[scottbooth]

All of the last minute DE prep projects on my 78 911SC were going well last night until about 2am when I decided to pull the distributor to replace the CD box trigger wire, which has some cracks in the insulation.

I removed the hold down nut and cannot even get the distributor to move. It is stuck tight. I can twist it on its axis (as though adjusting the timing) by tapping on the base with a punch, but I cannot move it by hand.

After liberal application of penetrating oil, and a couple beers worth of trying stupid things to loosen it up, I gave up for the night. Today nothing seems to have changed, maybe more time will help.

I welcome any other suggestions. It is probably not good to heat the area. So hopefully the oil will work eventually.

If it does not, I think I have figured out a way to replace the trigger wire with the distributor in the car, then I can reset my timing with the hammer and punch method (this should be a procedure in the Haynes manual: "using a suitable drift..."). Then I will admit defeat and not mess with the distributor again until I dynamite it out to install a crankfire ignition system, which I now have a great excuse to buy.

I guess 3 years is a long time to wait between timing adjustments. My bad.