One of the things Richard and I discussed yesterday was going with
>> the RX-8 style of pickup and using the distributor shaft to drive an
>> alternate power source.  He rightly noted that the gears probably
>> aren't rated to be very strong, since all they do is drive the
>> distributor and oil pumps.  The questions are 1) How much load would a
>> generator add?  and 2) How much load can the gears take?
>>

Years ago, a friend mounted an external oil pump in the distributor hole on a 12A powered formula car. Then ran a lost spark crank triggered ignition.

 

The drive gear on the crank gave up after about an hour, running 75 PSI of oil pressure.

The distributor drive gear was about half gone. It is barely able to turn the distributor for any length of time. The diameter is too large, (surface speed too high) and contact area too small for any load at all. A bronze gear on the distributor drive with a spray of oil would probably

work.

 

Lynn E. Hanover