Has anyone tried the cheaper alternative distributor caps for Testarossa ,250,275,330,365,400 ?? These cost around £70 compared to the various £250-400 original ones... I remember reading something about them and that they were not all that good. Could of course be one-off faulty product,but still. Any experience with this product amongst members ? Thanks, A
The reproduction caps being sold are pretty good. In the beginning there were some production problems that seem for the most part resolved. If you get them look at the bottom side and see if the machining is concentric to the plastic casting. Look at the electrodes and see if the thickness between the machined face and the hole for the wire retaining screw is consistent. I have seen them where the thickness of the material varies a lot and some are very thin. If that happens they can burn through quickly. It seems that sometimes it isn't centered well in the fixture when machined and QA lets them through.
Thanks, You're right,that was the problem. I hoped they solved it by now. Maybe I'll give them a try and hope I'll recieve good ones
I'm going to guess that he's talking about the Marelli cap used on the later XJS distributors. It's what I'm using on my Espada along with the matching rotor which I retrofitted. Mine are genuine Marelli though. It was about $200 for the genuine set from Jaguar. There are reproductions of that cap as well out there.
Distributors are not that complicated, I have modified a few in use in my hot rods. I think some vendor could machine new aftermarket distributors for these hard to get autos.
I, too, would like to know! I heard the cap on later model Jag XJS (single coil input) works but can't seem to find them
Having had an early XJS I've got an old cracked V12 cap down in my basement. I used to use it at work for holding pens.
From what I can find, the later XJS's referred to are the 1991-1992 but the caps have 2 coil inputs, & the rotors for those seem to all be Intermotor which I've heard have composition failures (cracking, arcing to the rotor shaft, etc.)
The one I'm using is the STANDARD MOTOR PRODUCTS 46952 part. It seems to be working well. It isn't as well built as the Marelli but it was around $400 less. This is only for the single distributor setup.
OK, there seem to be several different requests going on in this thread. I can only comment on a 12 cylinder Marelli single distributor dual coil setup. The Jaguar branded versions of these are Marelli and I haven't had any problems. Less than $200 for cap & rotor. There are knock offs of these out there as well. I can't comment.
I have four brand new reproduction caps now for sale n F-Ads. I bought a bunch to stock up for my 330 GT that I thought I would never sell. But, things change and the new owner did not want to buy all the spares I had collected over the years. The caps are very well made, work perfect and look right. Not exactly like original but close enough. Hope this helps.
Is after market available for single coil single disti setup in 365 Boxer? Part number or supplier appreciated, Thanks
Well,I decided to order the pattern distr.caps. They arrived yesterday from Eurospares and the parts seem nice enough. Build quality seems good and not far from the originals. One difference is the lack of numbers for the leads. Not sure if every original cap has that but mine has. But.... As Brian mentioned earlier some of the early repro caps was not concentric to the plastic casing. And here is where I need input from this forum... The ones I got are not totally centered. It's not much,maybe 0.2-0.3mm at the most. But still,not perfect... Hope this won't cause any trouble ?
What becomes the deciding factor for me is the thickness of the electrode material from the machined face to the center hole where the screw goes in. If at the thinnest one it has substantial material and will not burn through in a reasonable life span it will work fine. I know it is a judgment call but weigh that against the cost of ricambi originali caps.
i am looking for a distributor cap for a 400i. I'm reading about the jaguar marelli v12 cap. will this work for a single coil? trying to find for my mechanic who won't use the internet so please excuse.
If I may please add to the confusion..I have in my hand , a Standard Motor Products distributor cap model #LU437 and the rotor for it #LU328. I just bought it last week at good ol' Amazon..$72 and $36 US smackers. The construction appears to be of excellent quality. Also, previously researching the composite used, it is a glass infused plastic of highly insulative nature. Yes it is of the twin tower design, but I have been running an earlier knock-off brand which seems to be made of Bakolite just like my original Marelli cap and the original telephones (for those of us who can remember non-dial phones and party-lines). Some of the plug wire towers are chipped and cracked. The off-center unused coil tower is plugged with epoxy. I intend to do the same with the new Standard cap, as soon as I am willing to donate some substantial DNA to dig out the old cap Standard has been around since the early 20th century on the majority of U.S. made cars. I hope that this is of some help to someone. Thank you. Jq.
