Learned tonight that I have a Load O Matic dizzy on my 57. Apparently the early 57 models still had those. Which explains the holley 94 carb setup I have...I've read some posts on changing the lom but you either have to modify the carb or switch carbs. Open to your opinions

 

Swap out the LOM for a later one with mechanical advance and use manifold vacuum rather then the carb ported.. This was discussed in the Yblock forum and I tried it and it is working out very well.

 

I'm with ya on that...I here you can get up to like 1964 f100 with 292

 

Looks like I'm getting no spark at all...time to ditch the lom

 

Isn't much that can go wrong with a LOD. I would get it running first with the LOD before buying a new distributor. It's only a set of points and a condenser. Find the problem first.

 

Did you take it apart and clean things up? Father grime causes a lot of trouble.

 

Ignition parts changed... Coil, plugs, wires, guess next is cap and rotor and points...my thinking was that if I'm going to drop money in trying to fix...I could go ahead with the better dizzy upgrade. With the later 57 model.

 

If you go thru the dizzy you have and get it working properly, you could always pedal it later after you upgrade if you really must!

 

Have you had this engine running before? If not you may want to hear it run before dumping too much in it. Get it to run with the old distributor first, bad condenser will cause you problems. Points you can usually get away with cleaning the contacts and gapping, just clean the cap and rotor contact points.

 

No the engine hasn't been running since I've owned it...true that I want to hear it run first. If the engine is bad...it is tempting to drop a 302 in it. I do have an 84 f150 that could make all necessary organ donations ( if I can part with a good running truck)

 

Just a suggestion but if you don't enjoy headaches, doing fabrication or paying for it forget the 302 swap. It's a total pain with clutch, clutch linkage, transmission mating, drive shaft, fuel lines, radiator, exhaust etc etc etc absolutely nothing bolts in... Way cheaper and a lot easier to rebuild the Y if needed.. It's your time and money so do what pleases you.

 

So many choices...so little money lol

 

Story of my life

 

I'm still trying to figure out why I got no spark. It appears that when engine cranks...I'm not getting spark from coil lead (held wire to engine block but didn't see anything) it's a new coil btw and I've tested it for shorts. Guess I'll get it one of these days

 

Ignition problems can really test my patients! My Ford shop manual has an excellent trouble shooting section that walks you through both primary and secondary circuits.
Do you have the manual and a multi-tester. It is a pretty straight forward process. But for me sometimes I get distracted and start jumping around instead of a methodical approach. Thats where its handy to follow my manuals process.
Where you have not had yours running. It would be good to know if each of your components are there and working properly.
Just my thoughts


Good luck in your quest!