Civilian Distributor ID#

[rboltz]

Is the civilian distributor for the 230 engine an OEM# 1AT-4416? Need tune up parts and that is what comes up. NAPA lists parts for this one only.

[brute4c]

Mine has a metal plate affixed to the housing that has Prestolite in big letters and the code IAT-4411 4AT on it.

By the way, heres what I have gotten from NAPA for my civvy unit:
Rotor--AL107
Dist. cap--AL128
Condenser--AL868
Points: NAPA (Echlin) Part no. CS 729A

[airborne]

Put the 'Pertronix' unit in. Made a world of difference! 02.

[rboltz]

Those are the exact part numbers they gave me. There was another distributor # with different parts. What is a PERTROXIX" unit? Sounds like an electronic ignition conversion?

[brute4c]

Pertronix makes an EI conversion kit for the civilian distributor.

[Barrman]

They make one for the military distributor too.

[generalmartock]

I also am using a pertronix unit. However I've run into some interesting problems.

I'm down here in Pearl River Louisiana working on a friend's military vehicles. One is a 1967 M715 ambulance/ammunition carrier which was originally a 24vt system. Someone else had converted it to a 12vt sys, except they left the ignition sys with a 24vt coil and point sys. The vehicle was hard starting and lacked power. Not a fuel problem that has been ruled out.
When I arrived I had Pertronix's make a 12vt (neg ground) ignitor for the vehicle. The original 24vt coil was still installed within the distributor so I needed to change it out to a 12vt coil. I rewired everything correctly and I'm receiving a really hot spark.
However the problem I'm having now is within the distributor itself and I was wondering if anyone has encountered this problem before or has any suggestions I haven't come up with yet.
Since its a military application the points, distributor cap, rotor, coil etc are all encased under an aluminum housing in order to make it water proof. The distributor cap isn't a normal automotive type cap. The coil tower doesn't exist in the middle of the distributor cap, instead the cap has a triangular type extension coming off the side (approx 1.5") of the cap in which it has a spring that sits down inside the coil.
since I've redone the sys using a standard 12vt coil (outside the casing) I needed to run a coil wire from the extension to the coil mounted on the engine. I removed the spring and found that a small 3/16" nut threads onto the stud the spring was on. So I clipped the high tension coil wire, installed a (yellow) eye type terminal with shrink wrap and liquid electrical tape covering it to the end and mounted it to the extension. I have an unbelievable spark. However, I can't seem to be able to isolate the spark. Its arching over to the aluminum casing. I've tried liquid electrical tape. That didn't work, I've tried (with the liquid electrical tape still on) regular tape (a 1/2 a roll) and still I get an arch.

Have you (or anyone else) heard of or encountered this problem? If you have encountered this, is there a conversion or a cap with the coil tower in the center that will replace the stock cap. If not, do you know of a cap that will replace the stock cap. I understand if there is a replacement cap that I'd need to drill the casing in order to accommodate the new cap and that isn't a problem.

I'd appreciate any help in this matter.

Shal ' aam
AAPiY
Mike

P.S., I'm also running into this same problem with a 1970 M151A2 Jeep.

If possible please reply to mikesautoboatrepair@gmail.com

[generalmartock]

To all who read this posting I've done above. I've already figured out and fixed the problem. For anyone else who has encountered this same issue, I'll gladly inform whomever how I fixed the problem.

Shal ' aam
AAPiY
Mike

[brute4c]

What did you need to do to fix this?
If it happened to you, it WILL happen to someone else...

[YonsterMonster]

Brute4c, I bought a IAT 4416, it works great, but I need a new vacuum advance unit; you were pretty firm about these being unavailable, any thoughts on fixing it? The mechanical advance works quite well, but maybe the truck would go uphill better with vacuum advance.