I am building a 1965 Ford 289 for my 49F1 and can't decide on what distributor I want to use. If I rebuild my old one and use a pertronix set up in it by the time I get done rebuilding it I will have more in it then if I buy one of those GM type HEI for a ford that has a one wire hook up. What have you used and why. Thanks

 

I have a Chevy 350 crate motor in my F1 so my obvious choice was a one wire HEI type distributor. Bought mine from Speedway Motors for under $100. Simple easy to set up.
That's my story and I am sticking to it.
Take Care
Dan

 

I'm running a MSD, great looks and very easy to change the timing curve and stop. Has the advantage of being much smaller than the HEI and also looking good since on a Ford it is on display right up front where God meant distributors to be

 

I'm using a one wire HEI by Proform, and a 100 amp one wire alternator from Speed Way. Easy peezy . I have never had any trouble except when I plugged the tach wire into the 12v plug, but that was my bad. There are several Ford HEI units on the market now but when I got mine Proform was the only one for Ford that I could find. I would do it again in a hot second. "EDIT" Tracy sorry I forgot the second part of your question. I went the HEI route for ease of trouble shooting, and a cleaner look under the hood. Plus Ive never been good with shooting trouble with a voltage regulator, coil, cpu(or points), distributor, and all the associated wiring.

 

Sixteen years with a Mallory vacuum advance Unilite firing my '68 302w. Very smooth...has never skipped a beat....makes it easy for me to recommend.

 

Ford Duraspark distributor and a Chevy HEI ignition module. Been using this set up for years in many vehicles with SBF's. Runs great, cold starts excellent.

 

You have to watch the hei ones I bought a pro comp one for my 351 and the shaft is an off size and I can't get a gear for my roller cam

 

Thanks for all the input, I am thinking about getting the 1-wire HEI type. I want to keep it clean and like not having points any more. I was looking on my shelves yesterday and found a old dual point distributor I forgot I had.

 

I used an HEI on my 1985 Ford 302 engine. Worked great. Wouldn't consider anything else...

 

I also run a Mallory Unilite (mechanical advance) , works great in my 5.0 and looks like a stock distributor....easy 3 wire hook-up.

 

I put reman Dura-Spark distributors in my kid's classic 289 Mustangs. They were super cheap from local parts places, bolted right in, work great and look stock.

You can use stock Ford modules or put in any other module you prefer. Easy to re-curve if you need to. You can also run a small or large cap setup.

When I went to a later roller cam engine in one of the stangs I just got a distributor for an 85 5.0 HO Mustang with carburetor and 5 speed trans. Has the correct advance curve, vacuum advance and the steel gear for the roller cam. Runs perfect and was cheap from local parts place. If you take the lower section of the cap off, a small cap and rotor goes right on and looks correct on an older engine.

 

I tried several setups on 8BA but the Pertronix module and coil worked the best. No more points and condenser.