MSD Billet Distributor Disintegration

[Phydous]

This car is going to drive me insane. I love it, but I don't' know if I can trust it...

After successfully replacing my dead fuel pump I went for a test drive. I had driven my car for all of about 15 minutes when I heard a loud POP! The engine immediately died and I coasted to the side of the road. When I checked the engine, I found that the distributor cap had a huge hole in it, and was cracked basically in half. The cap inside was destroyed, and about a third of the magnetic pickup was split off. This is what I found:

What the heck happened?
I now need to order a new Billet Distributor (I think anyway) but I'm just scratching my head about what would have caused this...
Any ideas?

And while we're at it, any suggestions on what a good replacement would be? (I'm just starting to research.,,)

My car is out of commission until I fix it, and that's no good. I really like driving this car!

[Pruneman99]

Well basically it blew up.

I guess a few things could cause it. Something broke/came apart or maybe a buildup of fumes was just right and it thought it was a cylinder.

I've never seen one come apart like that so I'll guess it was a mini bomb. Is there a vent?

[mukluk]

The rotor should have been attached to the distributor shaft with two small screws -- yours appear to be missing.
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[67rustavenger]

[tasb]

I’ve seen several Distributors explode like that in twenty plus years of working on distributors. The jumping spark from points creates ozone which is flammable. It’s for this reason that distributors do have a vent system built into them. In your case with no spark it’s a different cause.
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1961 (October)Single Cab- Road Trip Workhorse

[adventurebob]

Ozone is NOT flammable. Ozone CAN be an oxidizer (in very controlled conditions) but would need a fuel source to combine with to cause an fire/explosion. I cant think of anything inside a distributor that would be a fuel source to combine with O3 that would cause an explosion.

There appear to be impact marks on the inside of the cap, which would seem to indicate something either came loose or broke and beat the cap and rotor into submission.

[Lingwendil]

The rotor must have let loose.
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[Bonesberg55]

Loose distributor shaft due to worn bushings or the shaft itself. Perhaps there was no lubrication to the shaft.

[mukluk]

Look closely. What's missing here?

Here's a clue:

Another clue:

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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[Glenn]

Yes, the missing screws was already pointed out.
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[mukluk]

[heimlich]

The rotor put on loosely can cause this. It can be serious if the rotor gets stuck in between the shaft and something else as it can bend the shaft. It's rare but it's something I look out for in distributors. After you find the issue and get back up and running you should check all firing points to make sure they are equidistant from one another.
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[Glenn]

[Frank Bassman]

Does this dist exist with vacuum advance? This seems like a perfect candidate to use with a GM HEI mounted remotely... and is adjustable.

Looks to be a real deal mag pickup dist.

-Frank

[Phydous]

[Mikedrevguy]

So, this is what happens when a MagnaSpark implodes

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[67rustavenger]

Nice to hear the eBay clone worked out for ya.
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[tasb]

[Phydous]

[stagewex]

I'm more of a "keep-it-stock" guy but your Bug looks really nice.
Screams the word Fun just parked.
Enjoy.