With the original Marelli distributor cap and rotor no longer available what are the alternatives? Brand? Vendor?

Or does it really not matter and what is really more important is changing them more frequently?

Carcare
URO
Standard Motor Products
Import Direct (O'Reilly's)
Facet (O'Reilly's)
Intermotor,
Duralast
Echlin (Napa)

 

Near as I can tell all of those brands are selling the very same cap. It's just label engineering. Take your pick. Just inspect more frequently.

Cheers
DD

 

With Doug on that one.

ALSO

My very limited dealings with Marelli cars, 2 in fact, is the age and integrity of the HT leads, all 14 of them, and the spark plugs (PROPERLY GAPPED) is on equal footing.

 

i have a brand new old stock genuine marelli cap for sale, in its box , message me if interested,( it is also up on ebay UK )

original caps made by marelli have brass inserts, not aluminium one found on pattern parts

BB

this has now sold on ebay ,

 

Thanks Doug, that is what I assumed. Just going through my new to me 1994 and have already replaced the plugs with NGK BR6EF gapped to .025, new Magnecore 8.5 plug wires and two new NGK coils.

I guess the smart thing to do, if the caps are all made by the same company, would be to buy one locally so if and when it has issues, I can return it.

 

It pays to shop around I guess. Found a Marelli cap being sold by a fellow forum member on Ebay UK, but it sold locally before I could strike a deal. Then found the new old stock one pictured below in Australia. All said and done with shipping and taxes it cost me $251.04 US. You can't complain about that when a cheap aftermarket one is around $100.00.

 

I’ve found one alternate source. Unlike URO, Intermotor and others this replica uses brass contacts and not aluminum. I can’t promise it’s better, it’s just different. Ships from China. Has been fine on my car so far, few thousand miles.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/27432972042...mis&media=COPY

https://www.ebay.com/itm/27471694084...mis&media=COPY

 

Things being made in China all boils down to quality control. If this cap is made with good tolerances close to the original, then the brass contacts can only mean it is a better product than a cap with aluminum. I am not sure if there would be a big difference in the rotor as all the "cheap" ones I have seen are made out of brass too.

 

Damn. Ok! Let folks know what ya GIT,,, when ya GOT it!

 

I got what was advertised, as pictured. Took a while to arrive. Car has run fine with it for several thousand miles. Too soon to know much.

 

Hmm. I just Googled Marelli V12 Distributor Cap and it seems like there are at least a few suppliers... Welsh being one of them.

Am I missing something here? Is this a "place in the world" issue?

 

I found a lot of them are advertised as distributor cap "for" Marelli ignition, but when you delve deeper into the add it is one of the many aftermarket caps with the aluminum contacts. Had I not found the NOS one in Australia for $205.00 US shipped I would have given the one out of China with the brass contacts a try.

 

What I experienced a few years ago was vendors showing a photograph of a genuine Marelli cap but actually selling a non-genuine, brand-x replacement.

Cheers
DD

 

Doug, you had me worried until I went back and looked at the advertisement for the one I bought. Seems like the real deal as stated.

This is a genuine unused Marelli distributor cap DAC1909 in original box
for a Jaguar XJS 5.3L HE or 6.0L V12 engine from VIN 157116 on
manufactured between 1989 - 96 where fitted.

These distributor caps were also used on the XJ40 6.0L V12 model.

We have had this distributor cap on the shelf for years.

This is not a cheap after market reproduction lightweight one.


Specifications:

Marque: Jaguar
Model: XJS XJ40
Years: 1989 - 1996
Part: Distributor Cap
Manufacturer: Marelli
Part Number: DAC1909
Condition: Excellent unused in original box.