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51 plymouth --- using a waterproof m37 distributor

Discussion in 'The Hokey Ass Message Board' started by plymouth1951, Nov 6, 2011.

  1. plymouth1951
    Joined: Nov 28, 2010
    Posts: 126

    plymouth1951
    Member

    Hi mopar flathead 6 and military/industrial motor fans,

    I have a 51 Plymouth for which I have amassed all the popular vintage speed equipment for a 230 flathead. Now, I am currently working with a prestolite waterproof 24 volt distributor from a industrial application (airplane hydraulic test machine from 1950s!). This distributor appears to be the same as those used in military vehicles of the 1950s like the m37. I want to use this distributor in my 1951 Plymouth.......for fun and for the hot rod magneto look. Crazy maybe. Practical...no. interesting......I think so.

    From various threads in this forum and other forums and from my internet research, I believe the use of the prestolite distributor in my Plymouth is very doable with your help.
    Here are my thoughts and questions:

    1. Oil pump....I have the proper oil pump(used) which has an offset drive tang so it should physically fit in my 230

    2. QUESTION.....24 volt coil is useless......the industrial application was 24 volts. My 50s style Plymouth is 6 volt and in good working order....and I want to stay 6 volts for now. So I need a 6 volt INTERNAL coil that fits in the distributor to replace the 24 volt coil. HELP
    I understand that 6 and 12 volt coils for these waterproof distributors exist but I am having trouble identifying the applications of their use and worse yet suppliers that have parts for these obscure applications. Here is what I (think) I know. Jeep/willys may have used a waterproof distributor with a 6 volt coil. Also, there were world war 2 generators or "gensets" that used a 6 volt coil in for example the PE95 generator (powered by willys flat
    4). These are the applications I am aware of but that's all I know. I am trying to pin down more specific information about these applications. Can you military AND industrial motor men help me with more specific 6 volt application info that used a waterproof distributor w an internal 6 volt coil??? Once I have more specific application info then I can start to locate a coil for sale! Also, if you all know what I am talking about and can point me to someone that sells these coils or may atleast know about these coils then I would be making progress toward using this "hot rod" looking coil in my Plymouth.

    3. Timing the engine with waterproof distributor???......assuming I find a 6 volt coil for my prestolite distributor...I understand there is is a special procedure and or tools necessary to check the timing of the engine. Or maybe special connectors that are necessary in order to check timing? Can anyone point me in the right dierection on this. (fyi I know nothing about m37 military vehicle maintenance). That is, can someone speak to how one like me would check timing in my application assuming I have necssary tools for vintage car applications?

    4. Plug wires.....I want to use convential spark plugs and wires so I will have to make custom wires that attach to distributor cap with the waterproof hardware that comes with the prestolite distributor on one end then use conventional spark plug boots and ends on the sparkplug side. Any thoughts on this would be greatly appreciated.


    So if you have any 6 volt coils for my application, please provide contact info and price and any comments you have on the above are greatly appreciated!

    Or if you know someone that can help me please provide any and all contact referrals or industrial/military referals so I can make progress on converting my military distributor for hot rod Plymouth flat 6 use! Crazy as it might seem!

    THX. MIKE
     
  2. plymouth1951
    Joined: Nov 28, 2010
    Posts: 126

    plymouth1951
    Member

    Hi all, I will try to post pic of the distributor I am trying to use.
     
    Last edited: Nov 6, 2011
  3. gas pumper
    Joined: Aug 13, 2007
    Posts: 2,957

    gas pumper
    Member

    Check the Primary Resistance of the 24V coil. It may be able to run on 6.

    Or just try it with 6 volts on the bench with a spark plug. Possibly with a small gap like .016
     
  4. tooljunkie
    Joined: Oct 18, 2010
    Posts: 209

    tooljunkie
    Member
    from manitoba

    if it has internal coil,it may very well be a magneto.so it would be good to go as is,the terminal would be a ground to stop engine.need a picture.
    if it was used in the aircraft industry,its even more likely its a mag.
     

  5. plymouth1951
    Joined: Nov 28, 2010
    Posts: 126

    plymouth1951
    Member

    Hi gas pumped, what would I be looking for in measuring primary resistance? How would I do this if its an internal coil....do I do this with 6 volt power to coil or just on the bench? I have an ohm meter but it needs to set to a reasonable ohm range..any idea of what the ohms will be or near?

    How would I do it w spark plug as you suggest.

    Just trying to understand what you are getting at and why you would think or test whether a 24 volt coil would work with a 6 volt car when the original military car was 24 volts.

    Thx for your patience this is a first for me with anything 24 volts and I have never measured a coil before. Thx for your help. Mike
     
  6. plymouth1951
    Joined: Nov 28, 2010
    Posts: 126

    plymouth1951
    Member

    Hi tooljunky......no its clearly not a mag. It's just a waterproof coil used in military trucks and industrial applications. It's cool looking like a mag, but its not. I am trying to use it for looks primarily. Just want it to work properly in my application to go along with my other hot rod parts. Thx for your thoughts.
     
  7. Frankie47
    Joined: Dec 20, 2008
    Posts: 1,877

    Frankie47
    Member
    from omaha ne.

  8. gas pumper
    Joined: Aug 13, 2007
    Posts: 2,957

    gas pumper
    Member

    Primary resistance is the low voltage side of the coil. Right now I can't remember shit, but I'm thinking a 12V coil would be like 1.5 ohms. but I'm really not sure. That could be a number for a ballast resistor coil, a 6 volt coil running at 8v thru a ballast resistor. Or the number for the high voltage side, I'm really forgetting this stuff.

    Where's GMCBubba when we need him?

    Anyway, my thought is that, lets say you have 3 ohms for your coil. At 24 volts that would make it produce (whatever) for spark voltage, and that's maybe a whole lot more than you acctually need. At 1/4 the voltage going in, it might still be strong enough to give you a satisfactory spark.

    The wire from the insulated half of the points goes to the coil. The resistance of the coil is from that to the battery connection.

    To bench test, you'd hook the battery to the bat or ign terminal, and ground the case. Put a spark plug on a spark plug wire, ground the case of the spark plug too. rotate the dist by hand. the spark plug should fire every once around.

    You should open it up just check to make sure that the points open and close and that there is a condensor in there.


    I've, in the past, worked with some Prestolite motors and controls. But not dist. The stuff is very well built and there was a lot of crossover of internal parts between different voltage devices.
    A lot of stuff they made was low volume production, not main-stream automotive, so they creativly used parts that were on hand to assemble devices that met different requirements for different customers. Hard to explain, but interchange of internal parts and pieces was how they could sell the same units to different customers for different applications.
    ,
     
  9. junkyardjeff
    Joined: Jul 23, 2005
    Posts: 8,588

    junkyardjeff
    Member

    GMC Bubba had one on a GMC motor in one of his hotrods a few years ago converted to electronic,I liked it and was looking for one to put on the 235 in my 37 chevy but never found one.
     
  10. tbone1004
    Joined: Dec 10, 2013
    Posts: 12

    tbone1004
    Member
    from 04350

    I know this is ancient, but for anyone else that is thinking of this, keep in mind that it needs special spark plugs and special plug wires. About $10/plug and about $200 for a set of plug wires. Timing it is still possible just not with an induction cable. Not sure how it would behave on 6v, but I wouldn't try it as it isn't run on 12v.
     

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