distributor

[azkid]

After a rebuild of my .031 still not impressed with performance(at times a run away idle issue) many options being considered including a .009. Stock engine with stock Solex carbs. Anyone using the .009 on a 1966 912 ?

[Peter Graham]

A 009 is about the worst distributor a 912/616 motor can have. The advance curve is wrong. I ran one for a long time setting total advance to 32 degrees; the motor at idle would shake your teeth loose! The preferred distributor, in lieu of a good condition stock unit, is the RS0012 which is essentially a recurved 009 for a 912/616.

The other problem with the 009 is its lineage. First made in Germany, the 009 tooling made its way to Mexico/Brazil (still a pretty good product) and then to China (junk). If you can find/have a German 009, there is a least one shop on the west coast that can recurve it to RS0012 specs.

You might want to take another look at your 031: it sounds like the advance mechanism isn't functioning correctly (holding advance upon return to idle).

[Jaems]

The 031 was designed for performance in the 912. It is the best distributor there is for the 616 type engine. It would depend on who rebuilt the 031. Also there are three types of the 031. The types 1 and 2 are the best the last type 3 is the worst. The last type has a rounded edge at the bottom where the 1 and 2 have a sharp edge.

The closes to the 031 is the RS0012 and works very well on most 912's. There are a couple that it didn't work on. The worst distributor for a 912 is the 009 and the next one up the line is the 050, then the 061 with the retard, the standard is the 022 and for a little more performance in a street 912 engine is the RS0012 and the best of course is the 031. I have tried them all at one time or other.

[RichardM912]

When I got my car (69) about three years ago it had the "feature" of run away at idle. It has an 022 distributor with Webers. I found that the problem was timing at idle. If you have set it at 3,000+ rpm I would also check what it is at idle.

Duane Spencer gives some information re runaway and the various alternative distributors in his book, p.77.

[djdsc]

Originally Posted by Peter Graham

The preferred distributor, in lieu of a good condition stock unit, is the RS0012 which is essentially a recurved 009 for a 912/616.

First made in Germany, the 009 tooling made its way to Mexico/Brazil (still a pretty good product) and then to China (junk). If you can find/have a German 009, there is a least one shop on the west coast that can recurve it to RS0012 specs..

Let's clear this up; the marketed RS0012 is not a recurved 009. It is a recurved Asia produced knock off 009. Repete, Asia produced knock off 009. Having said that; it is a well produced unit and very well curved to to 912 with excellent support by its retailer and tuner. There is at least one known RS0012 with over 30K hard road miles on it. This is most likely the highest mileage RS0012 on the road and it is still spinning along strong.

[Peter Graham]

I stand corrected by djdsc...

[Peter Graham]

One of two 'non-Asian' RS0012's that I own (the other is installed in the motor):

[Jaems]

John Benton of "Benton *****?" is the one that does these. He is the one and the only one that recurves the the 009. Which john calls the RS0012 and markets them under that name through C&S Parts. He will take old 009's rebuilds and then recurves them. Similar to what Don Marks did for the 031 before he passed away. The Don Marks rebuilt and recurved 031 is a treasure.

John Benton may also use the new Asian 009 for the RS0012. However, I know if you have a 009 that is rebuild-able. John will convert it to a RS0012 for you. The RS0012 is also fast becoming a treasure. To say that the RS0012 is made just from a Asian knockoff is not entirely true either. John started out with the 009 that became the RS0012.

After saying all of this, I use a 031 that was curved by Don especially for my engine. Along with CD ignition and Webers that were also dyne tune for the engine, this was done for about 100m altitude. I drove over 400km last weekend up to about 1300m and back. There was no surging, hiccup, or power lost as I climbed, passed, and cornered even holding it at a steady speed at any rpm. Also the oil temp was between 79-85C and the pressure was at 4.5-5 Atmospheres during the whole 400+km. The 912 drove like it is suppose to drive, like a new car.

