Ignition Setup for my mildish wagon build

[ChiefDanGeorge]

I'm at the point I need to get an ignition system for the build. I'd like to go electronic and would like to also keep my stock breather(63 Mercury Colony park) so I want to a setup that would not interfere. I'm buying the entire ignition system, so my first thought was something stock and then go pertronix but wanted to see if there might be some better choices out there.

[Drew Pojedinec]

Dollar per performance I REALLY think it's hard to beat a Duraspark Distributor and box.
If you want to go overkill or up the performance use an MSD box.
With the small cap, the Duraspark looks decently factory.

Dont' buy a crap Autozone Duraspark box, get a Motorcraft box.... I think the last one I bought was via Rock Auto for $50 or something like that.

Good luck

[Falcon67]

Agree - look at using a Duraspark base and pickup, then putting a small cap on it for the "stocker" look.  Any aftermarket ignition system can be triggered by the Duraspark pickup.  The small Ford caps only come with female connections.  Another trick on that is to use an AMC 304 cap because it has male "HEI" type terminals that allow good 8mm wires to be used.  The cap might require some minor tweaks to lock in position on the Ford base.  It works because AMC used Autolite distributors.  Also note that if you choose an MSD ignition box, the MSD pickups are a direct swap into the Duraspark breaker plate.  Those also work with other boxes and - in my experience - put out a better, stronger signal than the stock Ford parts.

[Falcon67]

Stock 12127 Duraspark base, MSD pickup, AMC cap.  Modified breaker plate for locked timing.

[Royce]

You can't beat the Pertronix for simple and cheap.. It's just an electronic set of points  a simple magnetic on/off switch..easy to install.. I have found them to be reliable and they give a stable spark to at least 7000 rpm. They have none of the features that make MSD or even Durasprk more energetic ignitions, but for a street car more than adequate. Pair it with a coil that can handle 12v input and you have a good strong stable spark.  All the other options are upgrades but for most guys this is good enough..

[mbrunson427]

We have a Pertonix on everything that isn't used for racing. Pertonix pickup and a Pertronix coil.

My buddy was playing with me one day and pulled the coil wire off and set it to the side when i wasn't watching. He acted surprised when the car started up, he ran up and popped the hood and the spark was jumping 3-4 inches to the coil. That's pretty decent spark.

[ChiefDanGeorge]

Thanks for the suggestions. Doesn't look like there are any Duraspark units to actually buy until next month in the regular places I parts shop like Summit.

[Heo]

Faron have new durasparks with small cap in the
vendor classifieds

[Drew Pojedinec]

Chief,
Rock auto has them, I have one of the brand new ones:
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,1976,f-100,6.4l+390cid+v8,1120217,ignition,distributor,7108?a=Referer+www.google.com+URL+%2Fen%2Fcatalog%2Fford

I prefer to do the recurve myself (it isn't that hard)

$42, comes with cap.  I use MSD wires which are 8.5mm
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/msd-31383/overview/make/ford

[ChiefDanGeorge]

Drew,

I hate to seem dense but that link shows multiple ones. What's the part # on the one you got.

Chief,
Rock auto has them, I have one of the brand new ones:
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/ford,1976,f-100,6.4l+390cid+v8,1120217,ignition,distributor,7108?a=Referer+www.google.com+URL+%2Fen%2Fcatalog%2Fford

I prefer to do the recurve myself (it isn't that hard)

$42, comes with cap.  I use MSD wires which are 8.5mm
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/msd-31383/overview/make/ford

[Drew Pojedinec]

Yeah, I figured you'd like to see the options.
http://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4363563&cc=1120217
I bought the first one that was $42.89
It's brand new, and all the parts checked out alright.  I had advance arms made up but this new style takes a different arm.  It's pretty much the same but the shaft it slides onto is a slightly different size and instead of that pain in the butt clip it uses a screw to hold the arm down.

For your usage the mechanical advance might be where you need it.  With my build and more modern BBM heads I had to weld up the slot a little so I had 18 initial 32 total.  I'd still change out or adjust the springs to get the advance to come in where you need it.
Sure you can *buy* a ready made distributor from a vendor here, but that isn't hotrodding


I think it looks fairly factory as far as a distributor goes (tho If I was really worried I'd hide the msd box and other modern tidbits)

[drdano]

+1 on the Duraspark setup.  I have a "red-grommit" box, Faron recurved dizzy and a Blaster 2 coil on my wagon and have been very happy with the setup thus far.  Here is some further reading from when I went down this path: http://www.fordmuscleforums.com/galaxie-pages/504320-conversion-electronic-ignition-input-please.html