Am i right in thinking i can rotate the distributor body to any position providing the distributor cap is always in the correct position relative to it, its a Pinto engine and i'm trying to fit a side entry dist cap to give me some clearance for some bike carbs, i realise i will have to remove the little locating lug in the cap to be able to spin the cap on the body so it sits in the correct position....

It would be easier to fit the distributor in a position where the cap can be fitted and then fit the leads to suit the firing order

The cap, rotor, and trigger - points cam or electronic device, must all be correct relative to one another.

I cant remember how the pinto distributor is driven, if its gear driven, it can be fitted in as many different positions as there are teeth on the gear.

Imagine taking it out, timing correct, and the shaft locked, you can put it back in any position on the gear, and it will be correct.

Don't try and alter the position of the cap relative to the distributor body.

[Edited on 5/9/10 by r1_pete]

^^^ pete is right. you cannot move the cap relative to the body, not unless you can move the points too.

the rotor had a wide contact that has to be next to one of the plug contacts in the cap when the coil has fired - moving the cap will mean the electricity will not read the cap contact.

in case you are wondering why the rotor contact is so wide, that is to take care of the advance since the spark will not always come in the same position of rotor arm.