willysmjeeps.com

Wes,

Thanks for setting me straight on the “advance” issue. That’s the kind of knowledge I don’t have and I appreciate you helping me understand. I’m going to take your advice and put the lighter springs in.

And because I don’t have that kind of info, I always prefer to use the correct part rather than experiment. I want safety and reliability and I know that using the right part is the way to go. Some of the areas we travel in our old Jeep are remote and seldom visited. I carry enough supplies to stay out for several days if we need to, but I prefer to sleep in my own bed each night.

I originally thought that there was a good spring remaining in the dist which I planned to measure and find springs that matched, but when I opened it up and found none, that idea went out the window. Then three well known retailers told me they had none to sell and I could see that it was time to get creative. In retrospect, the lawn mower springs were a silly idea, but I learned from it and that’s good.

Thanks again for your time and for helping me keep my old Jeep running.

Jack

Google the part numbers and the stock numbers and then file Parts quote requests with those outfits listing the number.

IGE24S M38 distributors
IGG119S (2920-040-2577 or 2920-00-040-2577) M38A1 & M38 distributor
IGB284S (5340-350-2288 or 5340-00-350-2288) Final supercedure for both of the above sets.

IGE24S was also used in the WWII G513 4/5 Ton truck.
IGB284S was originally used in the Ford M8/M20 armored cars with the Hercules 6.

The "S" at the end of each number indicates set of two. For single spring number drop the "S".

wesk wrote:Google the part numbers and the stock numbers and then file Parts quote requests with those outfits listing the number.

Copied and added to the file. One of the vendors I spoke to talked about the diminishing inventory and increasing prices on parts. Thanks again for helping us keep them running.

Jack

We took a ride today to Cascade Creek and then hiked to one of our favorite places, Terraced Falls on the Falls River, just inside the southern boundary of Yellowstone National Park. The Jeep ran great out and back. We had another vehicle along to tow us, but we didn't need to do that.

Here are some pictures. This is a seldom seen part of YNP. The falls are spectacular. It's a moderate hike, 2-3 hours round trip.

On the bridge at Cascade Creek, trailhead about 100 yards to the left.



One of the terraces at Terraced Falls. The canyon is about 50 yards wide at the falls.



Two of the terraces at Terraced Falls

Well, no luck finding distributor springs. Sent out "request for price" on the springs, no replies.

Still using the small block Chevy springs, they last a few days and then break. I'm getting real good at pulling the dist, taking it apart and putting it back together again.

Also, I notice that the holes in the weights are enlarged and the weights are very loose on the pins. And the slots on the cam arms are worn and enlarged too. I've checked w/ a couple of the national military Jeep parts vendors and they tell me these parts are not available.

So, I've been reading threads here and have decided to look into converting to electronic ignition. I've sent an inquiry to Pertronix. I used the Tech Support form on their website, sent them my distributor info. I'll let you know what I hear back.

I sent Pertronix an email this morning, included all info from tag: make, model, ordnance #, serial number, etc. I told them that I thought distributors made by different makers which had the same Ordnance # were supposed to be essentially the same.

Heard back from them this afternoon. Here's what their reply said:

"I could use a picture to help I.D. the distributor. I would need a picture
looking down into the distributor with the rotor and cap removed. If the
points could also be removed that would help but it's not nesseacary. I
understand the ordnace number is the same but that doesn't always mean our
kit will fit with out issue. A picture should help us figure some stuff out."

This is the first time in all of my recent distributor parts hunting that I didn't get an immediate "no got", so that's encouraging. I'll take a picture in the morning and send it to them. I'll let you know what happens after that.

Jack

The Pertronix system is simply a hall effect sensor that eliminates the mechanical ignition points. You still need the centrifugal advance system if you want her to accelerate correctly and reach cruising speed quickly.

We have several members in your area. Try getting one to let you measure their springs and get their installed length at rest and their stretched length at full advance. Then take one of their springs and using a spring scale measure the pull that is required to stretch the spring to the full advanced length. Then shop the distributor build shops for the correct spring.

wesk wrote:The Pertronix system is simply a hall effect sensor that eliminates the mechanical ignition points. You still need the centrifugal advance system if you want her to accelerate correctly and reach cruising speed quickly.

