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Swapping Out That Old Marelli By Mike Lancial Advocate 911T Registry |
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| Well I am the
owner of a 1970 911T with the dreaded Marelli distributor, quick queue
the organ music. As some of you know by now several years ago Marelli
quit making tune-up parts for this distributor; no points, caps or
rotors from Marelli. However condenser and points are available from
after market sources. Pelican
Parts is one source, the part numbers are PEL-PP901331 and
PEL-PP901344 respectively. IKAR is another source, the Porsche part
number is 911.602.960.00. These parts are produced in low volume so I
wouldn't be surprised if these sources also dry up. So if you need a cap
or rotor the best course of action is to bite the bullet and buy a Bosch distributor. The next
question is new, rebuild or to modify a used Bosch.
Option number one: New The cost of a new Bosch distributor will give even the most seasoned Porsche owner sticker shock. I did a little research on the web for Bosch distributors and found that the prices range from $599.99 - $749.95. I didn’t contact my local Porsche parts desk because in most cases they are considerable higher. Here are the places that I contacted. There are many more and if you are a reseller and would like your link added here send an e-mail to webmeister@911t.orgTweeks http://www.tweeks.comPelican Parts http://www.pelicanparts.comPerformance http://www.performanceproducts.com/Option number two: Rebuild Finding a used Bosch really isn’t as difficult as you might think but the costs vary. Online auctions or swap meets are the obvious. WWW.ebay.com is the most popular. I’ve seen them go for any where from $49.00 to $110.00. I paid $50.00 at a swap meet in Ventura Fall of 2003.You might also want to contact independent Porsche mechanics. They may have removed a worn distributor for a customer. For them it’s easier to remove and replace a worn distributor than it would be to fix what’s worn. For us that worn distributor is a diamond in the rough. As long as the purchase and repair costs don’t exceed the slightly higher cost of a functioning used one then rebuilding a distributor is a good option. I was also told by several reliable sources that any early distributor, that use the steel hold down clamp, will work.That being said not all of them will be plug and play. They will most likely require some degree of rework. See Figure 1. |
Roy of Motormeister was kind enough to answer some questions about the rebuilding costs for an early distributor. TEL-800-756-0956 FAX 562-940-1905 Q. Which Bosch distributors part numbers are a direct swap and which ones will fit with a little work i.e. modifying curve? A. All pre-1971 Bosch dist. will work just fine, but most are pretty tired from being 30 years old, the 1974-1977 will work to but will need to be machined down for installation and you will NOT need to use the vacuum retard, just plug it. Q. What is the typical rebuild cost? A. Around $195.00 or $295.00 out right Q. What types of wear occurs? A. Many different things and the worse problem are parts are not being made for them, sometimes it takes 2 to make 1. Springs, bodies, plates and yes, even the shaft can wear. Q. What to look for in a used distributor, i.e. worn items? A. Up and down play of the shaft and side to side play of the shaft, this is the most common, besides stripped screws and rusted internals Q. How much to modify the curve? A. Around $80.00, but most sent in need more then a curve from age Q. Some distributors have vacuum advance can they be modified? A. Yes, they are actually re-tard, just plug them up! Q. Will this impact the revlimiter? A. Not at all, but always remember that the revlimiter will NOT work on miss shifting or going down hill. End of Roy’s comments
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