A few months ago I installed my new 351W engine I built. Not sure if the parts are relevant to this topic but your typical performance build, bigger heads, cam, etc... At this point the only thing that is factory or stock is my ignition coil and distributor. I would like to change both, not just for performance reasons but with everything new on the engine and not 28 years old, it gives me more confidence that the truck will not break down. That being said If I'm going to replace those parts I figured if there is an upgrade over stock out there I might as well get that to get the most out of my new engine. I know with upgraded ignition you get stronger spark, so you're able to gap the plugs a bit more and advance timing to squeeze some more performance and mpg out of it. However I'm not sure if that's entirely the case on these old ford trucks. So the parts I was looking at was the MSD Ignition 8451 for the distributor and the MSD Ignition 5527 for the coil. Now two things I will say about that. I know a lot of people have said these MSD units tend to fail and to avoid them. But I've also seen people say that they have no problem with them. Mixed reviews it seems. So I'm on the fence about trying these products. I will say this, I've been running an MSD 5527 coil for over 3 years now and have had absolutely no problems with it, so to me it seems like their products are fine. The only reason I am currently not running that coil anymore is because I dropped it and broke it lol. For the distributor It doesn't seem like there is any good replacements out there anyways other than the MSD ones. If there was a Motocraft one I would definitely chose that however I have yet to find one.

Let me know what you guys think, thanks

 

With EFI there are no performance gains with the distributor so if you replace it a new Motorcraft is the way to go. Also note that aftermarket electronic modules have a terrible reputation so again the Motorcraft version is best for reliability. A high voltage coil can be of benefit but you have to pay extra attention to spark plug routing and contact with metal engine parts or cross firing becomes an issue.

 

As much as I would like to use a Motocraft Distributor, I have not been able to find a new one yet, only reman once from Cardone. Any idea where I can look that might have one?

 

Can you recommend a particular brand of high voltage coil?

 

You are right about finding Motorcraft parts, I did a quick search and didn't see any new Ford distributors.. I guess that is what happens when a vehicle becomes obsolete.
The last ignition coil I used was an MSD, it performed as advertised and noticably improved spark strength.

 

Keep the Motorcraft coil, distributor and related parts.
They are of better quality.
Motorcraft coil can be bought from Rockauto.

Is there anything wrong with your distributor?
If not, keep it, its tolerances/specs are of higher quality than any after market.

I would only switch out the Motorcraft ignition to aftermarket as a last resort.

 

I generally always swap out my TFI and Coil for Pertronix Flamethrower setups, on my EFI Fords. I've always had good luck, and never had one go bad. Of course, YMMV.

 

The stock coil seems fine although as I said, it is 28 years old so for piece of mind Id like to replace it and keep the factory one as a backup. The distributor however, I'm not sure of the condition of the electronics inside but the shaft has quite a bit of up and down play to it, looked up a shim kit and didn't really find anything. So that is the main reason I'd like to replace that, it's old, parts are worn out, again for reliability reasons and efficiency I'm hoping to replace it as it is my daily driver. To my knowledge excessive shaft play can cause a bit of a rough idle and wear out the gear quicker so I'm told

 

If you want a spare OEM/Motorcraft, just go to your nearest local junkyard, and pull one out of an engine that doesn't look too ugly. I've no idea if you can even buy a replacement new Motorcraft anymore.

 

I have the 351W too. I went with Summit brand ignition coil which is a little hotter than standard. Wasn't real expensive and definitely puts out a good spark. My experience with MSD products has not been a good one and prefer Mallory over MSD.

 

A brand new aftermarket distributor can and some do have more shaft play than an old stock factory Ford distributor.

If you pull it, keep it, its worth something to someone. They are harder to find these days.

 

i have a 91 5.8, used MSD 8227 coil, MSD 8482 ccap+rotor kit, as well as ford performance wires and it runs great, havent had an issue in almost a year now

 

You can't unless somebody stumbles on a corner of an abandoned warehouse with a stack under a tarp.

Factory Ford rebuilds have vanished as well.

I continue to look occasionally for a specialty rebuilder that will do a Ford efi.

 

You can buy Motorcraft service parts and some hard parts, coil, cap rotor, oil filters, water pump, etc. I get mine from Rockauto.
But no distributors. I suppose a water pump is a service/maintenance part.