Technical What the hell happened?

I suggest figuring out what the problems are before taking it out.

 

Chance it was on the engine went it was installed, maybe got bumped.

 

Well...just got back from a 75 mile run and zero issues....runs like a champ, but, here is something for you all to chew on.....the last month or so have had a small idling issue...pull up to a light and would be idling then the idle would slowly drop down to where it felt like it would want to die so I've would pop it in neutral to get the idle up a little....in fact when I got home last time I adjusted the idle up a touch before I shut off the car then noticed this problem when I went to wipe the car down this morning......Well, new cap and rotor and now the idling issue is gone as well....holds idle speed for as long as I want to sit there.....I believe the rotor came loose and caused the damage, anyhow alls well now...if anything changes I'll post it...thanks all

 

The idling issue you have had recently tells me the screws in the rotor were loose enough it caught the cap and broke the chunk out. I'm surprised it ran as well as it did, this cap may had had the chunk gone from the cap for quite a while. Gene

 

Install the distributer on the incorrect end of the cam shaft is your biggest issue it will happen every time !!!! Nothing is as it was years ago , tolerances are not held to where they were when things were produced by GM or any one as far as that goes . I vote for a mismatch in brands of parts and as by the GM masters , the screws were loose or backed out because of incorrect thread pitch . I don’t see a motor mount or trans mount fixing itself just by changing the cap and rotor again .

 

I think you are 100% correct.


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A good mystery seems to be solved!

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A friend of mind had a 1960 Ford with a 352" V8, auto. Every time he made a left turn, the engine would race
out of control and wouldn't stop until he shut it off. The it would start up perfect, just like nothing happened.
Turned out his left motor mount was broken, so when he made a left the momentum made the engine torque
upward, hitting the accelerator bracket and making the motor race. He figured it out when he power-braked
it in the driveway and the motor lifted up about 2" on the left side and raced wildly.

 

It used to sound cool and meant you were marking your spot, so to speak.

 

Kinda off subject but I learned something from this post, cars have "tits"? That at last explains to me why I periodically have issues with my 34.

 

Not that mysterious to me. I'm betting the two screws holding the rotor down got just loose enough for the rotor to cant a little and contact the cap, destroying it. Just lucky it happened at the end of the drive, and didn't damage enough to cause it to stop running. Just idling poorly tells me it happened before you parked it, but not long before.
Shouldn't be an issue with new cap and rotor, and tight screws.

 

lol...most viable explanation

 

Yes....it was not a broken motor or tranny mount and the dizzy clears the firewall with plenty of room...so this has to be it.....just glad its solved

 

My Dad had an OT Datsun pickup years ago that would misfire at random. Turned out that there was a pinhole in the rotor button, and every now and then the coil would ground out through the distributor shaft instead of firing the spark plug. Never seen a broken cap and rotor like yours, but glad that you got everything sorted out!