TheSamba.com :: View topic - Rare Unique and Oddball stock ignition distributors

Thu May 03, 2012 8:21 pm

Here are some ignition distributors that you will not see every day.

First is a Bosch BRS 383 that looks normal on the outside. It is stamped October 1953. What makes this distributor unique is the fact that it has an internal condenser also stamped October 1953. I have run this distributor and it works great but has an external condenser now.

This distributor was produced from 26 September until 17 October 1953, that is only 23 days.

Bosch wasn't the only maker for distributors used on VW's. The firm Garbe Lahmeyer produced electrical components for VW starting on 2 February 1955. This one is unique because of its relative rareity. It has a gold badge and true wire clips for the cap hold down. It is a mechancial advance distributor.

Next is the much more common but misunderstood Garbe Lahmeyer distributor commonly called the "VW" distributor due to the prominent VW logo all over the part.

This distributor looks like a normal single vacuum advance unit and it does in fact have the same characteristics and parts as the 113 905 205 T which was stock in 1970. This one has the part number 211 905 205 P.

The last example for now is the one year only 010 used as a race distributor. The first productions were used on the 1960 bus engines. The VW part number is 211 905 205 F.

Please feel free to ad to the information above.

Thu May 03, 2012 11:27 pm

i think i found another cast "vw" dizzy the other day in my pile,pm me if interested

Fri May 04, 2012 5:22 am

I have a NOS one of the 010's you showed above. Very nice distributor. Great info. Thanks.

Fri May 04, 2012 5:26 am

2SixTSevens wrote: I have a NOS one of the 010's you showed above. Very nice distributor. Great info. Thanks.
Like this?

NOS Screamer kit

Fri May 04, 2012 5:33 am

Why are the 031s priced in the same range as the 010 and 019?

Just curious.

Fri May 04, 2012 7:24 am

that mech adv "vw" dizzy is awesome; curious if that unit usees the same set of points as the later vw unit pictured?

Fri May 04, 2012 9:01 am

how about the vacume advance 009? I think it was used on 66 1300 beetles?

I think the part number is 0 231 137 009 and the condensor wire runs through the bottom of the distributor...

Fri May 04, 2012 11:00 am

zozo wrote: Why are the 031s priced in the same range as the 010 and 019?

Just curious.
031 is for Porsche 912 and not for a VW.

There's not as much demand for a 031 as a 019/010.

Fri May 04, 2012 11:27 am

Glenn wrote: zozo wrote: Why are the 031s priced in the same range as the 010 and 019?

Just curious.
031 is for Porsche 912 and not for a VW.

There's not as much demand for a 031 as a 019/010.

I somehow ended up with an 031. Can I run it in my bus? (DP 1600)

Fri May 04, 2012 12:01 pm

tasb wrote: This distributor looks like a normal single vacuum advance unit and it does in fact have the same characteristics and parts as the 113 905 205 T which was stock in 1970. This one has the part number 113 905 205 P.

Hold on a second... that's just wrong, and that has to be a factory screw-up. (Or was that your point?) Tasb, do you have a photo of the part numbers? By all of the books, and by the one I'm holding in my hand, 113905205P should be the first Autosick SVDA, an 0231115056 and not a 035/T clone. Bosch distributors with a 115 as the middle number were laid out entirely different than the 137 series (ALL 137s have the condensor wire out the bottom)

I once had one of those big-cap cast 40HP distributors, but with the 10-digit Bosch part number on it. Since Bosch didn't switch to that numbering system until after the end of the ZV/PAU4R5 run, any with the 10 digit number on them will have to be Bosch replacement units made later on, and are much more uncommon. I never took a photo of mine, as I think that one was on an engine in a car I sold 20 years ago. I occasionally see one in the classifieds or eBay, but much much less common than the 4R5 and 4R2s.

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Erik G wrote: how about the vacume advance 009? I think it was used on 66 1300 beetles?

I think the part number is 0 231 137 009 and the condensor wire runs through the bottom of the distributor...

No, the 009/K I would not consider at all rare. They were on all 1966 and 1967 bugs, so that a LOT of bugs. Now, VW had several other of those Bosch 137-series distributors from 1965-70, and some of those are much more uncommon than the 009/K. One of which was a different 031 than I think was being discussed above, the 0231137031 = 315905205B and was a later replacment for many of the 1966-67 distributors that shared the same vacuum canister.

-Andy

Fri May 04, 2012 4:42 pm

No, the 211 905 205 P is not a mistake just a rare distributor probably meant for a market other than NAm. It has a 1969 date stamp so it matches 113 T production times.

