A lot of great input. Thank you all very much. Couple questions: GMC Bubba, do I HAVE to send you my core, or do you have any already done in stock with the Pertronix upgrade? hotroddon, what coil would I need, and how much is it?
You do not need a special coil to use a Pentronix points conversion..... A stock Ford yellow top 12v coil will work great.
I just went to my neighborhood NAPA store (which is full of computer guys NOT car guys), and after asking questions like: 1) 390? 2) What did the 390 come in? 3) What's FE stand for? .....I finally got a quote of $64.99 plus a $16 core charge. It comes complete with V.A. , points, condenser, but no cap. It's nice because it looks like a stock original, but I'm thinking I'm not going to go this way, frankly because of the lack of knowledge and help makes me uncomfortable. But it's a start. Oh, almost forgot: This afternoon at lunch we came to the conclusion that the base plate inside the distributor is moving enough that when the V.A. tries to kick in, the whole set of points moves, which explains why it'll start and idle, but try to run her and she bumbles and stumbles all over. So, we removed the vacuum line and capped it temporarily.
Duraspark is the system that I run and it works great. I carry an extra module under the seat just in case one craps out on the road. All of the Duraspark parts are still available from your local parts store, I don't know if the same can be said about Pertronix parts
Before I would use any stock or reman I sure would want to see it on a machine. Or know someone who knows what they are doing has set it up. jm2c
Ditto, the #2 post,......Ford's distributor had a thing for wearing out the breaker plate,... Either a reman, or an aftermarket are the way to go. 4TTRUK
I used the recomended coil from Pertronix on my truck and an old yellow top on my test stand engine ,, both work fine . "for now" ... The reman unit from NAPA is the real deal "Autolite" ... it comes cast coated instead of aw natural
I installed a stock dizzy from rock auto for my 62 390 and then installed a pertronix 1.that was in 2007.must bypass the pink ballast resistor wire.
You know guys sometimes things just make sense! The rebuild,unit from the parts store will solve the problem by providing a new breaker plate and a clean start for a small cost. Worse case issue it has the wrong advance etc. If so send it to us for a curve or a conversion to what ever you need for the given engine... Still a fix for very little cost...
So GMC Bubba, Not to hijack this thread but lots of people seem interested... So, I have a '98 5.0L out of an Explorer. GT heads are stock to this engine. I've added an "E" series Ford cam, shorty headers, and a beautiful 3x2 Autolite 2100 setup from Pony Carburetor (Blue Oval manifold). I'm running a WC T-5 trans and 3.70 rear with 31" 'Stones" - all in my '31 RPU. I bought a '86 Motorcraft (NAPA rebuilt) dist. w/steel gear. I also got a "blue" box as I have been advised to mate with it. What other info do you need to have to set-up my distributor when I send it up? I won't race this car but I do want crisp bottom and mid range. Thanks for your advice on here.
You just gave me all I need, I would curve and adjust advance rates to thevhigest level th factory makes for the engine application. Usually all in at 2500-3000 rpms.
I'm thinking I'm going to keep the core, replace with the NAPA stock one, and send you the core one that is in the car right now, and have you rebuild it (maybe with the Pertronix) and keep it as a back up. GMC BUBBA, How much will either case cost me (pertronix or standard oem rebuild)?
You buy the PERTRONIXS from summit/jets etc and send me the unit with kit. Labor on cleanup and curve is$48 plus $18 shipping....
Ok, so this week I bought a stock original rebuilt Ford points distributor from NAPA for $64.99. We put it in, and the car starts right up, runs great at low speed, but when I get it up to maybe 40 mph, she starts missing. I'm thinking that maybe it's, I don't know, something in the Edelbrock carb, like the accelerator pump or something. I'm frustrated. Any ideas?
The rebuilt distributors use the cheapest set of contacts ever made !!! I would go down to napa and buy the best echlin contacts set they have for that car. Bring them back and set with feeler gauge and try that before i did anything. ( .015 will run good) Does it only miss with increased rpm???? Did it do that before the distributor change???? You know 99% of all misses are caused by ignition ???? ( from a fuel guy) And did ya know that 99% of misses are caused by fuel ( from a ignition guy) So pick one i guess ......change out the contacts ......:>0
Thanks. I'll do that this week and post my results. Yes, it sorta did do that before, but it was more severe. When we pulled the original distributor, the plate on the bottom was soo loose that if you wiggled it a little, you could pretty much get the points to close, thus we figured that was the problem and that's why we needed a rebuilt distributor. Now, it does it at 40mph and higher, which realistically is a lower RPM then when you take off, which is when it does not do it.
I have a '64 Galaxie with a 390. Looked at a bunch of different ignition options. Found a complete dizzy on Ebay that uses a GM HEI top end grafted onto to an FE lower end. I think it was $120. Bolted it it. Ran 1 hot wire to it. Fired it up, set the timing. Done. Haven't had any problems with it. Your results may vary. Chris
Actually we will and can do whatever you want. However there are some thought that needs to go into each and every changeover etc. I think the dura spark boxes look right at home on the ford vehicles, and would suggest using a GM hei module hidden under the box. However my experience with these modules ( GM and ford) has been poor due to off shore cheap parts. The PERTRONIXS controller has become a very good product over the years and that's what we normally use today...
Ok, so I picked up the parts that GMC Bubba recommended as far as points. We installed them today, and decided to replace the coil, the solenoid, the condenser as well. I drove it a very little bit, and just to be safe I trailered it up to Englewood for Cruizin' on Dearborn tonight, and I made about 5 loops with it, but of course at very low speed. It's over an hour from my house, and I just didn't want to chance it without running it in my neighborhood for a few days first. But, so far so good...I think. I'll update Monday after I drive it a bit more and get it up over 55mph (which over 40mph is when it was showing the problem).
Well, I drove it last night. Got it up over 50-60mph, and it seems to be running just fine. That seems to have done the trick. GMC Bubba, I am going to do that conversion with my original dist. I'll send it when I get around to it.
The Jalopy Journal
