Subject: LRO: Distributors pollution vs. non-pollution control

From: "Richard L. Ziegler" <[email-masked]>
Date: Tue, 15 May 2001 02:16:20 -0400

Hope Peter notes that he knows of some late IIa and III L/Rs that do not
have retard type distributors on them.  Yup!  Even my '74 series III has the
advance type distributor on it.  Of course it was not imported that way (and
neither were the ones he mentions) as I wound up replacing the original
retard type distributor with the advance type for the previous owner of what
is now my '74 L/R.  You have to remember that the first things that
deteriorated on the L/Rs were the pollution control bits and pieces and
British Leyland did not resupply them so we would convert the engines to be
like the older ones by taking off the pollution control equipment as the
items wore out.  The advance type distributor fits in the same place as the
retard type distributor so once you had to replace the Zenith pollution
control carb with one that was not pollution control you might as well
change the distributor to the advance type and set the timing specs to those
of the L/Rs that were running around in the rest of the world (the same
specs that were used on earlier NADA L/Rs).
In '68 for NADA (North American Dollar Area) the only thing that was put on
to achieve pollution control was a PCV valve.
In '69 they changed the carb to the Zenith pollution control type with the
requisite retard distributor and they also added a front exhaust pipe that
incorporated an exhaust gas recirculation device that plugged into the base
area of the carb (these bits being the very first items to deteriorate and
BL had no exact replacements for them).   In addition they sealed the gas
tank system and added the charcoal filter for gasoline fumes, which were
then piped to the air intake horn.  This system was then used on the Series
III L/Rs which we first saw in the USA in the 2nd half of 1972.  Needless to
say, when British Leyland stopped importing L/Rs to NADA in 1974 they also
quit importing parts for them.
Note to TeriAnn: It is not the body seals that are being replaced it is the
rubber pieces that are between the chassis and the rear box that act as
cushions there.
Rich Ziegler, Series L/R mechanic & owner since '63