 pm

Bryant wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:11 pm

I did see some of those pages so I printed them. I was kinda wondering where the rest of the book is? I found a guy that can get some internal parts but looks like the cap will be a little tricky to find. Any one else mess with these?

Because of the cap/parts issue, I run an early vw 009 cast iron dizzy. Early(56?) mechanical advance unit & disable the automatic advance. Parts can be bought.

dose that require a conversion shaft that Lang’s sells?

Check Chaffin's online catalog. The make some of the replacement parts for them. http://www.chaffinsgarage.com/ Don't think they have any parts for the original distributor, just the other parts.

I have a friend with two of those distributors that he has been looking for parts for several years.

He was told that is the earliest Bosch distributor and it has been obsolete for 50 to 75 years.

The capacitor does not need to be in the distributor.

Some coil holders have a tab bent up with one hole in the center tapped for a screw.

That is for mounting a capacitor and it appears to work the same there as inside the distributor case.

Exactly what is inside that large lower case or the reason for it is still a mystery to him!

Bryant wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:26 pm

speedytinc wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:21 pm

Bryant wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 11, 2022 4:11 pm

I did see some of those pages so I printed them. I was kinda wondering where the rest of the book is? I found a guy that can get some internal parts but looks like the cap will be a little tricky to find. Any one else mess with these?

Because of the cap/parts issue, I run an early vw 009 cast iron dizzy. Early(56?) mechanical advance unit & disable the automatic advance. Parts can be bought.

dose that require a conversion shaft that Lang’s sells?

I have done it both ways. Add a coupled shaft or make a 1 piece long shaft to replace the vw shaft also.

The thing looks really simple. Could probably hide adapted parts to inside if needed. The cap will be the hurdle I think. I might have to get creative as I would like to get this thing to work but I do like the “newer”Bosch distributor to get started . I guess let the treasure hunt begin!

For anyone interested and wondered what was inside I disassembled the distributor earlier. The main shaft has a interesting centrifugal fly weight set up. Everything seems worthy. Thou not to hateful the main shaft I would consider having duplicated.

I have an original cast iron unit with the distributor. When I bought it the front plate had no bearing or bushing where the bottom of the distributor main shaft would be supported. Is this correct?

I also have one of the aluminum reproductions and it has a roller bearing at that spot.

Thanks,
Howard

Howard Tomlinson wrote: ↑

Sun Aug 14, 2022 11:37 am

I have an original cast iron unit with the distributor. When I bought it the front plate had no bearing or bushing where the bottom of the distributor main shaft would be supported. Is this correct?

I also have one of the aluminum reproductions and it has a roller bearing at that spot.

Thanks,
Howard

Howard I also did not see any bushing in there. Iam thinking there is plenty of oil splashing around by the drive gear it’s well lubricated. Mine looked to be in good shape.
Bryant

Iam guessing but is there an oil cup that goes here? Maybe one that has a oil wick inside to go to the shaft?

Bryant wrote: ↑

Wed Aug 17, 2022 8:52 pm

Iam guessing but is there an oil cup that goes here? Maybe one that has a oil wick inside to go to the shaft? 2D6408C6-2430-44AE-A129-E1C730AF43C6.jpeg

Yes, that's for an oil cup. I don't recall if there's a wick or not, but it would make sense if there were one.

yeah it has a trough between the two holes marked by arrows on the inside. Thanks jerry! Guess I will be looking for something else.
Bryant

Here is what the original oiler looks like. As for the bottom bearing, there is no bushing, but there is a lube hole running to the bottom of the bearing. Make sure it's cleaned out.

I have purchased the keyed cam nut, cam gear and ford cam nut. I can’t seem to find a source for the washer. Does anyone know where to get it? Or maybe it’s dimensions so I can source it by size. I am thinking it’s acting as a shim for the proper alignment of the drive gear to the distributor gear. Information on the gear lash for these two gears would be helpful also. Thanks
Bryant

I have never run a washer under the cam nut (didn’t know I was supposed to). You will find that the reproduction cam nut drive tangs need to be relieved to make clearance for the driven gear teeth. Adding a washer under the cam nut will only make this gear mesh interference worse.

Gear lash is difficult to set up as it is the crank seal that decides the lateral position of the front plate. A little extra clearance is better than none

Bryant wrote: ↑

Thu Aug 11, 2022 1:00 pm

Iam looking for any information related to the American Bosch front plate distributor. Parts books, installation information and the like. 48CD81C0-7475-4D03-BA7A-8D5FB5EFA56F.jpeg this is a type T448 that I have obtained. Any help is much appreciated.
Bryant

Forgot I had this
- --
--
Picture from PDF

Kevin
Thanks for the info about the drive nut modification. I wasn’t sure about the washer until I saw the picture with one in line.
Frank
Thanks for the extra information on parts with numbers. I would love to find that AB coil somewhere.
Getting closer
Bryant

