Clarkair CA-1 Discussion Board

Finally got to work on the CA-1 today. I removed the distributor for cleaning. It appears to only have yellow paint on it. The Autolite tag has 1GW-4301 5Y on it.

No notch on in/on the distributor to located the replacement cap so I too will have to cut notches in the distributor housing. The cap I removed (of the same design) appears to have had the total lip filed down. I am not sure how this maintained its centering on the distributor.

I notice that this does not match the TM nor 17th airbornes distributor. Will due some research now to see what I have.

Bill

BIll,
I used the images from the TM. I tried to match it as close as possible. I hope I get it to work properly,as it seems if the notches are off the spark will not fire at the right moment in relationship to the wire contact. This is a bit out of my league.I filed into the distributor body to match the cap. Here is what is in the TM. Of course since my distributor body had no notches so it must not be the correct one! Here is what the manual shows for notches, which matches the groves in the AL 352 cap. As you can see the notches are right where the clip would secure the cap to the body. I timed the engine according to the specification in the manual and the rotor lined up with the No 1 plug wire, but it was about 1-2 degrees off. Not sure how that will impact the engine!

Help with any comments folks...I'm leadin' in the dark! 8) (Steevie Wonder Smiley!)

Got to work on the Dozer again today.

Working on the distributor. I removed it and soaked the grime off the outside. Now to refit the cap and of course the 352 cap has the lip and the notches. The previous cap installed has the seating groove and notches filed off and the cap just sat on top of the distributor. It was held down by the spring clamps and the locating pin on the clamp mount. I have no idea on how the previous owner got it to run right.

Oz, were your spring clamp mounting brackets different. One of mine sticks up above the distributor edge and fits into the bottom of the ear off the cap that holds the spring clamp. Of course the cap is not machined to accept that so I will have to try and cut that too.

Thanks for the above picture. It saved me a ton of time going through all the old posts.

Bill

Bill,
I got my spring clips from an IGW 4301 that was on a boat motor. I purchased them because they matched the TM pictures. I removed them and mounted them on my cap. I think the notches keep the cap from slipping as well as proper positioning of the cap. If the tension int he spring clips is tight, and you position the cap properly on the distributor it should work just fine without slipping. The key is to get the cap lined up properly, and that was another function of the notches. Here is a photo of my distributor. Unfortunately I did not take one of the notches I filed before I installed it. My concern is that if the file marks are a degree or two off I think it will affect the timing.

seems to be a common issue, that is , currently running machines have caps with no notches. Mine is no exception.

I took my engine accessories off my block recently for re-furbishing. paying no attention to the cap, because, what the hey, right, the cap and body of the distro will have notch and tab!

Not so on mine either..

I know the approx positioning, because of the clips, but honestly, I could see how this could easily rotate a few degees one way or the other.

time will tell when I get the wiring done and the machine together for a test drive.