Another important question that I always seem to get asked, "How long does a conversion take?"
PLEASE SEE THE NOTE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE REGARDING WHEN TO SEND YOUR DISTRIBUTOR IN FOR CONVERSION SERVICES
On average, a conversion takes between 10 to 12 working says to complete. This is dependent on a few different factors, such as, if a special part is requested that is not in my parts stock and is also out of stock from a supplier. Also, conversion time can be adversely affected by the work loads I have, which differ throughout the year. Summer is always busy, winter has time spaces that are reasonable.
The most important reason that a conversion takes the time it does, is that one process I do for every conversion is to hard chrome the main shaft of/for every distributor. Hard chroming helps bushings and shafts to live longer, wear less, and, I view the shaft hard chroming process as essential to the conversion.
That said, the hard chroming process is the only process I do not have the ability to do in house, it has to be sent out to get done. On average, one week of the conversion is used in getting the main shafts to the chrome shop in California, doing the chroming work, then getting them back here to continue/finish a conversion.
Please consider the conversion time when contemplating one of my conversions. I can only suggest that if you want a conversion, and the time will be too long, there are alternatives. One is to have the service done when work loads are lower. See below. Another would be to find a used distributor to send in for conversion, while the vehicle is still running on its existing distributor.
I have had a few customers that are members of web boards for their various vehicle makes, go to their membership, and see if they can get spare distributors to send in for conversion. Usually, these units are far less cost than ones from sources like Craigslist, eBay, etc.
One source I do not suggest is for rebuilt parts store distributors. Mostly, those distributors have been through the rebuild process far too many times, and have serious adverse issues, from bushings being changed so many times, they simply will no longer press into the worn out bodies, other parts, stripped out hold down screw holes in bodies, that need to be re-used in a conversion, are simply worn far past usable.
As far as a good time to have a conversion done, summer months are always hectic, and conversion times increase with the number of conversions waiting. A better time frame is in the fall, and especially winter, things go faster then, less hectic. Spring gets rather loaded up fast as the weather changes for the better.
Thank you