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Mon May 19, 2014 6:30 pm

Hi folks,
In my quest for more historical information regarding the German-made 009 (0 231 178 009) distributors, I've encountered a point where I need some help from the people here.
The earliest German 009 I have is from October 1975. It has the tiny 530 date code stamped vertically on the housing, with JF4 stamped below the Bosch part number. Through the years, they were stamped JF4 until it changed to Z42. My latest JF4 is from July 1977. The next one in my collection was made in October 1978 and it is stamped Z42 with 050 inside an oval ring. From then on, the Z42 models I've found, continued to July 1982. At some point, the 009's were made in Brazil and Taiwan, with the JF4 stamped above the Bosch part number, and 908 stamped inside the oval ring.
What I'm hoping from the people here, is photos of these early German 009's showing the JF4 stamp and the 3 digit date code on the housing. I've started a facebook page VW 009 Distributor Discussion and want to give credit to those that help me along with this project. Images posted here can be uploaded to my page, but like everything in life, I want to recognize the folks that took the time to dig through their stash, clean off the grime, take pics, and post them up.
Thanks in advance!
I'm sure someone out there wants to nickname me "Mr. 009" by now.
Aloha!

Mon May 19, 2014 6:40 pm

167luckycharm wrote: I'm sure someone out there wants to nickname me "Mr. 009" by now.
Too funny.

Mon Jul 28, 2014 6:16 pm

Well its been on my to do list since I first read this post and I have finally gotten around to doing some hands on research. I have the following German 009 distributors:

126 178 003 German Industrial engine applications
October 1973
May 1975

0 231 178 009 Germany
March 1974
July 1974
May 1977
September 1976
October 1976
August 1978
November 1978
October 1981
December 1981
2x July 1982
October 1982

So my dates for the German 009's starts in October 1973 (003) or March 1974 (009) and ends October 1982.

I do have a few Brazilian versions laying around:
August 1982
October 1982
December 1982
August 1986
July 1995
September 1997

I have 2 x 0 231 178 094's which are chromed Brazilian 009's.
September 1989
July 1991

So Brazilian production from my samples ranges from October 1982 and ends September 1997. It is possible that the change over date may have been 1982 for Germany to Brazil on the 009's production.

Mon Jul 28, 2014 8:27 pm

Hi Tim! Thanks for searching through your collection and adding the date information! I've cross-checked through my listing and found several duplicates with yours, but my earliest 009 is from '75.
Several questions come to mind; Those that were made in '73 and '74; Do yours have the JF4 stamp? Sometime in '78, the JF4 was replaced with Z42 and (050) inside a ring next to the part number. I still don't know if the JF4 ended in May or June of '78. Can you check the German and Brazilian 009's that were made in '82 to see if they have the JF4 or the Z42 stamp?
There may have been a typo on your list; I think you meant October 1981 instead of 1971 in the German listing.
I really appreciate all your help!
Aloha!
John Mr. 009

Tue Jul 29, 2014 4:33 pm

Hey John, I've lined my 009's up again and it looks like the JF 4 designation was used up until October 1976. This includes the two 003's in my pile.

Starting in October 1976 the 009's received a Z42 stamping that continued at least until October 1982 which appears to be the end of German production of the 009's.

It's interesting to note that Brazilian 009's retained the JF 4 stamping throughout their production which started in August 1982. The latest 009 that I have is date stamped September 1997.

Now that I've pulled these things out its time to restore some of them and clear the work bench.

Tue Jul 29, 2014 10:51 pm

Mr 009 has always been helpful and understands that 009s can be made to work well in most applications. With the quality of current distributors on the market and the ridiculous prices of 010/019 and associated parts makes the good ole 009 a cost effective and reliable option for 95% of the builds out there.

If springs and weights were made available for the 009s that allowed for custom curves they would make the old cast stuff even more obsolete than they already are.

Keep up the good work!!

Tue Jul 29, 2014 11:00 pm

Thanks again Tim!
I would like to add to the 1977 lineup; I have four 009's from that year, January, May, July, & October. All of which are stamped with JF4 and Germany.
For 1978, the only JF4 model I have was made in April. My next three of that year were made in July, August, & October. These have the Z42 stamp and 050 inside an oval ring. All four of them have Germany embossed under the housing.
It appears that the 009's that have the Z42 stamp with 050 in the oval, were made in Germany. The 009's that have the JF4 with 908 in the oval, made later than '81 or '82, were made in Brazil and sometime later, in Taiwan. This is where the input of more folks are needed to clear up the date mysteries.
Thanks for all the ongoing help!
John Mr. 009

Wed Jul 30, 2014 11:32 pm

AlteWagen,
Thanks for the props! I share the same sentiment about the high cost of the 019 & 010 and their associated parts.
Regarding weights and springs to customize the 009's curve; I'm in the process of documenting the already available parts that can be found in other Bosch distributors. Audi, Saab, etc. I'm able to completely eliminate the flat spot in the 009's advance mechanism by now, even sent a couple of them to two buddies in the states for them to try out on their engines. It takes three distributors to make one, spending several hours to completely disassemble, source the best parts, match the weights & springs, test & tune on my Sun 504, make adjustments, final assembly, plot the advance curve on a paper chart, and out the door it goes.
Sure wish we had more Pick & Pulls here in Hawaii! It's sad that the only place we could go for good/used/junk has been redesigned into a recycling-only location; cars & appliances goes in, no one allowed to scavenge parts, and everything turned into scrap metal before it gets shipped out.
Doing my best with what I have!
Aloha!

