Ignition advice for 351 clevo.
 

Hi all,

Trying to get the new ute running smooth, she's been sitting around a lot for the last few years and has corroded components on the engine which need to be cleaned up or replaced, like the temp sender - the wiring has fallen out of it it's so badly corroded!

I also have a bad miss, looking at the ignition it's all a bit sad. I intend to throw on plugs, leads, coil, rotor and cap but the dizzy is where I'm not sure. It's an 81 build 351 clevo with electronic ignition and I'm certain the dizzy is original and has never been touched.

So - is this dizzy worth keeping, can they be rebuilt and can they supply a decent spark for LPG teamed up with a good coil?

Or - what setups provide good fat sparks for these engines nowadays, I've seen the Procomp complete setups that are reasonably priced, assume they are an MSD copy ( can't afford genuine MSD), are the Procomp components any good?

Any & all comments and advice welcome - I haven't touched a car with a dizzy or leads in 20 years!

Cheers Brad.

Brad - you are probably best to ask your question here:
335 Series- 5.8/351M, 6.6/400, 351 Cleveland - Ford Truck Enthusiasts Forums

Cheers Mate, I'll copy it over there as well, I thought that I'd throw it in the Aussie section because as I understand it this engine combo was unique to Aus at that time, I believe the US had gone to heavily restricted windsor motors for that model run.
The good thing is we can give most of the emissions controls the flick when we run on LPG gas, just need to retain non-fuel controls like crankcase ventilation returns.

Hi mate, ive got a 351 C in my 82 bronco and was having all sorts of probs with it cutting out for no good reason and sometimes not starting, mine is LPG / fuel. It would cut out on both LPG and fuel so def electrics.

Check out Ebay there are heaps of distributors on there from cheapies (which I grabbed just to see if it was the dizzy) (which it was) to 'name brands'. Even from the States the name brands are usually cheaper even with freight. Replaced the coil with a good bosch HD one as wel.

U R right so far as needing a good spark with the LPG. Rebuilding it wasn't worth it after seeing the price of new ones on the net.

Ford 351 460 Distributor V8 HI Performance Express Aussie Delivery | eBay

Ford 351C Accel Electronic Distributor Brand NEW | eBay

Hi Blu,

Yeah there are some cheap setups, this is one I found (PC7004,PC2041,PC20204) FORD CLEVELAND 302 351 V8 DISTRIBUTOR KIT - In Stock at www.atracingworld.com they have a few better versions right up to the full MSD copy NEW FORD 351C DISSY / 6AL / COIL KIT ( 6AL) - In Stock at www.atracingworld.com

Cheers Brad.

Brad, have you proven the dizzy is the culprit? The original Bosch distributors in these engines were a good thing and rarely gave problems, mated with the right coil and components they are more than up to the task for petrol or LPG. If buying after market, save up and buy the best. Manufacturers like MSD and Mallory have earnt their reputations for very good reason. Just because some 2 cent knock off looks the same do you really want to take it more than a few miles from home.......

Thanks Oz, I was more unsure of the dizzy from the perspective that its 33 years old, but given your comments I may just clean it up and keep using it.

Can you recommend a high current coil that won't toast the dizzy?

Maybe I'm just spoilt by my current and previous fourbys with their seamless Isuzu coil on plug setups :-X06

hey mate,

I used procomp gear on my 302c and the vacuum advance packed up within a week and made it run like crap. it's cheap for a reason.... also msd gear has been failing a lot in the last couple of years and I know of several engines that have lunched because of the detonation it caused.....

I went with IC&E on mine and it's been mint so far :) it wasn't cheap, but it hasn't given me a shred of grief either. Very easy to install, very happy with the quality and very highly recommended!!

Good luck with it mate!

Thanks Xran,
I just had a look at the IC&E, yep it looks good:-X22

But yikes on the $$$ that would double the value of the old girl :-X04

I've got the procomp on my 351 that was in Effii.

First thing I changed when I bought it.

Now done about 50k kms without a problem and it's in the Fairlane now still with no issues.

Solved all the ignition electrical gremlins, hard start when cold and wet, stalling in the rain, etc that the previous owner had.

Well, I just threw on a new dizzy cap and a set of Bosch "Motorsport" leads to see if that got rid of the miss, as gaping the plugs down to suit the LPG made it better but didn't fix the miss. Sweet, it starts heaps better, runs sweeter and the miss is pretty well gone, grouse - I'll take it for a run and blow out the cobwebs.

It ran well into town, did a few jobs around town, all good. Back onto the highway home it ran hard at 110, full throttle pulls and it was strong, and I was happy :-X03........but then all of a sudden it started dying out. At idle or light throttle it was ok but put the foot down and it was lights out :-arrgh, threw it back on petrol and it was a bit better but I had to limp it home.

So I'm thinking maybe the old coil is getting hot and breaking down?

What do you all think?

You might be right about the coil.

I had an old Yamaha RD 250 two stroke that would start and
run fine for a while and then start missing, stalling etc.

If it died it would not restart.

Leave it for a while and it would be fine.

Took a mechanic hours trying to find the problem.

Turned out to be the coil on the right cylinder was breaking
down when it warmed up.

haha yeah the IC&E gear puts a big hole in your wallet, but so far mine has been worth every cent

coil getting hot could definitely be causing your problems... was it hard to start while hot as well? did everything improve again once things cooled off? is the coil still mounted in the factory spot on the inlet manifold? could be worth your while getting it off the engine and away from heat soak if you're going to get a new one