distributor question

[cooper98]

evening all I have a 67 998 cooper, pretty standard as far as engine goes - my question is this, the distributor has packed a sad its a 25d4 17deg and i have a 45d4 which is 11deg and has a powerspark module in it - will this work on my cooper or should i try to find a more suitable unit, i'm in New Zealand so dont have the luxury of lots of spares shops here

[Peter Laidler]

I don't know the answer to your particular distributor question except to suggest that you strip, find out what's wrong, clean and reassemble your distributor. Just follow the simple instructions in the workshop manual or any of the other mini technical books. It is just a simple mechanically driven electric switch

But there is certainly an absolutely thriving mini cooper owning fraternity in NZ from my experience there and from the responses from NZers on this forum, there's plenty of Mini Cooper - and mini owners/enthusiasts in and around ChCh. I was talking to one, with a Mini NZ tee shirt, in Dusseldorf last weekend

[cooper98]

Thanks Peter, I've been in touch with a few people, very hard to find the right distributor , or people don't want to let them go! Was more just wondering if I could use the other one until I find a replacement, mine is pretty had it, the collar is broken away so it's hard to keep the timing right, I may be able to get it repaired but need a fix in the mean time so I can drive it, I was just unsure as to the difference between the 2 - cheers

[Oneball]

The springs, weights and stop are what make the spec of a dissy not the numbers stamped on the side, unless you’re a rivet counter they’re irrelevant.

You can easily make your new one the same spec as your old one by changing the appropriate parts. The main difference by the look of it will be the stop, remembering that dissy deg vs crank degrees is 2x

[gazza82]

Not much can go wrong in a 25D distributor .. the points, condensor and the small wires inside ... Mechanically it's mainly the driveshaft bushes that can wear. I remember swapping out parts between a couple in the 70s to get a working one.

I think 25s and 45s are interchangable physically and fit the A-series although the advance will be incorrect. Pretty sure it's 59s and above that are designed for A+ engines but I'm sure someone will be along to correct me if I'm not.

Shame you are in NZ as I have a couple of 25s sitting in a box but I have no idea what the came from or whether they are working units.

[Peter Laidler]

The collar is a simple fix. I have written an article with photos and details about machining off the old broken one , machine up and fitting a new better and stronger one. Time to do the job, 1 hour.

One ball and Gazza are dead right. In my experience, NZers are the most versatile mechanics I've ever encountered. The days of 'overseas funds' made them good at everything............

[Cheeser]

If you rebuild your dizzy to original spec it is unlikely to be optimal for the current fuel that you are using! It might be worth you considering getting a CSI dizzy which externally will look like your original and have cap and rotor arm that are the same and readily available.. CSI have 16 curves that you can choose from to allow your engine to run well using the current fuel and in my experience are very reliable without having to use the current unreliable points and condensers that are most readily available.
https://www.minispares.com/product/Clas ... o%20search

Suggest you search ‘spider’s posts on here for his comments on CSI