I think the real issues is we have not been getting to the issue.... we have been finding lots of little things that combined could create an issue..... but my guess is one thing started this chain of events and I did not pin point it.  So in taking things off to try and resolve it we have found other things and possibly even introduced issues or by disturbing things have brought underlying (sleeping) issues to the light .........

Going to Stef gave me great motivation as I was feeling quite despondent.  The fact that there was no one blindingly obvious issue actually helped me and stopped me feeling like an idiot.  Daves enthusiasm also really helped and his focus to just fix it.   So feeling a bit more refreshed and positive now.

I also think with so many things fixed and a rolling road session to come (where valve clearances will be checked prior to going on it) and with hopefully my new sync link fitted.... I am now starting to see the light ..... I also have lots of new parts fitted and old parts cleaned ...... so with a bit of luck will get there and have the buggy set up good for the future.....

Was it an elephants foot type of adjustor ?

Was it an elephants foot type of adjustor ?

yep 

That's what caused my fire, 1 fell off at speed, ran a little rough so I gave it more beans and the adjustor wound back on an exhaust valve.

Lots of fuel back up into the carb and bang.

The ball type are a pain to set but much better design.

I run a standard Bosch distributor and dont get anything rusting away, and believe me
I drive in some of the wettest places imaginable, not quite as predictable as Manchester though! 

If the billet Pertronix 2 is getting into this state, rather than or as well as using liquids and sprays,
have you ever thought about drilling some small holes, 2mm or 3mm diameter around the bottom of
the distributor body, angled slightly in and upwards, this will let the thing 'breathe' and could well
help a lot to ensure the environment inside is dry...

I dont see why drilling a small hole in the distributor cap itself wouldn't help things either, as it would let
any heat out if moisture was getting in, so avoiding condensation issues...

Peter

I just googled the pertronix billet distributor and can't see any 'breather holes anywhere.

This photo of a Bosch shows the four square holes I have in mine, it may not
be the reason for all the rusting away issues that are being seen but these four holes
allow air into the housing, I have just replaced my original one fitted 17 years ago and nothing inside is rusty
or corroded.

Maybe have a look to see what you can do with a drill to improve things, all this is nothing to be
frightened of and drilling holes for good reason even in 'state of the art' stuff (as they should have been there in the first place)
shouldn't actually bugger anything up 

They have a breather in the cap Peter, as shown here:

http://www.classic-store.com/product_info.php?products_id=3327

Mines been used in all sorts of weather too and not even mildly moist so may be down to badly fitting caps.

Mine's been monsooned many times and dry as a bone too

Yes there is a breather in the cap and the wires that come out of the bottom effectively give good breathing as well.  My cap fits like a glove.  Its a perfect fit.   If you google especially on the boat forums you will see many examples of this so there is obviously an issue.  They seem very susceptible to salty air / water which is odd given these are supposed to be machine grade.  I spotted this on the Samba https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=672471

In my one only the spring had gone.  Nothing like the example on the link above.  I have been in far more than my fair share of Monsoons .... its Manchester ...... so it has been soaked on numerous occasions.

Basically I will just add it to the list of routine maintenance and check it regularly.  It is supposed to be a "fit and forget" but its naive to think anything is truly that especially with moving parts.

http://www.pertronix.com/prod/new/details.aspx?ID=110

The link above is a good image of the dizzy

That's what caused my fire, 1 fell off at speed, ran a little rough so I gave it more beans and the adjustor wound back on an exhaust valve.

Lots of fuel back up into the carb and bang.

The ball type are a pain to set but much better design.

To quote someone .... they are made of cheese !

I have just looked at Tony's link and there are indeed issues here...

All the internal parts should be plated and it seems they are not. Thats a big issue.

Now, the one other thing that seems to be digging me in the sides is the ability of
this distributor to breathe, It seems to have a vent on the cap itself, but to be honest
I havent seen a hole or anything yet.

The picture of the Bosch distributor I added earlier shows the situation I have, and there are
four square holes in the base of the main body and I haven't been able to find anything similar on all the photos
of the Pertronix so far.

These four square holes, I would have thought, were vital to encourage air into the distributor body,
the rotating parts inside will be creating  air movement as they fly round and round and will have significant effect
on the draught that is pulled in.
It maybe that my Bosch cap doesn't seal as well as the pertronix but is quite fine because it doesn't need to seal that well,
its a good fit and thats all thats necessary as water isn't pouring inside when its very wet.

It seems to me that protection from the rain outside is far less of an issue than that of ensuring a stable atmosphere inside,
ie a damp one that has the chance to dry out.

The samba thread definitely shows this pertronix is prone to rusting everywhere inside specially on the surfaces of
completely unplated components. I have nothing I can say about that other than its a major fail in the design sense.
Huge in fact.

I think that if you can replicate the four breather holes around the body base, they dont need to be square and 4mm to 5mm diameter would do fine, then the body has a chance to dry out, its not so much that its wet, its more about the state of the air inside.... An airflow
thats being sucked/encouraged in via these four holes due to the movement of the rotor arm and parts flying around is certainly
a situation thats very definitely required...

Peter

Peter, with you on this one. Personally never heard of, or experienced rust issues within a standard distributor.
Not a great advert for a product that protrayed to be a quality item. And the're aren't cheap.

Paul

So had a good poke around it this weekend ....... since there are quite a few contributing to this post I thought it worth clearing a few things up.....

1. I have always said .... I never get problems with my billet pertronix.... so be careful as you might one day
2. I replaced my old dizzy (standard VW) because it had rusted inside...... admittedly I did not know the history of it and it did have a blue see through crap cap on it ... but it was full of rust (and I do live in Manchester so getting wet is not uncommon)
3. There is a breather in the Pertronix at the top and it is clear / working
4. Drilling holes in it is not really an option for me as it would need specialist kit as its quite a substantial bit of kit ie thick base

I am really disappointed in it now I have had a good look.   It has been on for several years (which sounds good but considering the mileage I do .... it is poor).
Now I have given it a good clean and changed the cap and rota arm its in better shape.  I have no rust issues on any of the internals ..... it was only the spring that had rusted. The contacts in the cap also had started to get green deposits on them.  So rather than just say I dont have problems with my Pertronix I now will check it on a regular basis and ensure it is clean / rust free / no deposits on the contacts.  I have basically neglected it so I have to carry some of the blame and as said before now just need to add this to the regular maintenance check.

It is sad that given the cost of these things they are still not great .... they have over doubled in price since I bought my one so not cheap at all now.   After thinking about this (a great deal) I dont think there are any issues with water ingress.  The cap fits so well.  So I think it is more likely to be a condensation issue. So I do think Peter is correct with airflow.  The cap fits tight and seals so the only exit is the breather

Very interesting to read this, I have to say the quality isn't in question in the general sense
but there are issues with parts being unplated as thats a very important thing.

The quips about Manchester's weather may well have a part to play though as if a buggy is
left for a while and unused then these things can happen.

I dont experience any problems and thats probably due to my bug being used every day
which makes a huge difference.

Drilling the base with a few holes isnt as difficult as may seem, is the distributor body steel ? If its a soft alloy
or aluminium then a controlled drilling episode whilst kneeling on the floor with
it held between your legs isn't impossible, just I have no idea whats inside, things may need removing first
to avoid getting minced up during the drilling process 

Whatever happen's though, and as Tony has said, it's a shame these things seem to struggle and I am pretty sure
most of it is down to not being used regularly, but that's not the point as design features should be in place
to accommodate those situations.

Hopefully all will be fine in the future with a bit of cleaning maintenance and care

Peter