Donny1973

If anyone needs a correctly numbered and dated distributor for their 442 or W30, I've recently secured a supply of unstamped original Olds distributors. I can number and date them to your specs using correct font stamps. All my distributors are completely remanufactured and drop-in ready. I just completed the one below for a gentleman with a '71 W30. I've been reproducing Stage 1 distributors for Buick GS's for several years now and have dozens of satisfied customers. $350 delivered in the lower 48. Email if you're interested.

Thanks

BILL DEMMER

will these distributors have the correct vacuum and mechanical advance curves for the intended applications?


bill

Donny1973

As with any replacement distributor, if your goal is optimum performance as opposed to the show circuit, I would recommend having them recurved. It's cheap insurance.

BILL DEMMER

so, that's a no, eh?


bill

Donny1973

Daune - Here are a couple pics of your W30 distributor. It's headed your way. Thanks

If anyone else needs one, let me know soon. My supply of blank distributors has become extremely limited.

wmachine

Sounds to me that a "restamped" piece like this, especially one that isn't correct amounts to one thing. FRAUD. For the "show circuit", huh? Yeah, they're really interested in fraudulent pieces.
I say it again (and as often as it comes up), there is only *one* reason and one reason only to alter/add/etc numbers: FRAUD.

jslabotsky

+1

The whole point of having the numbers match is to prove the car is exactly as it left the factory. Having a reproduction so that it looks correct for purely aesthetic reasons is one thing. But restamping numbers is crossing an ethical line.

rocketraider

Hmm. Gray area. If the distributor body has in fact never been stamped, it's like a service replacement block or carb that was "supposed" to have the car's numbers stamped in by the dealer as part of a warranty job. If the distributor is set up and curved to original advance specs, that's the way I'd look at it. I'd consider this less of a fraud than if someone machined the original numbers off an incorrect application distributor and then restamped it.

'Course, you could easily rebuild the original provided you still had it.

jslabotsky

Hmm.. I suppose the other part of the equation is how you represent the car. If you take it to concours events and claim that the distributor is indeed original, assuming that ekes out a couple extra points, then to me that's going too far. If you present it as a reproduction that seems honest. But how many guys who would admit it's a repro are going to go to the trouble to stamp the correct numbers?

agtw31

this guy has been selling restamped Buick dist for a while,now lots of GS's that are for sale have the correct date coded dist.

nobody has called the cops on him yet

btw,you need to put a price.

Olds64

Hmmm...

Donny1973

Thanks for your input. These distributors are clearly advertised as reproductions. It would be fraud if I were trying to sell them as originals. The objective of any reproduction part is for it to be as indistinguishable from the original as possible. To insinuate that these shouldn't be offered to enthusiasts because someone down the line may try to pass one off as an original is ludicrous. By this same logic, the sale of firearms to law abiding citizens should be banned because a subsequent owner may use one in the commission of a crime. What about reproduction fenders and quarters? The phrase "original sheetmetal" is as easy to say as "matching numbers". Not everyone has $2K sitting around to spend on the occaisional original W30 distributor that pops up for sale. Do you punish the honest to prevent dishonesty? You can't legislate morality. I can tell you that MANY boardmembers have my distributors and I don't beleive any of them are criminals. This is still a capitalist society and you have the option of not purchasing a product if you so choose. Excercise that option.

Regards

jslabotsky

If one isn't planning a forgery, then why would one need to stamp the correct-for-the-car number on it? Why not leave it blank? Or use one with the wrong number? And why would you make such a point of stating they can be stamped with the correct number?

Also, your firearm analogy doesn't hold up, either. I believe a better analogy would be selling a firearm with the identification number removed and advertising that the owner can stamp their own, licensed number on the weapon so as to give the appearance of owning it legally.

I don't recall anybody attacking capitalism. And we can't legislate morality, but we can call BS on people like you who facilitate immoral acts rather than just turn a blind eye.