The big cap cast iron 40 hp distributors are not rare. The 005 that you speak of was a factory replacement unit for the R2-R6. I can remember being able to buy 005's 019's and 0`10's from J C Whitney in Chicago many years ago. I do have on my bench mid-restoration a ZV/PAUR 4 R 1. It has a 1960 date stamp and precedes the much more common R2. The vacuum can has a threaded vacuum pipe that is very short. The condenser is riveted inside much like the BRS 383 above was. The points plate has a narrower collar and is not interchangeable with the later R2. The only reference I have seen to it is that it was used on 1960 Kharmann Ghia's? Pic coming soon.

The mechanical advance "VW" (Garbe Lahmeyer) distributor uses the same points as the vacuum advance Garbe Lahmeyer distributor.. The rotor fits the 383 but the condenser is different. The cap actually will work on the 383 too but is in no way correct fitment.

Fri May 04, 2012 5:12 pm

tasb wrote: No, the 211 905 205 P i.

AH I see, typo!!! You said 113, not 211 above!

I didn't mean to say the 4R5 was rare, they are not. I just meant the replacements with the 10-digit numbers are much less common.

tasb wrote: many years ago. I do have on my bench mid-restoration a ZV/PAUR 4 R 1. It has a 1960 date stamp and precedes the much more common R2. The only reference I have seen to it is that it was used on 1960 Kharmann Ghia's? Pic coming soon.

Yes, I have those as fitting 02/60 – 07/60 Ghia, and "possibly" crossing over to VW part number 111905205H.

Fri May 04, 2012 5:27 pm

i have 2 of these with the number ending in 030. i didnt know they were anything special. had 3 but sold one :x . is there any difference between this one and any other 010s?

Fri May 04, 2012 6:26 pm

They are the same.

Sat May 05, 2012 11:10 am

how do you decode the date stamps on bosch distributors? Are the codes on german and brazilian 009s the same as earlier parts?

Sat May 05, 2012 11:25 am

zozo wrote: Glenn wrote: zozo wrote: Why are the 031s priced in the same range as the 010 and 019?

Just curious.
031 is for Porsche 912 and not for a VW.

There's not as much demand for a 031 as a 019/010.

I somehow ended up with an 031. Can I run it in my bus? (DP 1600)

Anyone?

Sat May 05, 2012 12:05 pm

zozo wrote: zozo wrote: Glenn wrote: zozo wrote: Why are the 031s priced in the same range as the 010 and 019?

Just curious.
031 is for Porsche 912 and not for a VW.

There's not as much demand for a 031 as a 019/010.

I somehow ended up with an 031. Can I run it in my bus? (DP 1600)

Anyone?

I think the advance on the 031 is too much for a bug let alone a bus. I would put it on and graph the curve to see what it has.

Back in the old days a buddy tweaked one to limit the total advance but after a few races it threw a rod so I dont know how it really worked out.

here are some specs

BOSCH Distributor 0 231 129 031
The 031 was introduced in November 1963 as a mechanical advance replacement for the VJ/VJR 4 BR 18, for the Porsche 356C and 356SC marques and continued in use through the 1967 model Porsche 912 cars. The distributor maintained the same advance progression as its predecessor with approximately 15 degrees advance at about 1500 rpm as measured at the distributor, 30 degrees at 3000 rpm at the crankshaft.

Sat May 05, 2012 5:22 pm

zozo wrote: zozo wrote: Glenn wrote: zozo wrote: Why are the 031s priced in the same range as the 010 and 019?

Just curious.
031 is for Porsche 912 and not for a VW.

There's not as much demand for a 031 as a 019/010.

I somehow ended up with an 031. Can I run it in my bus? (DP 1600)

Anyone?

i can tell you that i got 125 for a complete one here and it went pretty fast. (got it at a swap meet for 10) :D

Sat May 05, 2012 6:13 pm

norcalmike wrote: zozo wrote: zozo wrote: Glenn wrote: zozo wrote: Why are the 031s priced in the same range as the 010 and 019?

Just curious.
031 is for Porsche 912 and not for a VW.

There's not as much demand for a 031 as a 019/010.

I somehow ended up with an 031. Can I run it in my bus? (DP 1600)

Anyone?

i can tell you that i got 125 for a complete one here and it went pretty fast. (got it at a swap meet for 10) :D

I did a search on them in the classifieds and noticed that none of them have the vacuum canister, as mine does. Don't know if that means a hill of beans, but it makes me even more curious about it's application and usability on my bus.

Sat May 05, 2012 7:16 pm

Oh, mine was mechanical.