Want to ditch Load-a-matic on your 223 inline 6? Want to do it without developing an undying hatred for your motor? Well, here's your guide. This one is a little more in depth for the late 50's-early 60's 223, although it may also be applicable to other engines and years in the family. Disclaimer: Don't do this to a vehicle if you absolutely need to drive it to work on monday. You will regret it, because I can guarantee you probably might not get it right the first time. I had alot of problems after I got the new dizzy in that turned out to be due to Rockauto sending me a defective part. Live and learn, keep spares on hand. Tools: Angled Grinder. Or a dremel with cutting wheel. Don't laugh. Small chisel for popping out pins. .530 drill bit, or anything to bore out distributor gear. A file. Sandpaper. I don't care. Timing light. Generalized tools. Wrenches, flathead, power drill. May want a welder too. Parts: '72 or later distributor from a 300. Doesn't matter. A 5/16 hex key you don't have an emotional attachment to. A 5/16 female to 1/4 male adapter. Dewalt makes one, just don't get the one with the magnet in the socket end. Also, don't develop an emotional attachment to this thing. A distributor rotor for you new distributor. You can reuse the cap from the old Load-a-Matic. Looks stock. Aquire a 72 or later distributor from a 300. Doesn't matter what you go with, points or Duraspark. I personally went with points because my folks always told me to "stick with what I know." Good advice. Should have listened to that part about "leaving well enough alone." Oh well. Now the big thing you'll notice when you have the 300 and the 223 LOM out and next to each other is that they aren't exactly the same size. The 300 is a little bit longer and has a 5/16" oil pump shaft, as opposed to the LOM's 1/4" oil pump shaft. Ignore your primary instinct to butcher that 300 down. Cutting it down is completely unnecessary and actually really counterproductive at this point. Besides, you'll get to cut some shit soon. The first real step is addressing that pesky distributor gear issue. The 300 has a 15 tooth gear that needs to be swapped out for the gear on the Load A Matic. Tap the pins out of the distributor gear and the oil pump shaft on the LOM. Remove the oil pump shaft. Then as gently as you can, with a hammer, tap the gear off the distributor shaft. I found that putting the oil pump shaft back in the distributor shaft and then clamping it in a vise made it a little easier. Use a torch, heat it up a little. Use a chisel to get a little more control, just don't chip the gear. If that happens, try not to sob into the phone when you call Oreilly's for a new distributor. Getting the 300 gear off doesn't require as much finesse. I busted that shit off. Fuck it. Assuming you haven't ruined your night yet, it is now time to bore out your LOM gear. Clamp it in a vice, then bore it out. It's just a tad bit bigger than 1/2". Just feel it out. I got it just bored to the point where I could tap it onto the new distributor shaft without pulling my hair out. The pinholes on the shaft and gear should line up. If not, double check. If not then, drill some new ones out with a 1/8 drill bit. That pin will easily secure the gear. "But Cam, what if I bored it out too much?" Don't worry. I've seen piece of shit hondas where the entire gear can be removed by hand. That pin will hold it. Now, onto the oil shaft. Take your 5/16 hex key and kiss it goodbye as you start clamping it down into your vise. Grind the angle off that sumbitch, and now you have your new shaft. Take your 5/16 to 1/4 inch adapter and put it on the end. Doesn't that look pretty? Now weld it on there. Or you can drill and pin it. I don't care. Make it stick, or you'll be fishing chunks of metal out of your oil pan. Now that your jerry-rigged oil pump shaft is made, go ahead and start sizing the LOM and the 300 distributors up, oil pump shafts and all. Trim your new oil pump shaft to size. The assemblies need to be the exact same length. You can pin your oil shaft if you want. I didn't. Just make sure you're pushing oil when this is all done. Set your points to .018. Install your new distributor. You can reuse your old cap, but you need a different rotor. Now, start struggling with your timing. Get it fired up. You're done. Congrats. Let me know if I left anything out. Check out the other threads on this topic. Smart guys contributed to this modification so idiots like me could crash their way through it. By the way, the new distributor has a slightly thinner tang, so the bolts holding it in place on the block aren't going to cut it. I cut a 1" reducing washer in half and used it as a spacer. Happy rodding, you crazy kids. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
Wish I could get away writing tech like that for my club's magazine. Best laugh (in a good way) I've had all week, and Lord knows I could use some laughs right now.
Yeah, Rockauto really brought out the cynical bastard in me when they fucked me on that order. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
That 5/16", 1/4" socket solution is really great! That said, I accidentally bought a rare 1964 oil pickup tube for my engine, so now I'm stuck buying a 1964 223 oil pump which happens to be 5/16" drive. That's another route you can pursue, but apparently oil pickup tubes of any kind for the 223 engine are hard to find any more.
I was with you the whole way, had everything all prepared and ready to go and then I could not get the oil pump shaft out. There is a spring clip holding it in place on my car. Did you encounter this problem?
OK, I installed the new distributor by modifying it to accept the existing oil pump shaft. The car certainly runs better now. I have an electronic ignition that I plan on installing tomorrow. That's about the last of things I wanted to do to the car.
Just did the swap on my truck, piece of cake thanks to the instructions. You will need a 17/32 drill bit to enlarge the gear from the load a matic to fit the shaft of the 300 dizy. The distributor shaft on the Load a Matic free floats, so you can just remove the pin and pound the shaft out from the gear. Invert the dizy on a open vice and tap the shaft out, you don't need to hit the gear directly and break it like Cam did. Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!
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