Ford or aftermarket distributor?

[Doug in NJ]

Hello,

I picked up a distributor at Cowtown, and it is a bit unusual. First, the little ears that hold the spring clips are joined to each other at the top. Second, on the bottom it says "MADE IN USA" on the bottom, and has sort of arrowhead-shaped logo. Does anyone know if this is a genuine Ford part, or an aftermarket one? (Were there ever aftermarket distributors?)

Thanks,
Doug

[Bruce,Upstate NY]

Later '31, I believe

[Fred]

Originally Posted by Doug in NJ

Hello,

I picked up a distributor at Cowtown, and it is a bit unusual. First, the little ears that hold the spring clips are joined to each other at the top. Second, on the bottom it says "MADE IN USA" on the bottom, and has sort of arrowhead-shaped logo. Does anyone know if this is a genuine Ford part, or an aftermarket one? (Were there ever aftermarket distributors?)

Thanks,
Doug

That is for a late 1931 A..Ford Part- Yes..

[Purdy Swoft]

X3 1931 distributor.

[Marco Tahtaras]

The housings marked "Made in U.S.A" were probably late 40's or 50's and usually (if not always) came with long one-piece shafts indicating they weren't sold through Ford. Ford still sold similar ones into the early 50's but the ones I've seen were marked "SP" and of course had the short shaft.

Additionally you will find the ears are what we describe in the Standards as "bridged". We allow them for late '31 only because I/we couldn't disprove what someone added over 30 years ago. The Ford records relating to that are all missing past early 1930. There is a 1934 drawing on file that may still show it with the open ears but nobody has looked at it as yet.

The bottom line is that I and a few others believe ALL distributors with bridged ears were post production whether from Ford or third party vendors.

[Joe K]

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The bottom line is that I and a few others believe ALL distributors with bridged ears were post production whether from Ford or third party vendors.

This VERY likely as the bridging does simplify production - without affecting functionality.

Joe K

[Doug in NJ]

Thanks for all the information.
Original or not, now I have a properly-working, timed, distributor to keep in the car as a spare.

Doug