Delco Distributor Gear Removal

[CMCamp]

My 1962 305D V6 has a Delco Remy 1110282 2C8 distributor. I am trying to install a Pertronix electronic ignition, but the distributor shaft has too much lift. This requires that the distributor be disassembled and shims be installed to reduce the lift. I need to remove the bottom gear to do this. The gear is attached by some sort of pin that has been press fit into two spring plates (please refer to the attached picture). Is anyone out there familiar with this attachment mechanism? How is the gear removed and how is it reinstalled? Are special tools required?

Thanks for the help.

[sclor]

Cmcamp:
Do you have the original pertronix or the later igniter II? I believe the later igniter II does not require removing the gear for shimming this making a simpler install. Removing/replacing the gear is always problematic in my opinion.
Regards
Steve
New Orleans

[CMCamp]

It is a PerTronix 91164 -Ignitor II. It must be an older setup, the shims are thin washers. There’s no way to get them on without disassembly. I’ll reach out to Pertronix to see if there might be a different style of shim.

[James]

I seem to remember one of the other member stating our distributor shaft is loaded differently due to the way the gears are cut. While the engine is running our distributor pull down on the shaft, whereas the SBC and BBC push upward and require shimming.

Someone else on the forum can verify this if I'm wrong.

[CMCamp]

That's a great point. I just checked several sites and they all say that our distributor spins clockwise while looking down on it. Based on how the gear is cut, it would pull down. I'm going to test it out without putting the shims in. Thanks for the tip.

[AZKen]

The SBC and BBC rotate CW also. There should be about .03 axial endplay on your dizzy. There is no up or down force because of gear cut. The Ignitor II says you need a min of .010 to a max of .060 between magnetic ring and module. That is a large tolerance. What do you have? The measurement is taken at rest so gravity is at work. The Pertronix gap is very forgiving.

[CMCamp]

The gear on my distributor has a helical cut, so I think there would be a downward thrust force based on a CW rotation.

I think I now have it within Pertronix spec. I added one spacer to the magnetic ring, which moved it down towards the pickup. I had to bend the pickup bracket slightly to get .010 clearance. Adding the spacer also closed up the clearance when the distributor shaft is pushed up. It is now .050, which is within spec. Disassembly avoided!