Hot Rods 390 ford Distriburtor

I'm putting a 390 in 57 ford and I'm not sure what year it is and I do not have the ignition module that it came with from the factory so I don't know what color insulator it came with the plug from the distributor has blue black and orange wires. How do I order the right module? I hope this is not as dumb a ? as I think.

 

The early DuraSpark distributors are all the same electrically as far as I know, the modules are different but that depends on the car they're installed in and what coil is being used. I've always used a MSD 6A box with those distributors, easier to wire in and they'll drive most any coil. Hotter spark too. The orange and blue wires are the 'signal' wires, the black is just a ground.

 

toss it and get a point distributor. Or get an aftermarket (MSD type) box. Or just guess at what year it is, and buy the appropriate box.

Are the wires really Orange, Purple and Black?

how about if you pick a year, like 1976, and buy the module and coil for that year, and find a wiring diagram for that year, and wire it accordingly.

 

maybe run pertronix

 

the blue module is the best choice. if you can, a used motorcraft is better then the **** the parts stores sell these days. an old ford mechanic.

 

X2 what Thumper said. The different colored grommets were for different timing curves depending on the vehicle. The blue one had the best curve. I converted my Yblock ignition to a Duraspark system & used the module w/the blue grommet. Been trouble free for the last 2 years.

 

The grommet color has nothing to do with the timing curves; the first-generation DuraSpark ignitions still used the same mechanical/vacuum advance parts as the point ignitions; in fact, you can install the electronic pickup into the '57-70s point distributors with just a bit of work. No, the different grommet colors designated how they wired into the car and which coil they were rated for. Some used a ballast resistor, some didn't. If you're missing the OEM wiring between the distributor and the module, and between the module and the harness, I'd just go with a MSD.

 

The only dura spark FEs were 1974-76 trucks and they had green grommets.

 

interesting about the green grommets for FEs....the replacements you can buy for 1976 truck FE applications are blue grommet. I guess they might work ok?

 

Here's an idea if you want to use a GM 4 pin ignition module to run it. I'd say your "blue" wire would coincide with the "violet" wire in this diagram.