Bryant wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 24, 2024 2:40 pm

Kevin
Thanks for the info about the drive nut modification. I wasn’t sure about the washer until I saw the picture with one in line.
Frank
Thanks for the extra information on parts with numbers. I would love to find that AB coil somewhere.
Getting closer
Bryant

There are two different American Bosch Coils shown in their ads.
This apparently was a very early one but some of it is shown in the same ad as the more conventional one (second picture) --
I'm using the red American Bosch coil shown. I replaced the coil with a new 6v (had to drill small hole in bottom of the steel holder to break the vacuum holding the old coil in place. The red coil has American Bosch embossed along the top. I purchased the tag but have used it --
--
Here's one on eBay like I modified https://www.ebay.com/itm/115710603891?i ... R6ri0Z7OYw --
--
This is more like what I used https://www.ebay.com/itm/275925767280?i ... R6zi0Z7OYw --
The universal one ttps://www.ebay.com/itm/292991097481?itmmeta=0 ... Vh5koYxAqp

Found this little bugger laying on the workbench. Notice the relief cuts on the drive tangs

Frank
I actually have the 3rd one listed on eBay on a watch list. I always wonder if they will still work.
Kevin
Thanks this is exactly what I was thinking with the driven nut modification. It’s a wonder it doesn’t come this way.
Bryant

Bryant wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 24, 2024 6:56 pm

Frank
I actually have the 3rd one listed on eBay on a watch list. I always wonder if they will still work.
Kevin
Thanks this is exactly what I was thinking with the driven nut modification. It’s a wonder it doesn’t come this way.
Bryant

You don't need to wonder- just plan on replacing the coil - may need ask for the diameter of the unit
I wasn't sure if coil I bought was 6 or 12 volt or if it was any good. Lang's had a 6v coil at the time for about $12. It wasn't that hard to replace. Its oil filled so mounting upright is recommend - gel is more expensive.

Kevin Pharis wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 24, 2024 6:07 pm

Found this little bugger laying on the workbench. Notice the relief cuts on the drive tangs

E6468245-9388-4BFB-A190-B9B3664D194C.jpeg

Kevin,

Are the reproduction cam nuts made too long?

When installing these you need to be very careful that the drive gear is located against the shoulder on the cam shaft and that the nut is not preventing the gear from locating properly. The tangs should just drive the gear, not locate it on the cam. The marks on the drive tangs above were most likely made by the distributor gear hitting the tangs. if the cam gear hub is thicker than an original gear, the nut will sit out too far and create a problem.

I just installed one on a new McEachern gear with no issues.

Andy

I just installed one here without a washer, didn't come with one. I also had no problem with the tangs, no need to file them down.
Take a look: https://youtu.be/WhMediNH1Rs

TRDxB2 wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 24, 2024 7:05 pm

Bryant wrote: ↑

Sun Mar 24, 2024 6:56 pm

Frank
I actually have the 3rd one listed on eBay on a watch list. I always wonder if they will still work.
Kevin
Thanks this is exactly what I was thinking with the driven nut modification. It’s a wonder it doesn’t come this way.
Bryant

You don't need to wonder- just plan on replacing the coil - may need ask for the diameter of the unit
I wasn't sure if coil I bought was 6 or 12 volt or if it was any good. Lang's had a 6v coil at the time for about $12. It wasn't that hard to replace. Its oil filled so mounting upright is recommend - gel is more expensive.

Frank are you suggesting putting a new coil in an old case?
Bryant

Dan McEachern wrote: ↑

Mon Mar 25, 2024 2:49 am

When installing these you need to be very careful that the drive gear is located against the shoulder on the cam shaft and that the nut is not preventing the gear from locating properly. The tangs should just drive the gear, not locate it on the cam. The marks on the drive tangs above were most likely made by the distributor gear hitting the tangs. if the cam gear hub is thicker than an original gear, the nut will sit out too far and create a problem.

Thanks Dan
I think I have it correct but will definitely verify the positions of the gears. I see you make these gears? Are they made different to compensate for anything? Pictures of yours would be great.
Thanks
Bryant

Andy
Thanks I did not realize Dan had made these gears. Great info for anyone looking to do the switch.
Tim
Thanks for the video link. I like the green color of your engine.
Bryant

There is more than one manufacturer of the front plate gears, but AFAIK, I'm the only one making reverse rotation gears for use with replacement Jeep and Nissan distributors. The gears are not the issue- the drive tangs on the nut come very close to the outside diameter of the mating distributor gear and as I said earlier, if the drive nut, for any reason is too far out on the cam nose, those tangs can interfere with the driven gear on the distributor shaft. I believe that Chaffins is the source for the drive nut, but that is just a guess on my part. That would need to be confirmed with them. The washer shown above in the original literature would move the nut out slightly in this regard. I'm not sure what the purpose of that washer was, but use caution if you install one. From a functional standpoint, there is really no need for a washer under the nut- Ford did not use one so..........

Sorry I meant to say I used Dan’s timing gear and the distributor gear depth was good.

Andy