[DeTomaso] distributor roll pin

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

And when Judy, Rich Agiorni and I were actively autocrossing his modified '72 
in the late '80s, his spiral-wound Mallory distributor pin partially 
fractured on the way to the track, retarding the timing about 15 degrees but kept 
running. Jon Long of Loma Prieta Pantera Services happened to be at the track and 
diagnosed the problem by hearing it run. Between the bunch of us, we got a new 
pin from a local parts store, Jon timed the thing by ear just before our 
group was to go out, and Judy and I won both won our classes that day! Jon told me 
that spiral-wound pins in Ford distributors always cracked in vintage racing 
and everyone changed them to 'something else.' 
The 'double-roll-pin' is not my idea either- in our '72's ZF, the stock cast 
iron throwout lever in the bellhousing is retained to the cross-shaft with two 
huge roll pins with a second pin inside each- from the factory. Cheers- J 
DeRyke