Probably a Mustang thing as beige was the common colour in the interior for trucks.

 

Yes, just referring back to Ranger being available in Red, Black or Parchment in 1966. It doesn't say Red, Black and Beige or Parchment so it sort of rules out the Beige bench seats. I could be reading too much into that, too.

Also interesting in the details is that while my seats and console lid are parchment upholstery the lower half of the console is somewhat darker hard-shell plastic. The padded visors are lighter and the door armrests are darker. The steering column/wheel is Sahara Beige and the carpets are gold, so they really mixed and matched as best they could in this oddball case.









The sunvisor might appear to be very light, but some of that is the lighting in the garage. If I set those same visors on the original seats they are not too far off.



Chad

 

 

Did they use a different rotor, cap or both? I see the ignition modules for sale frequently, and occasionally the terminal block, but I've never seen the wire harness that goes from the module to the coil and distributor. If you're willing to part with any of the pieces please send me a PM.

I enjoy adding options especially the rare ones. I can't think of any more rare than a transistorized ignition.

Thanks!

 

I had a few enquiries about the amplifier after I converted the system. Apparently the 427 Cobra had the transistorized ignition and the replica guys like to have the authentic look. I got the impression they were hard to find.
Eric

 

I believe I have enough NOS transistor ignition parts to make a working version. A couple of the parts are obsolete but the resistance wire to the distributor has a suitable substitute in the '63 to '65 truck and Galaxy part (8 ohms vs. 7.1 to 7.9), and the dust cover isn't absolutely essential, but hopefully the cover for the commercial trucks will fit as there are plenty of those around. In looking at the distributor parts list in the MPAC, it doesn't show a unique rotor, (EDIT) or points for the '66 truck transistor ignition. The 427 Galaxies used a low mass version for high RPM operation, and the lower spring tension and a wick also contributed to longer life of the rubbing block so I went ahead and got the 427 points.

The ballast resistor is to protect the Transistor and coil, not the points in the distributor. A resistance wire (7.1 to 7.9 for '66) is what dropped the current to the point down to .5 amps (from an average of 5.5 and peak of 12) for regular points. I suspect that the resistance wire was replaced with a regular wire as the cause of the points failing. Another possibility is that the points weren't adjusted properly. The only potential problem I see is the germanium transistor used can't handle large voltage spikes, so it's imperative that the wiring and charging system be maintained well. I plan to leave the original wiring in place so if I had to revert to regular points ignition if I broke down I could.

Attached is a schematic I made showing how I plan to implement the wiring since I doubt I'll ever find the correct 14401 and 14389 harnesses. I only need to add 2 wires to the 10A665 Charge Indicator Harness assembly to get the wiring through the firewall. All the Red/White and Blue wiring must be fabricated, as will a new short Brown wire. I plan to mount the tach block near the ammeter junction block, and the ballast resistor on the firewall just far enough to the passenger side that the original Red/Green run wire that normally goes to the coil will be able to reach the ballast resistor. I will of course need to remove the original 1.6 ohm COLF resistance wire that normally drops the voltage to the coil since that is replaced by a much lower 0.33 ohm resistance in the ballast block. I will mount the amplifier in the factory original position, but if I need to move it towards the driver side to make the wiring work without adding more splices I will do that. All of the part numbers in bold red are NOS parts.

 

[Edit] The TI cap is part number BH7AZ 12106-A (DH 146) as compared to B7A 12106-A (DH-6) for regular points. I could not find any on rearcounter.com. I'm not sure what effect that might have on the system.

 

Interesting observations. I'll soon be visiting an old junkyard that has some 60's MD and HD trucks. Which trucks are more likely to have the system?
Eric

 

The TI ignition could be on any F/T/N series truck beginning in '66 and F500 and up from 63 to 65. The 63-65 used a true amplifier and a cold start relay. In '66 they re-wired it to eliminate the need for the cold start relay. The '66 "amplifier" is really just a transistor used as a switch. It looks identical on the outside though.

 

Any chance you still have any of the other original parts?

 

I figured out how to convert my drawing into a .jpeg, so I decided to post it rather than rely on a file. I'm showing the C6TZ 12A027-A part number even though it's not in the MPAC because there was a significant change in the internal design in '66, and I can't imagine Ford would not have updated the part number. The MPAC doesn't even list it as being an option for the F100/250 but we all know they made them.

I bought two NOS distributor caps, a regular B7A-12106-A black bakelite cap and the alkyd resin B7AZ 12106-A tan cap used in the transistorized ignitions for comparison. The obvious difference is the material it is made from which gives the BH7A cap its tan color; the same material was used by Accel from the 70s to at least the 90s. On the underside the ribbing is different between the two Ford caps. I also bought an Accel cap. The ribbing on the underside of the Accel is identical to the regular cap and the contacts are brass instead of aluminum. There is a lot more material around the terminals at the top of the B7AZ Ford tan cap compared to the Accel cap which was obviously modeled after the standard cap.

The reason alkyd resin was used instead of bakelite is because it has a higher dielectric strength, necessary for the higher voltages of the transistorized ignition. I have not been able to measure the inside diameter of the contacts for comparison. In '74 Ford came out with a blue polyurethane cap and replacement caps came in both blue and grey (perhaps they didn't want to choose sides?) to handle the higher voltage of the Duraspark ignition. I have an original used blue cap also. When I find my inside micrometer tools I'll measure them all to confirm whether or not there was a larger gap in the B7AZ cap. My bet is they are all the same. At any rate, I think almost any modern replacement cap will have a higher dielectric strength than the old bakelite caps, and would be a suitable substitute in a transistorized ignition.