I own a 1977 2wd ford f350 flatbed dually (former u-haul truck)with a 390 (verified by measuring stroke)FE engine swapped in place of the old 330 or whatever came in those trucks . Stock intake with headers, not sure about camshaft.
The engine runs ok but i feel it could run alot better. It currently has a holley 4150 double pumper with mechanical secondaries and manual choke that is not hooked up. Not sure of the cfm but i think its a 650.

I'm not fond at all of this style of carb on this setup. I feel the above carb maybe be a tad to big and is also more designed for street/strip and the 4160 is a lot better option. I'm considering ordering a 600 cfm 4160 style carb (holley or quickfuel) and a performer intake but I am not 100 % it will clean this engine up as much as i would like.

I would like to upgrade the ignition system when i do this other work and am just really not sure what to do. It currently has the stock duraspark setup with a d5te12127ea Distributor. I do not know the age or condition of this Distributor. It could be brand new 2 years ago, or could be 20 years old and wore slap out.
I dont mind doing any of the work (mounting/wiring) I dont mind spending a little money, but dont want to waste money for zero results.
I like the idea of the better start up and smoother more efficient idling that a new ignition boxes "claim" to provide. However not convinced that a new ignition box isnt overkill on an old work truck. I'm open to upgrading the distributor due to not knowing if the current one is old/sloppy/wore out and not advancing properly.

I've come up with the following options and would like opinion on all of the following. Note that these are base prices based on current summit racing pricing. I fully understand with any of these setups i may or may not have to buy a new cap/rotor/button assembly, new plugs and wires and/or possibly a new coil to work with whichever setup is chosen.
These options are for just "base setup" of an ignition system and range from doing nothing all the way to overkill just short of a stand alone all inclusive ignition system kit.
Also open to other options that i might not be aware of. Lets hear it, what do yall think.

leave ignition stock, stick a new carb on and hope for the best

new stock Distributor using existing ignition setup-----------------$49

ignitor 1(FO-181) in old Distributor ----------------------------------$92
ignitor 1(FO-181) in new Distributor ---------------------------------$141

ignitor 2(9FO-181) in old Distributor ---------------------------------$120
ignitor 2(9FO-181) in new Distributor --------------------------------$169

msd 6al setup with old Distributor ------------------------------------$245
msd 6al setup with new stock Distributor ---------------------------$294
msd 6al setup with old Distributor fired by ignitor 1----------------$337
msd 6al setup with new Distributor fired by ignitor 1--------------$386

summit version of 6al with old Distributor ---------------------------$148
summit version of 6al with new Distributor --------------------------$197
summit version of 6al with old Distributor fired by ignitor 1-------$240
summit version of 6al with new Distributor fired by ignitor 1-----$289

HEI Distributor from skip white performance-----------------------$77
(obviously includes cap/rotor/button/coil)

 

Upgrading from the stock Duraspark system won't buy you much unless you're adding a turbo/supercharger or trying to run really lean for better fuel economy. If you do want to upgrade the ignition system somewhat, going to a later-model TFI coil (the one that was used on the EFI 5.0/5.8L engines that still had distributors) and getting the wider-spaced distributor cap & rotor could be worthwhile, but unless you're going for a street/strip setup (which it doesn't sound like you are), I wouldn't bother. If everything's working there, I wouldn't do more than a cap/rotor/plugs/wires tune-up on the ignition side.

I agree with you that the mechanical double-pumper setup isn't a great fit. A 4160-style vacuum secondary carb sounds like a much better fit. Getting your carb (including choke) setup correct will help more with cold-starts - actually fix your mixture-control issues rather than just trying to mask it by dumping more spark energy at it.

If you're not happy with the performance after getting an appropriate carb setup properly tuned in, the best bang-for-the-buck upgrade is probably going to be a free-flowing exhaust system (if it doesn't already have one), after which you'd probably have to go to an upgraded cam and better-flowing heads with a higher compression ratio to make much more beyond that.

 

http://m.summitracing.com/parts/pnx-d133700
I used this pertronix set up in my new 390. It is a easy two wire hook up with a built in rev limiter. It has worked awesome so far. I put one of the hei setups you can get off of eBay in and it was terrible. The cam gear rubbed on the block, and the whole thing seemed to be machined wrong. I was glad I put it in the old 360 first.

 

RockAuto Parts Catalog will get you the answer.

A properly-working stock electronic ignition system is what I'd suggest. Most all the parts can be bought for cheap from RA.

There's really no need to use an MSD or any other ignition system. They offer no real advantage in day-to-day driving. The stock inductive type ignition puts out a long duration spark. The multiple spark CD systems put out a bunch of very short sparks. It should be a signal to you that in this age of ever increasing emissions tightness, no manufacturer of which I'm aware puts a capacitive discharge ignition on their new cars. If they were so much better they'd be on there.

Now having said that I am using a MSD6 on a daily driver because I got a used one for $40 and it works just fine. But it isn't better, just different. On another vehicle I replaced a failed ignition box with an Accel 300+ multiple spark CD system and saw exactly NO mpg increase, even going from old worn-out to new box, coil, cap, wires and plugs. And this was accurate because I record mileage on every tank. I like the Accel (now off the market) but in reality it wasn't better than stock.

There is far more fun to be had getting your ignition advance curve right, and after you get the breakerless system installed, put your efforts toward that. Most stock ignition curves are slow and leave the engine feeling sluggish.

R.

 

Concur with bkaul. You've got electronic ignition already so there is little gain unless regularly exceeding 5000 rpm.

Start with the carb to sort out the idling and driveability.... oh, headers and dual exhaust should be on the to-do list. Your butt dyno will reveal an increase in power.

 

I ordered the carb and am going to hold off on doing anything with the ignition. Other than new cap/rotor/button if needed and probably plug wires and plugs. What are some recommendations for plugs and wires?

The truck already has headers and dual exhaust. glass packs.... but i dont know what brand or what length. Dont really like the sound so am going to upgrade exhaust system next. any recommendations on mufflers, dont care for it to be loud, just want it to sound good.

 

A 4V with vacuum secondaries will help driveability and likely MPGs. A working choke does wonders for cold starts.

10-4 on the exhaust. Look into 50-series Flowmasters. Something multi-chambered is what you are looking for. Straight thru designs are always louder.

Plugs and wires? Stock is fine.