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Hello all, i have visited here often and learned much!!! Thank you!!! I am working on a 1982 710k radio truck. It has a bosch distributor, coil and what seems to be an ignition box mounted to the engine next to where the alternator wires come out. The distributor has a vacuum advance thats not currently hooked up. on the dash there is a 2 stage pull switch labeled "ignation". I pull it all the way out to start it and then push it in one notch while running. Pushing it all the way in cuts the motor. My question is, is this original/factory? I would like to give it new cap/rotor/plugs/wires, and would like to source all the proper parts. Thanks again!!!

Hy Ryzen, and welcome to the club.
Doesn't sound original to me, but photos might help to identify things better.
If you don't own the manuals, you should invest in them. They might help you to tell what's missing.
I'm not sure if Expedition Imports (a sponsor here) has parts manuals online, but Swiss Army Vehicles has a good online parts diagram section.

Expedition Imports http://www.expedition-imports.com has parts drawings online as well.. however they can sometimes be a little hard to decipher as a whole (for me anyway) since each covers a subsystem.

Definitely post some pictures and the hive mind can share it's collective wisdom with you.

There are some really smart Pinz dudes here, and a few smart asses (myself included) but it all adds up to helpful advice in the end

Ben

Thanks for the quick responses. I have pics but maybe need to resize them cause' they wont upload. It all looks factory, the way the ignition module is mounted, and the two stage dash switch which seems to be like a manual "skole can", controlling voltage to the coil. The full 24 or so at startup, then the lesser voltage while running to keep the coil and distributor pickup happy. This has sat for a long time, the owner has nice manuals for it, but this ignition isn't represented in them. Changed the batteries (the group 27's fit perfectly), and drained the gas, refilled with fresh and a little ether later she was running, but cranky. Drove it to his garage, clutch and brakes had to be pumped to work, so they will need bled. Also the starter needed love (bangs) to turn, but it seems that has sorted itself out, as it works every time now. The gas tank plug is dripping, source for new washer? Cleaning and checking the gap of plugs revealed 3 renault plugs and 1 that was different, all gapped at .035. manual says .022 or so, but thats with points, so i reinstalled. also the plug wires are mismatched. Looks like it has been worked on by a butcher in the past. Pics to come and thanks again

This look familiar to anyone? there's vw and audi symbols on this stuff too.

dash switch

Definitely not Military stock; that is not the stock shielded distributor cap. And the hole that the switch is in was intended for the Eberspacher heater (hence the fan marking next to it). Plus, in stock form the engine is shut down by turning off the key and not some other method. And the Pinz did not use vacuum advance, only mechanical (rpm) advance.

the knob above the fan control, marked with b 4 L , controls the voltage to the coil. Troubleshooting it where it was parked with no spark, followed what looked to be a doctored in red wire, to this switch. pulled and it fired. possible that someone retrofitted a complete fuel injected beetle ignition? Is the keyway or gear at the bottom of a pinz distributor the same as an air cooled vw? Again at this point with it, I would like to buy a complete proper tune up kit, without taking the current cap and rotor off to match at napa, and buying a wire kit to cut to length. The front two plugs were black, back two (mismatched) burning clean. Want to rule out spark strength issues before I rebuild/clean/synch carbs to get it to run right. This is FUN!!!!

the vacuum advance on the distributor is my red flag, as theres no port on either carb manifold. it idles decent when warm, but reving it and slipping the clutch power falls off. possibly poor running with no advance? I am very familiar with multiple carbs on motorcycles big and small (my first love), and this pair is obviously poorly wrenched on (delicate jets!!!!), and dirty. donut was ripped between air filter canister and top carb shroud.The front zenith carb, the steel base is cracked and looks epoxyed on the rearward passenger carb stud. Vacuum leak!!! this is a can of worms, but I can do worse things with my time....

Hang in there. These things are so much fun to drive

I lack your skill so I'm lucky mine has the fuel injection upgrade.

One thing I learned after hanging out on this board the last year or so is to try a few different search terms when looking for info. I find it takes trying a couple combos before I find the set of terms that narrow it down to the threads that answer my question.

Keep us posted on your progress and the gurus will weigh in with helpful tips along the way.

Ben


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Ryzen, where are you located?


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I'm in Milwaukee Wi, but my bud with the truck is about an hour west of here. Thinking more about that top pull switch, and it does make sense it would be for the heater, which is present behind driver but with all kinds of wires and plugs lying disconnected beneath it. The red wire from the plus side of the coil that leads to that switch was definitely added by someone. So, someone must have adapted this ignition to this, looks as though i will pull old cap and rotor to match locally(hopefully!!!) Luckily it does run and drive, so i got something thats workable, just needs improvement.....

I would say that is a late 70s VW Rabbit distributor.

Thanks, i will look into that!

After looking at picks of a used one for sale on ebay, for an 80 to 83 rabbit truck, the three wire plug looks nearly the same!!! Thanks much and now i need to make sure these electronics are not getting the full 24+ volts!