No Distributor

[Vstromvoyager]

So I bought a 84 BII and it didn't have a distributor in it. It's actually on the front seat in parts. The previous owner said that was the only thing wrong, but he never heard it run, he bought it that way. so my question is do I try and upgrade to a Duraspark system or try and find an original one and get it running? This is a project so it's a learning experience. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[buck119fa]

I would see about going to a junk yard and finding the parts first or query on the forum to see if you can get the distributor and get it running before spending extra money on the duraspark conversion.
what all is missing besides the distributor? is the wiring cut up? hard to really say what else you'd need with out some pictures of it in its current state.

If you don't know if it will at least run, throwing the money in it for the conversion might be better spent upgrading the motor all together.

 

[Vstromvoyager]

I got it running which was a huge step for me and my skill level. I found a stock distributor at a junk yard and put it in. It did have a broken drive gear so I took the one off the old one. After a couple of tries of getting TDC set it fires right up, of course that's when the timing light that I used once before on another old car quit working. New timing light and a little work and she sounds real good! The drivers side valve cover gasket was leaking so I replaced it. Now its time to test it on the trails.

 

[buck119fa]

That's great. glad to see you got it going. Have fun on the trails