12 replies to this topic

[Earley86]

Need to change my dizzy as its allowing oil up the shaft and into the body.

I dont have a timing light, can anyone recommend one thats reasonably priced and reliable?

Cheers

[68+86auto]

Innova 5568 or one of the rebrands of it. As far as I am concerned, it is essential to get the one with dwell which the 5568 does.

[Ethel]

You could set the timing statically before you take the old one off. Then, as long as the engine hasn't turned, you can fit the new one the same. That should be good enough to get it running. However a timing light is a worthwhile service tool to have anyway.

 

If you don't need the Mini as a daily your current dizzy could be refurbished.

 

To set static timing just hook up a bulb (or multimeter) in place of the coil and turn the engine in the right direction (rotor arm going clockwise) to find when the points are closing & the bulb is on the point of lighting. More properly, as the ignition fires when the points break contact, turning the engine to just make the bulb go out would be the spot. With the new dizzy in, you'd turn the distributor body to get to the same point, then tighten the clamp..

[Earley86]

You could set the timing statically before you take the old one off. Then, as long as the engine hasn't turned, you can fit the new one the same. That should be good enough to get it running. However a timing light is a worthwhile service tool to have anyway.

If you don't need the Mini as a daily your current dizzy could be refurbished.

To set static timing just hook up a bulb (or multimeter) in place of the coil and turn the engine in the right direction (rotor arm going clockwise) to find when the points are closing & the bulb is on the point of lighting. More properly, as the ignition fires when the points break contact, turning the engine to just make the bulb go out would be the spot. With the new dizzy in, you'd turn the distributor body to get to the same point, then tighten the clamp..

Cheers, I wasn't aware this could be done.

I did get a quote to have it refurbished and the price was more than double the cost of a replacement from mini spares.

Edited by Earley86, 12 August 2026 - 11:03 PM.

[Earley86]

Innova 5568 or one of the rebrands of it. As far as I am concerned, it is essential to get the one with dwell which the 5568 does.

Cheers I will have a look

[timmy850]

A cheap new one may have an unknown advance curve, so it’s good to either:
Get yours refurbished and recurved to your specific engine
Buy a new one that’s recurved

If a distributor says it fits 850-1275 engines and they don’t provide a curve - avoid these unless you can verify the curve yourself

Then once you install it, set the base timing as per the instructions and verify it does what it should using a timing light.

I have an Innova brand timing light with the dial back feature which makes this a lot easier

[68+86auto]

 

I did get a quote to have it refurbished and the price was more than double the cost of a replacement from mini spares.

 

 

There is a reason the new one is cheaper. It is only fit for the bin.

 

A reconditioned one will be so much better. The new ones have poor advance mechanisms which stick and they also wear quickly.

[floormanager]

+1 for a reconditioned distributor.

+1 for Innova 5568 timing light.  Do not, under any circumstances, buy one cheaper from a from a well know supplier of ignition parts.  You might as well set fire to your money.  The tacho was all over the place and the timing light strobe was not stable.  Bought an Innova 5568 - perfect.  I'd happy to let you use it but I'm in Sussex.

[Ethel]

Has anyone built their own onto a new one? I can't see why you couldn't swap over springs & weights, at least in theory, to get the same advance curve.

[timmy850]

I believe the weights are all the same. You need to adjust the primary and secondary spring to set the curve

The total advance is set by the advance cam. You can shorten the amount of total advance by adding metal to the cam

Generally speaking you want something like 8-10 degrees at idle and then 28-30 degrees total, so a 10 degree cam (10 degrees at cam = 20 degrees at crankshaft) would be a good starting point.

[Ethel]

My thinking was it's the lower shaft & bearing that most likely to wear out. I suppose there might also be wear on the cam lobes for the points - you could potentially get round that with an electronic conversion.

[68+86auto]

Has anyone built their own onto a new one? I can't see why you couldn't swap over springs & weights, at least in theory, to get the same advance curve.

 

They are a bit different. Springs should still interchange but the old ones are most likely worn anyway.

 

The biggest problem I have with the new ones isn't the curve as that can be fixed. The problem is that the mechanism is poor. The acceleration and deceleration curve should be within say 2 degrees at the distributor. I find the Chinese ones to have around 5 degrees difference which is 10 at the crank. It also jumps as the speed changes. On top of this, I've found they wear quickly. I also have a new 65d which would lock up randomly out of the box. I won't fit it to an engine or even my machine in case it does it.

[Earley86]

My thinking was it's the lower shaft & bearing that most likely to wear out. I suppose there might also be wear on the cam lobes for the points - you could potentially get round that with an electronic conversion.

I was thinking this myself. My dizzy works just fine. But the worn bearing is allowing the oil to pass through.

If I got a new body and added my internals would this work. Interesting idea