since the club is no longer providing a means for competitors and suppliers to get a binding Court of Appeals compliance opinion on matters of interest, those with questions are left to go it alone or seek qualified opinion(s) from the community accepting the associated risk with that approach. to that end I'm seeking qualified opinion(s) traceable to the GCR on the very specific and limited question:
are needle bearings for the front and rear of the auxiliary shaft and the lower distributor shaft of the 2-liter Pinto compliant with the GCR as currently written?
my opinion is yes, needle bearings for the front and rear of the auxiliary shaft as well as the lower distributor shaft are compliant with the GCR as currently written IF AND ONLY IF the competitor is using an electric fuel pump. under those circumstances the auxiliary shaft is in fact solely a distributor drive and per 9.1.1.B.15.v. (included below for reference) distributors are unrestricted provided they retain the original drive and location. original drive and location would obviously not be altered.
in the hopes of avoiding questions or speculation on motive(s) and opinions on the merit or lack there of to the imagined change AND keeping in mind it has absolutely nothing to do with compliance with the rules as written, the objective of the imagined change is reduced ignition timing scatter from the clearance implicit with journal bearings. with the journal bearings at the front and rear of the auxiliary shaft and the bottom of the distributor, distributor drive geometry is dependent on oil (type and weight), oil pressure, oil temperature, rpm, load, and wear. needle bearings eliminate all or most of the bottom end geometry that is currently contributing to ignition timing variance (aka: scatter). opinions on compliance or non-compliance of needle bearings with a GCR traceable basis will be greatly appreciated!!
9.1.1.B.15.v. Distributors are unrestricted providing they retain the original drive and location. The distributor is defined as the component which triggers the L.T. current and distributes the H.T. current. The Ignition Timing may only be varied by vacuum and/or mechanical means. It is prohibited to use any other method or component to trigger, distribute, or time the ignition.