If you want your 912 to drive like it is suppose to be driven. You need to use one of the three distributors that have been mention, the 022, 031, and RS0012. They also must be in good shape. Any of the others out there are like the 009 and 050 are just junk and a waste of money. The other requirement is the carburetors, it does not matter if you are using Webers or Solexs. You must make sure that they are jetted correctly, have the correct emotion tubes, and etc. for your engine and your area.

[Barwaut]

I believe the qualifications of the 009. But the 050 was once, when nothing else was available new, the way to go. The Maestro sweared by them. Of course a (very) good 022, 032 and a new RS0012 are the first things too look at.

But I have a 050, came with the car 6 years ago. I have driven a few 912's in the past years, and I can say that my Targa with that 050 is running very sweet. So sweet I don't dare to touch it or fiddle with it / exchanging it for another to test te difference. That time might come, but not now.

I really think that in a 912 engine, it's a sum of parts. There are engines with a selection of items (distribitor, carbs, cams, etc, etc) which will do a very good job together. Other selections are a mismatch.

For what it's worth...

[Jaems]

Barwaut, back in the day when the Maestro was rebuilding the 616 engine. The 050 Cost about $29.00 and to rebuild the 022 it would cost about $200+. The Maestro, being an engineer grad from MIT. designed his own special cam grind to match the 050 curve. It then became cost effective to use it. He promoted his engine builds, the 050, and the Webers also built to work with his design. They were a very good running engine. But not with the performance that they would have had otherwise.

If you can find one of the original German 050 it was not too bad in a normal 616 engine. The ones from Brazil and China are just junk. The one in the Targa may be one of the Maestro's builds. I have a couple of German 050's I use for door stops around here. One even has pointless ignition parts in it. I could use it in an emergency. However, I have another Don Marks 031 sitting in a drawl.

Barwaut, on your way to Seattle, after the Rendezvous, give me a call when you pass through Eugene.

[C. Clark]

Personally I could care less what the RS0012 is morphed from......for me it's the best distributor available for our engines. I went through the 009 and the 050 and the worn out 022's and BR18's, (356). Benton did a good thing for himself and the vintage Porsche community and CSP has done a adequate job marketing it to us.

[azkid]

Sounds like a distributor worth trying . Where do I purchase one

[Peter Graham]

Go to the 912 bbs and do a search on 'RS0012': 912 BBS

[C. Clark]

Originally Posted by azkid

Sounds like a distributor worth trying . Where do I purchase one

Here......
RSR 0012 Distributor for 356/912

[djdsc]

Originally Posted by Peter Graham

One of two 'non-Asian' RS0012's that I own (the other is installed in the motor):

Peter,
My miss understanding then. Having had several conversations with Will and John about the RS0012 I obviously got it wrong.

To everyone else: I hope it was clear that I was not bashing the product in any way. Only attempting to clear up a miss understanding regarding origins.

If someone can point me where to purchase a new German 009 distributor I would appreciate it.

[Jaems]

You might try Bosch in Stuttgart, DE

[azkid]

Leaning towards having the .031 re re-built who does one trust with that wouldn't want another disappointment .

[C. Clark]

Originally Posted by azkid

Leaning towards having the .031 re re-built who does one trust with that wouldn't want another disappointment .

Contact Glenn Ring, Rebuilt Bosch 383 / VJ4BR25 / 010 / VJ4BR8 / 019 / VJR4BR18 / 022 / VJU4BR8 / "Big Cap" 40hp Distributors
he's done work for me and did a good job. He's well known in the 356 community, I still like the RS0012 though.

[Jaems]

azkid, You might also ask John Benton that builds the RS0012. He should be able to do it right. John is also the President of the 912 Registry. If you do not have the one of the first two German versions. Then it would be a waste of time. The third type was built else where and a little different

Don Marks pasted away. He was the master of the 031 and 022 rebuilts.