It's a free society. You may not like it, but we have the right to tell you what you're doing encourages fraud and forgery. And you know this or you wouldn't be in business.

It's your logic that doesn't hold up.

wmachine

No, the object is *not* to make them indistinguishable. That is exactly what fakes and frauds are all about. That "down the line" crap is no justification for the blatant support of the practices that are ruining the integrity of truely original cars and parts. Your firearm analogy is not even close. No "same logic" there because there is no logic. The *only* people that say it is okay are those who stand to profit by it being so. If it can't be distinguished from an original, how can you tell an original? Nowhere else in the antique world are indistinguishable reproductions welcomed. And they're not in the automobile world either except by those who profit by them.
Reproduction part are *not* exact by design if reputable. Tell me why the reproduction Hemi blocks are purposely distinguishable. That's right, they are intentionally made that way so they can't be passed off as original.
There is *no* justification for added or altered numbers. I've heard all the lame excuses. Its just too bad you're motivated by the money and not by what's right.

Donny1973

Perhaps you don't realize that the stamp is a part number and not a VIN unique to one particular car? It would be correct for all W30's produced in a several month timeframe, not just one vehicle. You can open a Year One catalog and buy a multitude of reproduction parts with correct manufacturer logos, part numbers, finishes and markings. Everything from belts, hoses and ingition wires to intake and exhaust manifolds. In what regard is this different? I can assure you they'd be doing distributors as well if they could secure a source for blanks. I know because I was approached.

Also, I'm pretty sure that possessing or selling a firearm with the serial number removed is a federal offense, so is that a reasonable analogy?

Yes, this is a free society. Your opinion is yours and I'm enjoying the interaction. BTW, I'm not "in business" selling distributors or any other parts. The pittance I make on these wouldn't cover my bar tab. I'm offering reproduction W30 distributors to fellow enthusiasts at the request of an Olds boardmember who happens to be a Stage 1 guy as well.

Regards

Donny1973

So an engine block that left the assembly plant with a unique VIN stamped making it correct for one particular vehicle only, is in the same category as a part that is identically marked for hundreds of cars? What are your thoughts on reproduction exhaust manifolds or other parts with all the correct manufacturer markings and part numbers? I'm not trying to be combative, I'm trying to understand what you see as the difference between a distributor and the other repro parts that are specifically produced to be exact duplicates of the originals, such as hemi exhaust manifolds and LS6 intakes?

wmachine

I acknowledge the difference that you point out for unique markings (like VINs) and component parts. Okay, they're not in the same category. But that still doesn't make it right. Reproduction parts that I'm familiar with are not *exact* duplicates. I don't know about hemi exhaust manifolds and LS6 intakes. You say Year One may has a "multitude of reproduction parts with correct manufacturer logos, part numbers, finishes and markings". All correct original part numbers and are indistinguishable? I don't think so.

So what you think happens when you start putting cars out there with totally matching numbers? "Do the math". Matching numbers cars are special for a reason. Because they are rare. Add fake numbers matching cars, and they're not only are they *not* rare, they are "indistinguishable" from the original cars and we're left with a real mess. Do you want to face trying to buy a numbers-matching car and not be able to tell if it is real?
And to all that say that isn't important: If it isn't that important, then why the heck are the fakes being made, and who is benefiting from it?

I have no doubt where your self stamped distributors are going. Not even exact, by your own admission, as they're not set up for W30s. Only to be pretenders.

I appreciate you being civil and not trying not to be combative. And I'm trying really hard too. But as anyone can probably tell, it fries me to no end what is being done to ruin things out there due to greed. Bad enough that pirates are out there trying to cash in by lying and cheating (not meaning you, Donny). But the worst is the damage that is being done by polluting the gene pool and not knowing what is real and what isn't. Cars are being altered and being passed off as something they're not. Offenders will eventually die, but the damage done is irreversible.

agtw31

number coPs crack me uP

i dont hear any Buick guys having a Problem with it.