Thu Jul 31, 2014 5:19 pm

Go for a walk and beat the bushes John! I spent two summers at a girl scout camp above the Comsat station Sunset Beach near Haleiwa. It was amazing what kinds of cars and vintage I found in the rusting undergrowth.

Thu Jul 31, 2014 10:38 pm

I have two with with the "JF4", one is marked 845, the other is marked "448"
I also have one marked "Z42", it has "922" stamped under the screw for the condenser.

Casey

Thu Jul 31, 2014 11:42 pm

Hi Casey!
Thanks for chiming in with your findings. The Z42 was made in February '79 and I have one from the same month and year. The other two with the JF4 stamp will have the 908 in the oval ring stamped near the part number. I believe these were either made in Brasil or Taiwan, unless someone with more knowledge can enlighten us with the historical facts. There are 009's that have "Brasil" cast into the underside of the housings, but I haven't seen any with Taiwan, but there's those that have the raised portion for the country of origin cast into the housing; but they are blank.
You can see more on my page too.
Mr. 009 saying thanks again!
Aloha!

Fri Aug 01, 2014 4:03 pm

The one in my car is JF4, its date code is 944.
I found a couple of distributor housing in my parts, one of them is marked "Brasil", its a JF4 with "Oval 908" and the code is 269, the other one is just marked "Bosch" on the bottom and is a JF4 and the code is 083.

I will get some pictures of the complete one I have later.
I have a 34PICT3 that I am working on to work with a 009 I need to try soon, I have read that by filling the hole in the butterfly plate that they work much better with a 009.

Casey

Fri Aug 01, 2014 4:29 pm

OK
Here's some more pics for you,
Z42...

ZF4's...

Casey

Fri Aug 01, 2014 6:42 pm

Here are mine:

*****

*****

*****

Dan

Fri Aug 01, 2014 7:04 pm

Wow :!: Some people are anal about, ............... not a damn thing! "My chineese date stamp pos dist is 1 of whetever" Some people really need a life

Fri Aug 01, 2014 7:42 pm

mcmscott wrote: Wow :!: Some people are anal about, ............... not a damn thing! "My chineese date stamp pos dist is 1 of whetever" Some people really need a life

Well when your disabled and its 107° outside there's not much else to do.
Here look what else I have...

Casey
PS, you ever hear of Spellcheck, who are the 'chineese" and what does "whetever" mean?

Fri Aug 01, 2014 9:02 pm

Hi Casey and Dan,
Thanks for including the pictures. I've updated more of my records, and I'm finding more interesting tidbits along the way; perhaps there were periods during the year when these distributors were not being manufactured. Maybe we haven't collected enough data just yet, so I'm hoping to hear from anyone who worked in the factory that either designed it or at the assembly bench putting them together for Bosch.
As for my interest in the 009's; not trying to be anal or anything, but I wanted to determine why some folks didn't have the flat spot while many others did with their 009. At first, I thought the early models were the ones that worked better and the later versions had the flat spot. After disassembling both models, I found that there are significant variances between the early German and later German/Brasil/Taiwan models. So, if you ever decide to run an 009 but hesitate because of the so-called flat spot, know this; The 010 and the 019 both have a flat spot, the early and later 009's have a flat spot. Don't want to mess with it, then run programmable ignition, or keep everything stock.
Tim,
I think the bushes around Kauai no longer contain the various automotive decorations. Years ago, we had a project for the entire community where all junk cars were hauled away for free. And then came the Cash For Clunkers campaign. With today's scrap metal prices, there's no junk cars lurking in the weeds anymore.
Keep the pics coming! There's lots more info out there to share.
Thanks!
John Mr. 009

Sat Aug 02, 2014 8:07 pm

Yeah this thread isn't for everyone. Not all of us are scientific/statistical minded. That's their problem though.

Sat Aug 02, 2014 9:28 pm

Tim, I've acquired several more of the vacuum advance canisters and can send them to you someday. Let me know if you'd be willing to take them off my hands.
Oh yeah, just had to add this too, I'd like yours and Dan's (Danielzink) permission to use the pictures you guys posted on this thread, to upload to my facebook page. I'll be sure to include your names if it is okay with you as well.
Thanks!
John Mr. 009

Sun Aug 03, 2014 7:08 am

167luckycharm wrote: Tim, I've acquired several more of the vacuum advance canisters and can send them to you someday. Let me know if you'd be willing to take them off my hands.
Oh yeah, just had to add this too, I'd like yours and Dan's (Danielzink) permission to use the pictures you guys posted on this thread, to upload to my facebook page. I'll be sure to include your names if it is okay with you as well.
Thanks!
John Mr. 009

No problem - have at it !

Dan