Hi Guys, I have a 73 F100 with a 302 v8 Automatic Transmission. It had the stock Points distributor and I want to upgrade to electronic ignition. I have seen kits where you replace the guts in your existing distributor to electronic ignition. I have also seen entirely new distributors with the electronic ignition. Also see them with or without a new coil built into the new distributor. With so many options I am looking for the best one. I see new distributors with a built in 65k volt coil on ebay for $60. That sounds dirt cheap to me. I am looking for the best performance, highest quality option I can buy. Let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

Paul
1973 Ford F100 2wd Long Bed

 

Ford 302 v8

 

A 65,000 volt coil sounds good, but a spark plug only needs around 8 or 10k to fire across the gap. That's all it will draw, it isn't adjustable in that sense. Standard coil is around 20k volts. The rest is "reserve".

Don't misunderstand, good hot ignition is essential to performance and efficiency, but a stock coil is absolutely fine. That was one thing Smokey Yunick talked about in his book. They couldn't get much improvement over a stock electronic ignition.

Just avoid el-cheapo junk. "You get what you pay for". I spent about $75 on a remanufactured distributor for my 64 and about $100 for a Pertronix Ignitor module and Flamethrower coil.

One thing to keep in mind, the old point and coil distributor cap and other ignition parts can start to arc over once the high output coils are installed. The reason is because the modern electronic modules are not usually current limited with a ballast resistor in the primary ignition circuit, they can handle the full 12-14 volts on a constant basis. The old point system would burn up under this arrangement.

By effectively doubling the primary voltage, the secondary voltages are of course potentially much higher, so everything in the ignition has to be in top shape - plugs, wires, cap, rotor, or there will be fireworks and engine miss. There is an adapter ring available to install the larger, electronic ignition era distributor cap on the earlier distributors. You can open up the spark plug gap a little bit to take advantage of the higher potential voltages. Again, this can put the whole ignition system under a lot of stress, if there is any weakness it will find it.

 

Thanks for the input. So if I follow correctly the electronic ignition will solve one problem, increased reliability? Points wear out, electronic ignition does not? I have read articles that the higher voltage burns the fuel more completely and efficiently, but if the spark plug is only firing at 8-10k volts all these distributors advertising 50,000 volts and up are unnecessary?

If I can make the truck more efficient that's fantastic, but my primary concern is rock solid reliability. I bought this truck to be a daily driver and it needs to be dependable. I was simply tired of computers gone bad, sensors etc.

 

I got one of the cheapo $70 dollar HEI style distributors for my 360 because I was missing a lot of the factory duraspark wiring and connectors. Bought it off ebay. Only has about 6-7 hours run-time on it but so far no problems. Runs great. Just my 2 cents.

 

Yes, there is a certain element of "snake oil" when it comes to ignition components. In my opinion. When plugs wear out - say, 80,000 miles or so, maybe 100,000 miles these days, I dunno, this will increase the voltage demands from 8k. So will worn out wires, so will higher compression, or heavier loads.

If you're bored you could probably find somebody online who has measured all this stuff with dyno pulls and horsepower and the rest of it. Another thing If I had to choose one, would rather have a new distributor and points, than an old clapped out distributor with an electronic module. Distributors wear out too. Also, with a stock distributor, one can keep the points and distributor in the glovebox. If the electronic module fails, you can get back on the road quickly. Some of the fancy distributors are probably SOL if there's ever a problem on the side of the road, I dunno. They are good in the sense that the advance curve is much easier to adjust and experiment with than a stock Ford distributor. I've had excellent service from Pertronix, almost 20 years and never a hiccup. I kept having to adjust the points - because the distributor was worn excessively - and on Y blocks the dizzy is at the back of the motor. My back couldn't deal with that too well. But it REALLY ran good with the new distributor, no comparison.

 

Thanks for the replies, i appreciate the advice. I just need to find the proper drop in distributor with electronic ignition for my 302. A lot of guys say MSD is best. I guess that snake oil works, I tend to lean toward a well known brand than not. Also seams like there are different gears available, need to find out which one goes in my 73.

 

 

Nice looking pickup

 

If you are tired of changing points and maintaining correct dwell... Install a Pertronix to suit your application.. result is easier starting, better fuel economy, your engine will thank you.. for ease of mind keep your old points and condenser with the truck if you want.. never heard of Pertronix failing, someone else may know of disaster but not me...

 

I have the exact same truck just without AC. Looks like someone put a new unit. Anyway to answer your question. I would go with an HEI distributor. I did, it gets rid of the coil and has more spark. Best thing you have to replace the dizzy and run ONE wire to the battery. You can check my gallery to see my engine. I got my Accel on off ebay for 80 bucks. Its billet aluminum and in ford blue.

 

thank you, giving me a good idea I drive all day and it is still hot here, last thing on my mind is crawling around the hot engine 351 .... thanks again.

 

I have a friend that has installed Pertronix in two different vehicles with no problems. I installed an Accel conversation in mine because that's what autozone had on the shelf for $76 with no trouble. It has an eye that look through a window like a unilite by mallory.

 

One thing to keep in mind is clearance. Those dizzies with the built in coils are quite large and you need to check the clearance to your A/C compressor. The dizzy out of a later model 302 will drop right in and Duraspark is not hard to wire in. 12 volts to the red wire and the white wire got to the "I" terminal on the starter relay. Duraspark modules are easy to come by too. Use the module with the blue grommet. If you start getting cross fire in the cap you can change to the late model large cap and rotor, still smaller than the GM HEI coil in cap design. As for the gear if you run a bronze gear you will have no worries, its softer than the cam so it wont hurt it.

 

So, it seems Pertronix is the way to go. So there are a few choices here. There is the ignitor 1 and Ignitor 2 modules with the respective flame thrower 1 or flame thrower 2 coils. Tje Ignitor 2 with Flame thrower coil 2 reads better then Ignitor 1. Has anyone used this? Says the coil has lower resistance, and added safety features. Anything I would need to remove to install this or is it as simple as removing old coil and installing new coil and ignitor 2 electronic ignition module?