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S2 Alpine Distributor/Tach with a 1725cc engine swap?

L

lilleyllc

Donation Time
Restoring a 1962 Alpine that someone swapped a 1725cc engine in. The engine is seized so I pulled one from my parts car. That engine was in great shape so I figured it should be a plug and play setup. I swapped the distributor housing for one with the gear drive tach. Now the distributor wont engage down on the dog gear. It does on the other 1725cc. How is this possible? Is it just the shaft on the oil pump/dog gear is longer on the other one? Can I swap them out? I would like to keep the tach gauge.

I'm assuming the other option if I cannot swap the oil pump then I can use a later gauge with electric tach sensor? But I'd prefer to keep the correct gauge and setup.

Thanks for any advice!
 
hartmandm

hartmandm

Moderator
Diamond Level Sponsor
Maybe the distributor mounting bracket was customized to be compatible with an earlier distributor and drive the mechanical tach cable?

Pictures might help.

Mike
 
alpine_64

alpine_64

Donation Time
I have an early series cable drive tach disturbor base mounted to a 1725 oil pump...fitted into a 3 main bearing motor....

The shaft lengths are different for the 3 and 5 main drives. They have a pin holding them on so you need to swap the shaft for both length ( depth it goes down) and also the number of teeth for the cam and the oil pump which are different between then 3 and 5 main motors... You have to mix and match the right components
 
L

lilleyllc

Donation Time
alpine_64 said:
I have an early series cable drive tach disturbor base mounted to a 1725 oil pump...fitted into a 3 main bearing motor....

The shaft lengths are different for the 3 and 5 main drives. They have a pin holding them on so you need to swap the shaft for both length ( depth it goes down) and also the number of teeth for the cam and the oil pump which are different between then 3 and 5 main motors... You have to mix and match the right components
Click to expand...
Ahh its starting to make sense. So I can swap the shaft as long as the number of teeth match the cam. If not I guess I will just swap to a later series tach and do some rewiring off the coil? Thanks Mike!
 
L

lilleyllc

Donation Time
hartmandm said:
Maybe the distributor mounting bracket was customized to be compatible with an earlier distributor and drive the mechanical tach cable?

Pictures might help.

Mike
Click to expand...
No its fully stock, I know because I have two. I am guessing someone swapped the cam or the oil pump shaft and gear from the new research I have done. Looks like I will see if I can swap parts around to match or just go with a later series tach and wire off the coil.
 
husky drvr

husky drvr

Platinum Level Sponsor
lilleyllc said:
Looks like I will see if I can swap parts around to match
Click to expand...

You should only have to exchange the gear driven by the cam, and cam to match. The pump shaft should be housing specific, if not identical.

Maybe you should be able to exchange the parts, cam, pump drive gear, and lifters from the bad engine. Might need to send parts to Delta Cam for a regrind to be safe.
 
Last edited:
Thistle Grey

Thistle Grey

Donation Time
lilleyllc said:
Restoring a 1962 Alpine that someone swapped a 1725cc engine in. The engine is seized so I pulled one from my parts car. That engine was in great shape so I figured it should be a plug and play setup. I swapped the distributor housing for one with the gear drive tach. Now the distributor wont engage down on the dog gear. It does on the other 1725cc. How is this possible? Is it just the shaft on the oil pump/dog gear is longer on the other one? Can I swap them out? I would like to keep the tach gauge.

I'm assuming the other option if I cannot swap the oil pump then I can use a later gauge with electric tach sensor? But I'd prefer to keep the correct gauge and setup.

Thanks for any advice!
Click to expand...
I have a 1725 block in my S1 so I have the same problem, I can't fit the tach drive housing without the distributor no longer reaching the oil pump drive. An Alpine owner in Australia reached out and sent me the specifications for an adaptor he had a machine shop build to fit between the pump and distributor drives to solve the issue. I haven't had one built yet, but if you want a copy of the drawings, PM me and I will email it to you.
 
Scotty

Scotty

Silver Level Sponsor
Why not just run a later series Tach? If your car is still positive ground, it should work right out the box. Accuracy would be the one concern given its age and you can have it rebuilt and even switched to negative ground.
 
L

lilleyllc

Donation Time
Thistle Grey said:
I have a 1725 block in my S1 so I have the same problem, I can't fit the tach drive housing without the distributor no longer reaching the oil pump drive. An Alpine owner in Australia reached out and sent me the specifications for an adaptor he had a machine shop build to fit between the pump and distributor drives to solve the issue. I haven't had one built yet, but if you want a copy of the drawings, PM me and I will email it to you.
Click to expand...
That’s very interesting! I just like the idea of the mechanical tach. It’s a unique detail to the early cars, so I would love to keep it. PM sent!
 
L

lilleyllc

Donation Time
Scotty said:
Why not just run a later series Tach? If your car is still positive ground, it should work right out the box. Accuracy would be the one concern given its age and you can have it rebuilt and even switched to negative ground.
Click to expand...
That’s definitely an option. I may be wrong but I think the tach is slightly different in appearance? Correct me if I’m wrong. If I’m unable to adapt the parts to keep the gear driven tach going then yes, I’ll swap the tach gauge and run it like a later setup. Thanks for the input!
 
alpine_64

alpine_64

Donation Time
lilleyllc said:
That’s definitely an option. I may be wrong but I think the tach is slightly different in appearance? Correct me if I’m wrong. If I’m unable to adapt the parts to keep the gear driven tach going then yes, I’ll swap the tach gauge and run it like a later setup. Thanks for the input!
Click to expand...
The early tachs have the warning lights intergrated into the gauge face.
 
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