what was the first year that duraspark came out?
i am thinking of converting my points to dura spark ignition.
Thanks
Danny

 

I believe 75MY.

 

thanks for the quick reply... i have 74 f250 4x4 360

i have read lots of post about the dura spark and it seems there were more than 1 kind... 1,2,3 witch one would be ok to use for my 74 and also what coil will i be needing
Thanks
Danny

 

Blue grommet DSII, @ Autozone. (78MY400 will pull it up, Wells brand is a good module) They also have the distributor, but will likely have to order it (rebuilt). You'll need to hit a yard for the connectors. AZ has an Accel coil for around $20-25? that is an improvement over stock. Wiring diagrams are all over the net.

 

I would try to get the whole harness from a yard and go from there. Much easier to do the conversion and less wiring in my opinion.

If you don't have any luck at the yard, you can also buy connectors from some parts stores, if not whole harnesses. I know Napa used to carry them. You could also look at one of the sponsor sites too.

Good luck.

 

thanks... what year truck or car do i need to get it from?

 

Have a look here for an illustration for the duraspark Ign.

http://www.clubfte.com/users/mil1ion...strations.html

 

I beleive the box on my 79 says "switches", the one I got at the junk yard says "Motorola", it has fins on it.They had another thay said "standard",all had the bule connector on it. Not bad for 10$,at Autozone the Wells one was 24$.

 

Just so you know, swapping harnesses involves pulling behind the dash, too. There are some tricks as different years used different connectors at various things. For example, the guages are different, so getting one that will connect can be tricky. If everything else is in good shape, just solder in the connectors. The reason I say this is because I did this, and ended up swapping all kinds of stuff to get it to work.

 

Late 74 started the DuraSpark There wasn't too many DuraSpark I's out there, but I would go to a wrecking yard and find a 77 to 79 and get the entire DuraSpark II system. My son did this with his. You only need the engine compartment wiring complete with the plugs for the module and dist. Get the wiring diagram to show where to hook up the wires for the cab. It is a very simple setup. (Be sure you get a distributor for your size engine)

 

If memory serves right, my long gone 87 F-150 still had duraspark.
Does anyone know if the points system used a ballast resistor and if the value is the same as the DSII? (Or if it matters?)

 

Dura Spark went right up to EFI and beyond, the 87 had Sura Spark III which had the Crankshaft Position Sensor. (CPS) They started the CPS in 1982. They had the Dura Spark I and Dura Spark II in 1977. They just called it a breakerless ignition system before that. Dura Spark I was for California it basically ran the coil hotter. I think this is why some people have coil problems because they get the two mixed up.

The Dura Spark 1 did not have a ballast resistor all the rest did. As far as I know the ballast resistor (or wire) was pretty much standard at 1.5 ohms. You should have about 7.5 volts at the coil when running and full voltage when starting. If you are somewhere in this range you will be ok.

 

Good info, especially the no-resistor thing and different coils, and it jogs with my Motor's manual and my own experience with my highboy and fitting a later dizzy/module, using a '76 setup.

 

thanks for everyone for their very helpfull input... i will be going this weekend to get all the parts i need