Donny1973

I appreciate your points of view on what’s obviously an emotionally charged subject and also the fact that those who have opined have done so as gentlemen and have maintained decorum. Whether a reproduction part is acceptable or appropriate is undoubtedly very subjective and a matter of personal choice. And yes, Year One does tout many of their parts as exact duplicates of the originals. To quote their catalog “extensive research and development have gone into these units to ensure not a single feature has been missed. Features include correct texture finish, proper casting numbers”. Exact reproduction parts have been around for many years and they have their place in the hobby.


The distributor project was born of necessity. When my $1500 bid on Ebay for an original Stage 1 distributor was bested, I waited a year for another one to pop up. It didn’t happen. I had an unstamped distributor housing I found at a swap meet years before so I decided to make my own. The most difficult aspect was indentifying and finding the correct font stamps. When other Buick enthusiasts saw my distributor, which I identified as a reproduction, at the GS Nationals, I was practically begged to make them available to others. I secured a tenuous but steady source for the blanks. A fellow Stage 1 owner, who also has a W30 and is a board member here, asked me to do one for his Olds. He was so pleased with the result that he suggested I make them available to other Olds guys. There have been many takers, all satisfied. This was not a malicious attempt to undermine the “matching numbers” genre. As I mentioned earlier, this is not a money making endeavor, rather an enjoyable project that helped some fellow enthusiasts.


In the couple of years I’ve been doing these, I’ve never seen one of my distributors being passed off as an original. However I have seen, many times, hacked together cars with repro fenders, hoods, quarters, etc, being advertised as all original sheet metal. I believe that most enthusiasts are honest. Yes, there will be some bad apples in the bunch, but I’m of the mindset that those who are honest shouldn’t be penalized because of the few who aren’t.

This may all be a moot point anyway. My supply of blank distributors has pretty much dried up. I stopped by here to see if any other board members were interested in the last few blanks I had, which now appear to all be spoken for. Again, I’ve enjoyed the philosophical interaction and I wish you all the best of luck with your projects.

Regards

wmachine

And I thank you for your civil presentation of your side of the story. A gentlemanly difference of opinion is can always be accepted.

I understand that the intention is not malicious, and I'm certainly glad to know that it is not. But I still maintain the the result is indisputably ruinous, and I ask anyone involved in such endeavors to consider the consequences long and short term with what is being done. I can tell you that there are *many* reproduction parts made that almost everyone thinks are exact, but aren't to help preserve what is original.
I don't see what good is gained by having an indistinguishable part outweighing the harm that it can cause. I would think that accommodating counter-fitters would be reason enough to avoid exact duplicates.

These cars are going to be here long after we are, and I'm concerned about what I'm leaving behind me.

Diego

So what's the deal with the distributors? W-30s had their own distributors, right? So if a distributor is stamped with a number that would signify one specific for a W-30, then isn't that fraudulent? Because, then, that distributor is thought to be correct and will adopt the value of a W-30-specific distributor, right?

Or am I missing something?

agtw31

diego,every stage 1 GS now has the correct date coded dist,so he's run out of Buicks,so now he's doing w-30's.



lmao

Oldsguy

Thanks for maintaining civility guys, both arguments stated well.

nelsontj

Just pay him with reproduction money!!!!!!!!

agtw31

$350 for a $10 stamPed dist core

only in America

Donny1973

I have procured another blank Olds distributor. This is only the second one I've been able to obtain in the past 12 months. If another boardmember is interested in a reproduction W30 distributor please send me a PM.

Okay skeptics, fire away ...

Regards,
Donny

wmachine

It's not skepticism. Its just a matter of doing (or not doing) the right thing. Which doesn't matter to some people when money is put in their hands.

agtw31

it's easy to make a blank housing,if you can weld aluminum,and have a dremel

Donny1973

Hello Kurt,

Well, your civility seems to have diminished over the past year. Sorry to see it. Nice to hear from you anyway.

Regards,
Donny