We have several members in your area. Try getting one to let you measure their springs and get their installed length at rest and their stretched length at full advance. Then take one of their springs and using a spring scale measure the pull that is required to stretch the spring to the full advanced length. Then shop the distributor build shops for the correct spring.

Thanks Wes, you just answered one of the questions I was going to ask them. I didn't know what all came in their kit. When I was reading threads here I saw pictures of an M151 kit that included the cam. So I was wondering if the Pertronix kit did too.

I have gotten to know some of the IMVPA members in the Boise area, attended some meetings, joined in on some of their activities and they've gone on some rides with us. Good group of guys!

I think I know just the guy who I need to see. Thanks again for the advice.

The M151 kits referred to in those posts had two kits shown that are for the M151 which rotates the opposite way. The cam's shown are for above the governor/Centrifugal advance and I believe they are oriented backwards to the M38/M38A1 governor weight mounting plates.

All you do when installing a Pertronixs is remove the points and condensor from the upper plate and install the hall effect sensor on the same upper plate. You are not required to remove the upper plate and fool with the governor/centrifugal advance at all.

Their catalog on line shows this:

Military Vehicles All 4 cyl M38, M151 and M422 66, 67 IAU Series Autolite MV-141A

They have a typo I corrected that showed M39 instead of M38. They also have a typo below this line for the 6 cylinder 24 volt kits for the M37 and M715 where they erroneously list the M38 again.

http://www.pertronix.com/catalogs/pdf/p ... ix2012.pdf

wesk wrote:The M151 kits referred to in those post had two kits shown that are for the M151 which rotates the opposite way. The cam's shown are for above the governor/Centrifugal advance and I believe they are oriented backwards to the M38/M38A1 governor weight mounting plates.

All you do when installing a Pertronixs is remove the points and condensor from the upper plate and install the hall effect sensor on the same upper plate. You are not required to remove the upper plate and fool with the governor/centrifugal advance at all.

Their catalog on line shows this:

Military Vehicles All 4 cyl M38, M151 and M422 66, 67 IAU Series Autolite MV-141A

They have a typo I corrected that showed M39 instead of M38. They also have a typo below this line for the 6 cylinder 24 volt kits for the M37 and M715 where they erroneously list the M38 again.

http://www.pertronix.com/catalogs/pdf/p ... ix2012.pdf

(4:30 a.m., we're watching 2 of the grand kids, 18 month old is up, so everybody's up )

Thanks Wes, downloaded the catalog and read through it, I will include the MV-141A number in my reply to them this morning.

I've started thinking (again) about switching to 12V. I like driving this Jeep and I use it a lot. Stuff wears out. At the present I have a working generator, voltage regulator, starter and distributor. They have a functional value, but they also an historic value. I'm tempted to put it all on the shelf to preserve it for the future. There seems to be plenty of mechanical parts around for these old Jeeps, (our '54 is complete except for the 24V stuff) but these electrical parts are getting scarce.

Just a thought. Not something I'm going to do right away.

You are correct Wes. Here's the reply I got back from Pertronix after I sent them a picture of the inside of my distributor.

"Yes, the MV-141 should fit this distributor."

And, I remembered that one of the guys we ride with once mentioned having an NOS distributor that he bought years ago to have as a spare for his M170. I checked with him yesterday and he still has it (in a box somewhere!). I'll see him in a couple of weeks and use his springs to get a measurement.

As always, thanks for the good info!

I'm bringing up this old thread because I am kindof in the same boat now. I'm rebuilding a spare distributor to put in the spare engine I am also slowly rebuilding. Anyway, the weights and springs are, of course, not available without getting your distributor rebuilt by one of the "big dealers".

So, I'm throwing out a "parts needed" request here. I definately need 1 weight and 1 spring. I'll take both of each though if you have them. If you have a complete distributor I might be interested (depending on price of course). I'll put this in the parts wanted forum too.

Thanks[/code]