Now that the 302 is in the '47 I have to start thinking distributors. I'd like to go regular old points & condenser for the look but I'm kinda digging the Ford HEI's. Any opinions? What have you used that you like?
And here I am thinking, "Why's he talkin about putting a Ford HEI on a GMC inline 6?" than it dawned on me....
I also like the look of the old distributor, but am going to run a late model set up(84 Lincoln). I got it for free. If you want to run the old points style though, I would get a Petronix kit. I think they're about $60.00. It does away with the points, but retains the old style cap.
Kirk, I'm running a Ford Duraspark on my model A, I think that's probably the Ford "HEI" you're referring to. Super easy to wire up, and every cheesy auto parts store in every town carries modules, pickup coils, etc. so if you break down in B.F.E. you don't hafta search for aftermarket shit that no one stocks. Best of all, its a cheap setup to install.
I've run the cheap Accel dual point distributors on small block Fords with excellent results in the past. They're available with or without vacuum advance, and I never had a lick o'trouble with 'em! Simple, cheap and easy...just the way I like it!
While it may not be in line with what you're looking for - I really like a Mallory Unilite. However, unlike the Duraspark, the modules aren't stocked by most of your autoparts stores & they're a bit more expensive.
I run the duraspark in my A and it looks just like an old points dizzy, I just put the module on the other side of the fire wall so ya can't see it. I say they work better than pertronics.
If you want points and long life go with a 70's Capacitive Discharge setup. These are those boxes with a heatsink that mount on the inner fender and were the rage back then. Point life is around 40K or until the rubbing block wears down. Cheap on EBay, selling around $25. The Mark10B is probably the most readily available. I have a Cragar and Heathkit also. Ive never had a failure but it takes only a few seconds to switch back to original.
the duraspark has also been called "doesn'tspark". i don't know personally though. theres plenty of them in the junkyards though,a good source for road trip spares.
"Doesn't spark" comes from the systems early days, when Ford had a lot of module problems.Most of the problems were atttributed to heat. If you use a good quality module, and mount it where it gets plenty of air, you'll be fine. I don't have a hood on my A, so I don't worry about it.
I've used Mallory points in a couple of cars. Best to keep spare points and condenser with you though. Never had a problem with the Mallory (neither points nor condenser)in the car which I've run about 20 years. Of course I've replaced them every five or six years.
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