[tubman]

I am in the process of refurbishing a Mallory "Rev-Pol" distributor. This is a "Z" model, meaning it has a vacuum advance. The vacuum advance in these things is actually a vacuum brake, just like older Ford V8's. One of the things that was "toast" on it was the friction tip on the brake piston. These are made of leather, and from my measurements, must be at least 1/4" thick. I did a little research and found that there is indeed leather this thick; it is called 16 oz. leather. I looked all over, and finally found a nice chunk of 16 oz. leather. Of course, I had to buy a lot more than I needed for a couple of distributors and then I needed a proper punch.These tips are 5/8" in diameter, which, I believe, is the same as an old Ford uses. I have never found a source for these, so if anyone needs one, I can make you one. I'd sell them for a few bucks apiece (including shipping) if anyone wants one. I don't know the exact price, because the Post Office says something like this has to go parcel post and not regular mail. If there's enough interest, I'll find out what they need and set the final price. Any takers? You can PM me.

Here are a few pictures of the tip I made, along with the old one I removed.