Distributor

First: Are you ABSOLUTELY sure you got a distributor for a 351C, a 351/400M, a 429 or a 460 (all the same distributor)? A 351W is different, has the wrong gear teeth, will do an instant number on your cam, and won't quite seat in a Cleveland block. Ford has two different dia distributor shafts to match the two different IDs in their distributor gears. Please be real sure you got Cleveland parts before you go much further. There is no bushing in the hole, just a spot-faced place in the block where the gear rests.

Those are the same concerns I have. The folks at Performance distributors in Memphis tell me that this is in fact a 351C distributor. If the shafts are the same which they could be (like I said I dont have a micrometer to measure) it may be the gear then. There is a bronze gear on the old distributor and the cam is an old (circa 95-96 Lunati solid lifter cam . I bought the car a few months back this way.) I read your article on cam blanks with distributor drive teeth problems. I will measure (accurately) the dist shaft and then consider replacing the cast iron gear with a bronze one on the durasprk if they are the same. I thank you for clarifying that there is no bushing in the distributor hole. I'll keep you posted. Thanks again for your help.

A follow up-I had a local guy measure the distributor shaft with calipers. The new one was 0.515", the old one 0.500" diameter. We installed it in a "new" 351C set up with a blower to see if it would fit. It dropped right in. The gears are identical too. I "milled" (with emery cloth) the excess material to 0.500" and it dropped right in and runs fine. I guess the tolerences are a bit tight in my motor. I guess the specs on some of these parts are just close enough "guesstimations" and not true measurements in some cases. Well, happy ending in any case. Thanks for your helpful thoughts.