OK to run disconnected
Donnie:
My 71 cpe has factory GM tach drive distributor...it's td gears are toast...I disconnected the cable at dist..and have driven it THOUSANDS of miles. What I did do was to remove the large threaded coupler from the dist (turn CCW to remove)...and slid it out...along with the small cross gear...then I permanently removed the cross gear from the coupler...then I packed the coupler with...yes, toilet paper to keep dust out of distributor shaft...then replaced the coupler into distributor housing (turn CW to tighten)....I've had no problems. BTW, when facing the cross gear, it rotates CW when running...you can check your tach/cable by chucking the distributor-end of cable in a drill-motor...and running it CCW...you'll need long arms or a helper to do this and read the tach! I've recently acquired an NOS Accel dual point with tach drive... will use this along with MSD 6 spark box ... If I ever finish building the darn motor! Hope this helps. Let us know how things unfold.
JACK
71 CPE