Philbin Rebuilt Products Inc

Jeff Igielski

★★★★☆

2 years ago

Distributor service; Philbin has always been the one "yes" in a sea of "no"... they can do it and they say "yes", every time I've needed a hard to find or fix ignition distributor part or service. No one is perfect, but these folks are capable when others won't even try. I would most like to speak to the 1 star reviewer who was permitted to enter the rear of the facility; You have breached the trust of the craftsman who allowed you into their private back area AND by what you reported in your review, you utterly dissolved every micron of any honor of your own character by said breach. Thus you words and your report and review are null! Your $120 is not license to shame a fellow who spends all his time doing the impossible and has nothing left for tidy-up and organizational cleanliness; appreciate it for what they can do - not for how you see it. Your perfect curve is a fine target for the studious builder; your actual ability to reach the goal of your build is found not in an engineering specification, but in a mechanics ear and a machinists hands. Don't judge what you don't understand, you owe them a sincere apology for your posting!

aaron moore

★☆☆☆☆

5 years ago

A very important lesson was relearned here, it only cost me $120. If Tony, the owner of Philbin's was once on his game, sadly he is no longer. I asked him to look at my newish GM HEI distributor for my Small Block Chevy Engine. I told him that I did not want to spend money on it if it could not be adjusted for the needs of my Engine. He said he had the advance weights and center in stock that I requested & were needed to adjust the curve profile. He said he would also be able to add length to the shaft by moving it down which would allow the Distributor Gear to center over the Camshaft Gear. I returned the next day and he brought me back into the shop. WOW, I have not seen anything so cluttered and disorganized since glancing at a documentary on the subject on Netflix. The almost impossible to find SUN Distributor Testing Machine in the back was in the worst shape possible, the test lights were gone, he had connected a handheld timing light, the Tachometer was not working he had a little voltmeter hooked up to it that was reading out a three-digit display he was interpreting the RPM through. I said I wanted the timing to come in at 750 RPM and have the mechanical advance all in at 2,600 RPM and needed the mechanical advance to total 22 degrees. If this was not possible to not to work on it.. I would bring in a new Distributor that had the correct parts and he could adjust it to the curve needed. He said he replaced the two small springs with lighter springs and showed me the advance numbers before and after I asked why the Curve was nowhere near what I asked him to set and he spent a lot of time answering that he didn't have the right parts and w/o those parts it, of course, was not adjustable. Doh. He then told me I didn't need this curve that I spent months researching and this Distributor that was set up for a lightweight car would be fine in my massive RV. All in all, he did not do what he agreed but insisted he be paid what "he said it would cost" when I dropped it off (if it was repairable). NOW, that is one thing, to be paid for work that has been requested to be done. But I made it very clear I would buy a new distributor with the correct parts that could be set up and I did not want to put money into a distributor with problems... I paid him. He is obviously not 100%. I am not going to argue with him past reiterating what my initial request was and hearing the automatic defense of his actions. I asked him if he would give me a break on the set up of the new distributor and he kept on stating the one I had was fine. I drove straight to Bruce, Majhor-Murray at 3411 SE Milwaukie Ave, Portland, OR 97202. What an amazing Shop! Bruce made a call, identified this distributor as a low-grade distributor, then brought me back to a pristine SUN Distributor Tester, testing quickly verified it could not be set to my needs and it needed machining to allow it to sit properly on the Camshaft, also it was not holding steady timing, instead it was wavering several degrees at low RPM. Bruce recommended I buy a new one. Guess who I will pay to set it up when it arrives? Lesson learned if the front of a shop looks cluttered and disorganized the back will be worse, and both will be a reflection of the owners' current state of competence in their field.

Ellsworth Wente

★★★★★

4 years ago

Added Pertronix electronic ignition to 1948 Lincoln V-12 distributor for me a few years ago. Pertronix doesn't actually have a kit for a v-12 so he made the custom mounting plate and set it up using two 6 cylinder sensors. Did a great job, since he also timed it for the old v-12 because he has the old school Sun distributor machines. The car runs great!