The Zephyr 12 cylinder distributor would bolt up to the 48 and earlier Ford and Merc. engines and had a much larger coil. The guts could be swapped for 8 cyl. use. No zephyr 12 cyl. engine was ever junked with out the distributor finding a new home.
I also remember something about the transmission or it's gears that appealed to the hop up folks.