Harman Collins Distributor

[Strick]

Is what I have pictured the rare Harman Collins Distributor conversion or a standard 42-48 dizzy that someone put the tan HC rotor plate and rotor on? The reason I ask is the point plate looks like the standard Ford unit, it has a 8 lobe shaft instead of what I thought was machined by HC to be a 4 lobe shaft during the conversion, and there's no holes where the HC tag would have been riveted on.

[Ol' Ron]

Not good. need 4 lobe cam and special roror and dual points. Bubba can fix it.

[Bored&Stroked]

This is currently a "bastard child" - about 1/2 way between two different parents (stock and a Harman-Collins).

Unless you really want a Harman Collins - dual point, dual coil, then it would be easier/cheaper to take this back to a stock unit. Does it have a 4 lobe or 8 lobe cam? My guess - the stock 8 lobe - otherwise it could not have been used in it's current configuration.

It doesn't give you the benefit of either one (low cost parts - versus higher performance on a high-rpm engine). With some special HC parts - it could have it's gender re-assignment completed - though not many guys have those parts available to sell outside a whole/complete HC distributor.

Good luck,
B&S

[Strick]

That's what I figured Ol' Ron and Bored&Stroked as I learned more about them....it has a 8 lobe cam. Too bad I paid a H&C price for it when purchased. I appreciate both of your inputs.

[Strick]

if anyone has a 4 lobe cam or HC point plate, let me know.

[qmdv]

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I have a HC model 14 that I am not going to use. It has four lobes.


Just buy a new crab cap for it. Better yet send it off to Bubbas

Tim

[qmdv]

Here is one on ebay https://www.ebay.com/itm/HARMAN-COLL...RZgQXB&vxp=mtr Seems high. A few years ago a brand new still in the box one sold for just under 1500. But the box was perfect. It is probably sitting on some collectors shelf.

Tim

[Chris Haynes]

Originally Posted by qmdv

I have a HC model 14 that I am not going to use. It has four lobes.


Just buy a new crab cap for it. Better yet send it off to Bubbas

Tim

If you put a Ford cap on a HC you will break the impossible to find rotor.

[JM 35 Sedan]

Originally Posted by Chris Haynes

If you put a Ford cap on a HC you will break the impossible to find rotor.

The Ford crab cap offered now by Bob Drake will work on both the stock Ford and HC distributors.

[qmdv]

Originally Posted by Chris Haynes

If you put a Ford cap on a HC you will break the impossible to find rotor.

Pretty sure HC just used a stock cap. In 1963 a friend bought a flathead to put in his model A. It had a HC distributer and we wired the plugs as per the numbers on the cap. Boy did it make some good noises. Backfiring really well. The HC instructions gave you the code using the numbers on the cap to wire it correctly. Also why would anybody build a custom cap when a stock one was available. I am pretty sure that they made the rotor to fit the cap.

Tim

[russcc]

You may recall the numerous posts in the past that someone was remanufacturing the H&C rotor and intermediate plate. Check with Mason Racing Ignitions, Pat Mason, PA 610 287 1511.

[Tim Ayers]

Besides the coolness factor, what do you gain using this unit over a properly set up crab and a good coil?

[Bored&Stroked]

Originally Posted by Tim Ayers

Besides the coolness factor, what do you gain using this unit over a properly set up crab and a good coil?

Given the RPM range that most folks are running their flatheads on the street - there is no advantage. However, if one is racing and needs an ignition to go beyond 5000 or so RPM, then the HC is a better unit. Part of the reason is that it uses Bendix magneto points - with just a 4-lobe cam, the other is that having dual coils allows them to better saturate at the higher RPMs.

BUT - there are not that many guys who are running their 'street flatheads' in a manner that the HC is an advantage.

Also, you have twice as much crap to go wrong -- two condensers, two coils a lot more wires, etc.. I ran one for quite a few years when I was young - I raced with it, ran it on the street and it was a good ignition . . . but I did get tired of screwing with it and ultimately went to a magneto (made my life a whole lot easier!).

B&S

[BillM]

The inside of a Harmon Collins cap does not have the "rib" that is on most of the replacement caps. The rotor in a H-C distributor comes real close to the inside of the cap as you can see the rub marks on the picture of the H-C cap.

[Mart]

There is a distinct rib on the outside of the cap. Must have been an earlier type design. Maybe the rib was brought inside the cap for fan clearance on certain models?? Doing a lot of guessing here. I have one old cap here with an external rib, I'd bet it's not a HC only part.

Mart.

[Bored&Stroked]

The "HC" cap was just a remarked Ford Cap. Most of the original Ford caps that I've seen had the big pronounced RIB on the outside - and no rib on the inside.

Also a true HC cap has a new set of cylinder numbers burned into the outside of them - as the on-cap wiring order is different - it jumps back and forth from one side to the other (dual coil - remember). I believe the new numbers were done with steel lettering dies - just heated up and melted into the standard Ford caps.

As some have mentioned, if you use some of the more typical repop caps (shown above with the rib on the inside, you can break that rare HC rotor. They are being repopped - but who wants to pay $100+ for a new rotor because of the WRONG cap.