Lucas "Racing and Competition" distributor | FerrariChat

Lucas "Racing and Competition" distributor

Discussion in 'Vintage (thru 365 GTC4)' started by JaguarMike, Apr 8, 2006.

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  1. JaguarMike

    JaguarMike Rookie

    Apr 7, 2006
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    Mike Spoelker
    #1 JaguarMike, Apr 8, 2006
    Hi,

    Please pardon the intrusion by a old Jaguar guy. Recently I bought an unusual - at least by Jaguar standards - NOS 6 cylinder Lucas distributor stamped with a 5/59 production date. At first, in ignorance, I thought it may have been a D-Type part, but none of the numbers on the data plate matched any 1950's Jaguar production or competitions vehicles. The cap reads; "RACING AND COMPETITION" along with "LUCAS made in England". The cap is retained by three spring loaded chrome plated quarter-turn Dzus fasteners. No vacuum advance. The plug wires exit to the sides, four in one direction and the remaining two and the coil wire on the opposite side. The plug and coil wires are retained in the cap by pointed screws from inside the cap in the fashion of a Vertex magneto. There is no gear or drive dog and the shaft has never been drilled for any dowel or roll pin. It has a red plate on the side that reads "LUCAS RACING DISTRIBUTOR". The data plate identifies it as:

    Model M ENM4035A
    Type 10 5/59

    Several nights of Google searches lead me here to your forum. The unt I have appears nearly identical to that shown in the photos posted to this list by Roger Willis on January 20, 2006 in post #360, with the exception that his distributor caps appear to be fitted with an additional rubber cover or boot.

    Is this a distributor for, or from, a 250 GT?

    Best regards to all,

    Mike Spoelker
    Louisville, KY USA
     
  2. Bertocchi

    Bertocchi Formula 3
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    #2 Bertocchi, Apr 8, 2006
    My father owned a 250 PF Coupe which originally came from Ferrari with those distribuors. They would have also had Lucas generator, regulator, and starter motor.
     
  3. Glassman

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    #3 Glassman, Apr 9, 2006
    Where did you buy this cap at, I'm getting desperate and may have them made.
     
  4. John Vardanian

    John Vardanian F1 Rookie

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    #4 John Vardanian, Apr 9, 2006
  5. Ferrariforever

    Ferrariforever Rookie

    Mar 24, 2006
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    #5 Ferrariforever, Apr 10, 2006
    Are you looking to buy one ?
     
  6. Glassman

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    #6 Glassman, Apr 10, 2006
    Both myself and Roger are looking for these caps. We both need two sets with rotors and points.
     
  7. JaguarMike

    JaguarMike Rookie

    Apr 7, 2006
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    #7 JaguarMike, Apr 10, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    The distributor looks like the attached photos. I only have the one assembly. It came with no rotor and a used set of points. The cap and the distributor interior look new and unused. the drive shaft has never been drilled for a drive gear or dog. The previous owner took a small chip out of the bottom edge of the cap when he dropped it cleaning the dust off of it. I would not think that the chip would affect the functionality and I could find no other cracks. I found it on eBay.

    Mike
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  8. JaguarMike

    JaguarMike Rookie

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    #8 JaguarMike, Apr 10, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  9. Glassman

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    #9 Glassman, Apr 10, 2006
    These distributors were fitted to about five Ferrari cars that I know of.Several are PF Coupe's and one is a black Cal Spyder that used to reside in Seattle. The caps are seemingly not available anywhere in the world. Togethere with Roger Wills I am planning a small custom run of caps for our use. It would be nice to find a few more owners with these caps to defray the start up cost.
     
  10. Rifledriver

    Rifledriver Three Time F1 World Champ

    Apr 29, 2004
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    #10 Rifledriver, Apr 10, 2006


    I worked on a Lusso over 25 years ago that had those on it. Have not seen a set since.
     
