Just wondering what every one is running for Hei distributors that has had enough with the never(Dura)spark system. Im looking at the Proform street/strip. for my 351m. Found my resistor wire bad after i allready replaced coil and ignition mod and on...So i burned up new stuff,Im not buying it again,scraping it all and cleaning up all the wires.Appreciate any info with the best headache free set up. Thanks

 

I am using the DUI HEI looks to be well built, installed into the motor last night hope to have it up and running in a couple of weeks, just needs one wire 12 volts key on and good to go

 

Thats what im looking for.Just want some feed back before i buy.

 

I have ran the DUI for several years with no issues, Highly recommend them, great customer service as well.

 

Im reading mixed feeling on where to hook up the key 12v power,what worked best for you in your 79.Hooking up in front of the ballist resistor wire at the ignition switch??

 

I have not tried this, but plan to ....seems relatively in-expensive and simple to do...

Dirt cheap Ignition

 

I just installed a used D.U.I Distributor I picked up off of craigslist. I tried to use the "I" terminal on the solenoid, but it only gave power while cranking the starter. I ran a nice 10 gauge wire for power as recommended by Performance Distributors.

 

I too ran a separate power wire per DUI recommendations.

 

I found a HEI on Ebay for $47, new and if I remember right it was free shipping. It works great. I cleaned up the engine compartment by removing all the Ford system and ran one wire to a 12v "on" connection.

 

I run a davis DUI and am completly happy with it. I have a bus fuse block under the hood. 4 ga cable from the solinoid to the fuse box. The fuse box powers my headlight relays, the horn relay and my ignition relay. I took a key on hot from the ignition switch to a hidden kill switch that then trips my ignition relay. Ten gauge wire from the fuse block to the relay to the distributer.

 

Thanks guys,DUI and live wires is the route Im going.Little more spendy then i wanted at 500 bucks for both shipped to Alaska but hopefully i get what i payed for. I have learned a valueable lesson at 27.Ask questions if you dont know before throwing parts at something.Before this ignition system problem only thing i knew about electrical was i didnt want to get none on me.besides putting in a stereo and such.Im perpared on my other 70's models now.Ignition 101 listen to elders word of wisdom...

 

very nice and clean look

 

That DUI looks bigger than the air cleaner, LOL!
DUI is just some chevy parts, with a ford made housing to fit. That setup has flaws from the bow tie factory.
coil problems, usually the center electrode messes up and needs a new cap. Sometimes the cap doesn't like to seat well to the housing.
the Hei module, in itself is great, but does better with a heatsink outside the distributor-HEAT
as this setup wears, arcing can seize the centrifugal weights making them stick-notorious chevy type problem.

That dirt cheap ignition setup works great! I ran one for years, and switched to MSD-6AL and can't really notice any difference. I have the old hei dirt cheap setup as backup, incase.

Yes the duraspark is bad. It is the brain box, and grounding. duraspark is fixed dwell, gm hei is variable dwell=better spark saturation.

I used the stock ford dizzy with the magnetic pickup(stock from 1975ish till 1986) and the ford big cap, 2 piece dizzy cap. Then use either a stock Ford E-coil 1984-1995? Basically its a epoxy molded high voltage coil, and powered millions of vehicles and ripped up pavement in many 5.0 mustangs.
I used an E-coil Msd blaster for an 89 5.0 mustang, and fabbed a bracket to hold the hei module with heatsink to the side of the coil, mounted close to the distributor.
Wire it up, run Without a ballast resistor, constant 12V at run/start of course, and enjoy a powerful great setup, still looks Ford, and uses Ford parts, except the module, which you can keep a spare in the glovebox, that U will probably not need anyways.
btw, my gm hei 4 pin module was a junkyard piece and still works great.
Use some good ignition wires!

btw, I switched to MSD only because I had it removed from a vehicle I sold, and figured I wouldn't get my money back selling it, so might as well use it.

 

I bought a Summit Racing HEI unit for my 460 earlier this year. Doesn't fit. I need to machine and weld up a new thermostat housing to get enough clearance. Those HEI's are BIG!


Why the hell do they sell them if they don't fit is what I'm wondering?!

 

Personally, I like the Ford Duraspark setup much better than the GM HEI adapted to a Ford with that big ugly cap. I`ve been a mechanic for over 30 years, and in the 80`s, we changed a lot more modules, caps, rotors and coils on GM HEI distributors than either Fords or MoPar electronic ignitions. With all the HEI hardware trapped under that big dist. cap, heat relaed failures were very common with GM HEI`s. Other than my stock 59 Ford, which has points, my other 4 older Fords all have DuraSpark dists, and I`ve never had a problem with any of them, 2 of these vehicles I`ve owned for well over 20 years. As for ignition modules, I`d rather have an original Ford box than a replacement auto parts store unit.