Crap... distributor trouble with Crane Fireball system

dotorg · 04-23-2005, 06:50 PM

Anyone who has installed one of these in an early 911:

I bought the XR700 kit from Pelican two years ago and finally decided to install it this weekend. I took my distributor out today, removed the points mechanism and installed the bracket, sender and slotted wheel. The problem I'm having is the slots in the wheel bind on the post the spring for the points mechanism attaches to. The only wheel that fits the distributor doesn't fit because of that damn post. (Although its close).

Do I have a bum kit, a bum distributor or is this normal? And if its normal how have people fixed it? The only two choices I can see is to either dremel off the post (rendering there no way to go back to points) or figure out a way to evenly sand the wheel down (although I don't know how far I can sand it down before the unit won't work).

I'm a little disappointed this wasn't a more specific application of the unit...

lateapex911 · 04-23-2005, 07:34 PM

Ahhh...that sounds familiar!

I remember dorking around in the same way, but it was about the same time you bought yours, so memory is vague. I left feeling that the whole thing was a little to cheap...I would have been happy to pay double if it were a little better made.

I wish I remember exactly what i did, but I do remember I made no major changes to the dizzy. I tweaked the Crane peices until it fit better. I remeber my unit didn't seem to line up correctly with the holes to screw it in.

If you like I can snap a digital pic and post it of my install.

I was a little nervous when I finished, as the parts and attachment seemed a bit sketchy, but so far, so good.

911pcars · 04-23-2005, 07:35 PM

I installed the XR-700 in an early 911 Bosch distributor about 6 years ago, and except for periodically lubing the felt, haven't looked or remembered the layout. I do remember the installation was tight, but I didn't have to modify the existing distributor in any way, including the breaker point pivot post. Assuming the slotted wheel remains indexed to the distributor shaft, can you slide the optical sensor upwards so the wheel remains centered in the space? You should be able to do this or use shims under the sensor (I don't remember having to do this either).

Sherwood

dotorg · 04-23-2005, 07:47 PM

A digital picture would be great Jake... I pulled the parts out again and there is definitely no way to fit the wheel in there without binding on that pivot post, unless I spaced it up an eighth of an inch, but then the rotor wouldn't sit all the way down. Annoyingly the other 6-cyl wheel would fit far better, but its too small to fit on the shaft.

I've gotten far too irritated to look at it any more today. I'm just going to get frustrated and break something. Time for bed.

911pcars · 04-23-2005, 08:50 PM

I sorta recall modifying the hole in one of the wheels so it would fit, but don't quote me.

Sherwood

Rufblackbird · 04-23-2005, 10:32 PM

I remember having to modify the wheel just a bit...but it's been so long that I don't remember what was modified. If a pic of it assembled already will help I can go snap a pic. Mine's for sale (dizzy and xr700 unit) in case anyone's interested

dotorg · 04-24-2005, 05:22 AM

Rufblackbird: I saw your for-sale post. Doubt a late 70's dizzy would work in a '68. A picture of it would be handy to see how you wedged stuff in there.

dotorg · 04-24-2005, 07:36 AM

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all the tips. I ended up carefully sanding down the wheel until it turned smoothly. Got everything re-installed, got the unit adjusted and the car fired up on the first crank (much easier than before!)

Checked the timing, and I aparently managed to eyeball it right back where it was, as the timing was spot on, as far as I could tell from the crappy timing light running off a half dead battery. Definitely no sputtering or hesitation throughout the RPM range. Shame its raining today, so I can't go on a test drive.

lateapex911 · 04-24-2005, 07:47 AM

Good news! Glad it worked out. The system definately works, but getting there is a little shaky!

dotorg · 04-24-2005, 07:51 AM

Yeah. Pelican should mention that on the website -- its not that hard if you know you have to modify the wheel. It'd probably take a lot of stress out of people doing the install like I did if the catalog entry just came out and said that.

911pcars · 04-24-2005, 11:25 AM

I'm glad everything worked out. Now we have a thread that documents the fix.

In all fairness to Pelican, they're not the manufacturer, just a reseller, so I wouldn't expect them to know all the variations of an installation. In addition, the XR-700 is not a Porsche-specific product. It's designed to work for a wide range of vehicles. Some installs are smoother than others, and while the manuf. tries to make it as easy as possible to install their equipment, there's no way they can know the skill level of each installer (no disrespect to you) nor anticipate the nuances of every setup. Perhaps a word to Crane and they might see fit to insert that info in their tech support notebook (btw, did you ask them as well?). Other owners may have chosen another brand that was easier to install but the product didn't last as long. That sucks worst. My unit has been running for 7 years (knock on wood), but I still have a set of points and a condenser in the trunk, just in case.

After you've given your car its first shake down run, you'll enjoy the results of your efforts and the memory of installation will fade as it has for many of us.

Regards,
Sherwood
(no affiliation, btw)