Distributor Explosion!!

[40]

I sold my old Coupe D'Ville to a young fellow from Detroit today.He arrived about lunch time,looked the car over,both he and his mechanic friend test drove it a few miles and everything was fine.We did the usual paperwork,said our goodbyes and they were off.About 5 minutes later,he phones and says the distributor blew apart and they were broke down along side the road.I have owned this car for a number of years and it has been one of the most bullet-proof cars I've ever owned.....I've driven it all over the country.I thought he was kidding at first but after sensing the tenseness in his voice,I quickly jumped in the truck and was off to assess the damage.The distributor cap was cracked completely in half,and pieces were missing.It wasn't until I had returned from the auto parts store with a new cap and we started to install it that we realized,with the help of a good mechanic friend of mine,that the rotor was MIA....it was nowhere to be found.Off to the parts store again for a rotor,installed it and off they went with no further problems so far.Has anyone else ever had anything like this happen.My only thought is that the screws that hold the rotor somehow worked their way loose sending the rotor crashing thru the cap......doesn't really seem possible as the car was running fine only a few minutes before during the test drives.Any ideas?

[enjenjo]

I've seen it happen, but the cap is usually loose, causing the problem.

[bowtietillidie]

My guess would be the mechanic friend looked at the dist. when he put the cap back on he did not get it seated square to the dist body .   As the car was driven the cap shifted     band crash no more cap and rotor .   I have dune this my self .    I found this out from an old Line Mechanic friend of mine.
Old Jack loved it when a young mechanic came to him and whined about something they could not figure out

[Jokester]

I've broken caps by having weak motor mounts.  Torque puts the cap against the firewall and bang, busted cap.  Don't know if it applies to Caddy or not, but it happens on chevys.

my 2 cents, no refunds.

[39deluxe]

I had a Chevy dual point in my old '56 that had too much end play. One time when I was twisting it hard the rotor contacted the cap and broke the contact off of the rotor. It was the small button rotor. The bigger screw on rotor might be strong enough to break the cap and itself in a similar situation.

Tom

[btrc]

That is weird but at least it was a simple fix.  Glad he bought it, but now with the Cadilac and the 36 both gone you have room for about 3 more cars.  Whats next?

Bob

[tomslik]

easy, the vac advance took a crap and leaked gas fumes into the dist cap and then ignited, blowing up cap.

[40]

I had heard of the vac advance deal but it was working perfectly.The distributor is in the front so no contact with the firewall.It does have the large rotor that's held on by two fairly long screws.....seems strange that they would both have worked there way out without showing some signs of malfunction before they came out completely.Put the new cap/rotor on,checked the dwell/timing....it was right on....and off they went.I haven't heard from them so I assume they are home safely with no further trouble.Bob,the 36 is safely delivered to California and the new owner just loves the car....he is off to some large show today and is certain it will win best of show......that's cool but I had just as much fun hauling the $$ to the bank! I do have 2 spots open in the shop but I will likely bring my 55 Pickup home from storage and fill the other stall with the 37 project as soon as the body work is finished.I definitely have a bunch of $$ that's burning a hole in my pocket so I'm certainly on the look out for a new project or two.When I finish the 37,I'd like to find a 55 Chevy 2dr Sedan or a 35/36 Plymouth Coupe.I also intend to resto-mod my truck this summer if time permits.Keep your eyes open and let me know if you come across anything I'd be interested in.

[donsrods]

I've broken caps by having weak motor mounts.  Torque puts the cap against the firewall and bang, busted cap.  Don't know if it applies to Caddy or not, but it happens on chevys.

my 2 cents, no refunds.

Yep, this was my first thought.  I had a '64 Chevy that drove me nuts breaking caps and rotors until I had a buddy brake race it and I watched the cap come up and hit the firewall, smashing it to smithereens.  Had a busted motor mount.

Don

[dragrcr50]

wd 40 will explode in a cap, I have had two msd distr caps come apart big time . I usually drill holes around them now and no problem but only on race cars up 7 to 8 thousand rpm.........

[UGLY OLDS]

wd 40 will explode in a cap, I have had two msd distr caps come apart big time . I usually drill holes around them now and no problem but only on race cars up 7 to 8 thousand rpm.........

Strange....My race car used to have problems somewhat "below" the distributor cap at that speed....  

[Crosley.In.AZ]

I have dropped a few dizzy caps and they broke

[2rods]

Rotor screws came loose and broke cap. This very same thing happened to me with a V6 chev and a friends friend had it happen also.

[Mikej]

Josh is going to miss that Caddy. I'm with Bob, two more cars will fit in the space the Caddy took. You better look for a v10 for the engine for a 35 pylmouth. Lots of space to fill.