I was wondering if one distributor was better then the other. I am looking for a nice single points distributor for my 454. I plan on running an old CD box. I read or heard that the iron distributors were better... Thank you..
They went to aluminum to save money some time in the early 60s, afaik. I think there are more important attributes to what is a good distributor, besides what it's made of. Not being worn out, proper advance curve, and having good points and condenser in it, would be pretty high up on my list. Also they used the cast iron type through 1974 on corvettes, as it had cable tach drive. These were available in both point or transistor styles.
Aluminum tends to adhere to the block more so than the steel ones. This of coarse is over long periods of time.
Either type will be just fine, they both share the same internals the only real difference is the housing material.
Chevys are not like those Caddys, the distributor does not fit tightly in the hole except down where there's plety of oil....and they never made an iron distributor for Caddys, so it doesn't matter, does it?
Good article here: https://www.chevydiy.com/sourcing-chevy-big-block-parts-distributors-and-ignition-systems/
The older cast iron distributors were better for setting up advance curves than the later big cap HEI type. Also by using a MSD box on the older distributor could get a hotter spark than HEI .
That's my plan Hank.. They are much easier to set then the HEI. I have an old CD box I might try but will probably end up with the MSD6AL..
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