distributor shafts Q....
 

I believe that stock ford made TWO piece dist shafts ..no? Well, I have several longer shafts, including a peculiar example that came off a B with cragar head..longer by nearly an inch..than parts house sold one piece shafts. Did Ford make a one piece shaft for production in A/B engines. Finally if the one piece was not stock what, IYO, are advantages/disadvantages of a one piece shaft:confused:

Re: distributor shafts Q....
 

There are no advantage to the one piece. The two piece acts like a u-joint between the drive gear and distributor and takes care of any misalignment. The one piece forces the shaft to which ever direction the misalignment is wearing the bushing faster.

Re: distributor shafts Q....
 

It's an "improvement" ---perhaps slightly if you can replace the shaft, but don't have the tools to replace and fit the bushings ---that long shaft won't feel like it wobbles as much, and you don't have to think about how to align up 2 shafts, just one.

Re: distributor shafts Q....
 

Ford Model A's came with the two piece shaft.
One piece shafts are a cheaper part to make, and some people only look for the cheapest price.

Re: distributor shafts Q....
 

Hm, good thots all, just wondering , i. e.- if there is any shake/wobble, it seems that a one piece might amplify that, but an engineer probably would have to examine that today input, as fords' engineers answered this question, back then, with a two piece:)

Re: distributor shafts Q....
 

I know that J.C. Whitney and Warshawsky offered them. They also offered a finned aluminum head that looked like a Thomas, it required a longer distributor shaft. They didn't offer a longer dist. shaft to use with that head and thats why I never bought one. If I had thought enough about it, I could have made one from an old one piece dist. shaft.. The old repro one piece distributor shafts were a bad idea in my opinion because it didn't have the U joint effect. I've found old distributors with the one piece shaft and most of the housings were cracked all the way around just where they leave the head. I had one break on a 30 town sedan that I had in the early sixties. I first noticed fluctuation in the idle, it would idle for a few seconds with a retarded cackle and them it would smooth out like the spark was advancing. I looked under the hood and the distributor housing and cap were slightly Jiggleing on the head as it sit idleing. I found the distributor housing was cracked. I built up another distributor with a two piece shaft. I have avoided useing the long one piece shafts since.

Re: distributor shafts Q....
 

Hey Purdy,
Good information to keep in mind. That's what I wanted to know (potential damage). I'll not use any of the long shafts that I have. But , still am thinking on the OHV head useage, where a loong dist shaft seems unavoidable! I had a Cragar OHV that I had completely bulletproofed to run, and sadly had to sell...as hardtimes came calling! But, I still have a set of valves/springs (double) for such AND that long dist shaft. It does look like 'home made' , but well done. Not much to it as it is only 3/8" stock (?) with offset slots cut into ends. Thanks for sharing your experience/woes with long shaft useage:).