So I picked up a factory tach out of a 1958 F800. After more thought I figured I needed the lincoln 302/332 dizzy to drive the tach if I wanted it to be functional. A while back I met a Y Block guy so I called him and he said the Lincoln dizzy will work in the 292, all you gotta do is change the drive gear. Replacing the drive gear on the 332 dizzy with the drive gear from the 292, then I keep the drive for the tach cable. That all makes sense. My question is about the centrifugal advance of the 332 vs the vacuum advance of the 292. If i plug the lines for the governor will the centrifugal advance work as well as the vacuum advance of the factory 292? I have also had the thought to try to switch the 332 over to vacuum advance. Any thoughts?

 

If the 292 is in the '60 or '62 in your signature, it should have mechanical (centrifugal) and vacuum advance.

If it is a vacuum only (load-o-matic) distributor that you are replacing, then the mechanical advance will be a nice upgrade. I don't think you will be able to swap any components from one to the other, if this is the case.

 

Thanks for the reply Charlie. I did some research in my manual and it looks like the advance curve is pretty close 332 vs 292 so as long as the 332 dizzy with the 292 gear on it bolts in I should be in business. I will pull the dizzy out of the 292 and match it up. I should be able to tell on the bench if its gonna work or not. So you dont see any problems going from a centrifugal w/vacuum to just a centrifugal? And yes the 292 is in the 60 F250 4x4 and the 332 dizzy is out of a 58 F800.

 

On a mechanical and vacuum distributor, the vacuum is to help with economy, which I imagine you are not too concerned about in a 54 year old 4x4. Mechanical only will be just fine.
Something you should do if you are so inclined is to learn how to tune the distributor. The factory curves are "safe" but terrible for performance and economy.