  11. JaguarMike

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    #11 JaguarMike, Apr 10, 2006
    Guys, I think the rational thing for me to do is clean this relic up, list it on eBay, and pass it on to one of you guys who really need it. I run a Vertex magneto on the XK-120 now, so it really serves no useful purpose to have the world's most exotic breaker-ignition backup when I have two or three spare mags already.

    On a pragmatic level, why don't you Lucas guys just switch to more readily available Marelli componants? Is that not a practical solution?

    Best regards,

    Mike
     
  12. Motob

    Motob Formula 3
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    #12 Motob, Apr 10, 2006
    The drives on the back of the heads are different for the Marelli distributors. The cost of used drives, distributors with caps and rotors would be a couple of grand.

    One thing, your Lucas distributor has a rotation arrow on the tag, showing a counterclockwise rotation. Ferrari V12 distributors rotate in a clockwise direction. So your distributor may still be from some other kind of car, Aston Martin racecar maybe?

    Brian
     
  13. John Vardanian

    John Vardanian F1 Rookie

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    #13 John Vardanian, Apr 10, 2006
    Mike,

    Is this a dual point distributor? How about a photo of the inside? Thanks.

    john
     
  14. Glassman

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    #14 Glassman, Apr 11, 2006
    These are single point distributors, at least the ones in my car are.
     
  15. jgerhard

    jgerhard Rookie

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    #15 jgerhard, Apr 11, 2006
    I believe these distributors are used on DB4GT Astons.
     
  16. Ken

    Ken F1 World Champ

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    #16 Ken, Apr 11, 2006
    FWIW, my Lucas distributor for my 4 cylinder TC engine has an arrow showing clockwise rotation; it goes counterclockwise however. I have a hunch mine is not original to the car. The 4 dergree thumbwheel adjuster to advance/retard the timing is also bass ackwards.

    Ken
     
  17. JaguarMike

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    #17 JaguarMike, Apr 11, 2006
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    Interesting observation. The rotation arrow would be correct for a Jaguar. I wondered about Ferrari. This has only a single set of contact points. Attached phot shows all of the parts after cleaning.
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  18. Glassman

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    #18 Glassman, Apr 11, 2006
    The distributors on my car turn counter clockwise.
     
  19. shaughnessy

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    #19 shaughnessy, Apr 11, 2006
    Please advise when you be listing this item on ebay

    Thank you
     
  20. JaguarMike

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    #20 JaguarMike, Dec 4, 2012
    Given my complete ignorance of the value of this thing, I think my best bet is to put it on eBay. Starting price will be $100 and there will be no reserve or buy-it-now price. Auction will start at 7:00 PM Pacific time on December 4, 2012. Flat rate shipping in the US, overseas at cost on a case-by-case basis.

    The item number will be 130814009144
     
  21. Edward 96GTS

    Edward 96GTS F1 Veteran
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    #21 Edward 96GTS, Dec 4, 2012
    after 6 yrs of research, what did you determine?
    ed
     
  22. Ferrari_250tdf

    Ferrari_250tdf Formula Junior

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    #22 Ferrari_250tdf, Dec 4, 2012
    For some time and some reason probably only known by Enzo himself in 1959 Ferrari used Lucas Ignition at least on some 250 GT. For example the PF Coupe 1555GT left the factory with two Lucas ENM 4035 A. I wonder how many of those cars still have them today?

    Best regards

    Matthias
     
  23. Edward 96GTS

    Edward 96GTS F1 Veteran
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    #23 Edward 96GTS, Dec 4, 2012
    then this is indeed a very rare item.
    ed
     
  24. kare

    kare F1 Rookie
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    #24 kare, Dec 4, 2012
    Last edited: Dec 4, 2012
    Very likely to show Marelli that he can't be pushed so he would have some edge when negotiating prices.
     
  25. Ferrari_250tdf

    Ferrari_250tdf Formula Junior

    Mar 3, 2005
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    #25 Ferrari_250tdf, Dec 4, 2012
    Well I think only for those who are missing one of the two. If you miss both what do you do with one? Then you better look for a set of Marellis which are easier to obtain.

    Best

    Matthias
     
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