I bought a accel 2020 points eliminator and the rotor/shutter that came with this kit is to short and does not reach the top of the cap. Does anyone know what i need to do or have experienced this... all the info will help.....

 

First, WELCOME to FTE!

I just looked around at the Accel 2020 and the rotor looks like a standard Ford rotor.

Are you sure the rotor isn't reaching the top of the cap? What cap are you using? Stock?

 

It is the stock ford motorcraft distributor, my rotor that came out of this is a taller rotor, the one that came with the accel 2020 is about a half inch shorter, when sitting them side by side... Any idea its on a ford 360fe motor, thanks for the reply.

 

Does the cap look like this:

 

no my cap is bigger fatter around, what type is this one? maybe i can take the spacer out on the distributor and put that cap directly to the distributor? the spacer is like a adaptor to the cap, so the cap is bigger and wont fit the distributor with out the spacer

 

Your cap is the electronic ignition cap. There was a small period of time where they put the cap I showed you, with the electronic Duraspark ignition. I THOUGHT that was up to '76 or even '77 because I got a 390 distributor from an autoparts store 15 years ago that had the points-style cap, for a '76.

The problem is that you are trying to put a points-conversion setup into an electronic-ignition distributor. It ain't gonna happen.

HOWEVER, I wonder if the "spacer" you have can be replaced with the points-style cap? Dunno that much about the later Ford electronic ignition distributor, just the points-style.

 

i guess i dont understand because my distributor had points in it, before i took it out and replaced with the electric. what year had the points style cap?

 

That's very strange. Take your "spacer" off the distributor, and go to an auto parts store and ask for a distributor cap for a '68 or 69 390 for any Ford. See if the "spacer" has the same foot print (where it meets the distributor itself).

Does your current cap look like this?

 

ok, yeah that looks pretty similar, its not red its grey

 

The early and late cap and rotor are interchangeable. Remove the adapter from the distributor and the early style cap should fit directly on the distributor housing. You will need new spark plug wires too. A 75 pickup with a 360 should have the right parts.

The early cap was used from around 1957 through about 1974 with points. IIRC the first electronic ignition was 1975 and used the same distributor cap and rotor. The larger cap, rotor, and 8mm wires started around 1977. The older ignition is frequently upgraded by simply adding the adapter along with the newer cap, rotor, and wires. Unless you need very high voltage to fire a modified motor, it is probably overkill and you will never notice the difference by switching to the older cap so you can use your points eliminator.

Best of luck with the conversion.

Lou Manglass

 

Thanks Lou! There were certain 1974 trucks with the Duraspark, if I recall correctly. Mine wasn't one of them

 

I can't remember the details but I'm sure the Gen 1 electronic ignition was available on select '74's...cars and trucks. I was a dealer tech back then and worked on plenty of them but 30 years makes the memory a little weak and 3 moves later (the last one from NY to GA) leaves me unsure where all those Ford Service Training books are. Guess I should chase them down, I could be a lot more help to the forum.

Lou Manglass