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Hi - I’m looking to upgrade the old points/coil distributor to electronic ignition on a 71 Ford F100 with a 360. Question: what is a good replacement distributor? Also, any pitfalls to watch out for? Any advice is greatly appreciated.
There are a few options.
1) Get a unit out of a 74 or newer FE truck that uses the Ford Electronic system.
2) PerTronix, replaces the points in your current dizzy.
3) PerTronix D134630 Flame-Thrower Distributor
4) A DUI style Dizzy from Jegs P/N 555-40039 (what I went with)
These are just a few options. I went with the DUI style as it uses standard GM parts that about a million parts store has in stock. I did try an original Ford Unit but it was a bit worn when I got it so it was never great.
I when I asked the engine builder what I should do, he looked at my original distributer with a PerTronix unit on it - he said ‘nothing you already got a PerTronix’.
Changing over to a Ford electronic unit has some other things you have to do to make it work.
And changing to an HEI style may limit your choice of air cleaner housing as well.
Shouldn’t be a hood clearance issue on a pickup, like it is on the Early Broncos and some cars. But clearance is always something to consider.
Hi - following up on this thread. We swapped the old points distributer for a GM style HEI distributor. All good except for plug wires. GM style plug wires have a shorter spark plug boot than the Ford and are hitting the headers. Any suggestions on plug wires? Everything we look up is for a female-style distributor cap and the new one has the male ends.
FE Duraspark distributors were only made 1974 to September, 1976, the last of the 1976 model year. The 1977 model year started October 1, 1976. My 76 F-260 CC was built in September, 1976.
I would check with the manufacturer of your distributor for new plug wires, or make your own.
Thanks. I was hoping to avoid making my own plug wires 😀 has to be something available though, right? This seems to be a pretty normal upgrade. We did use the GM plug wires to make sure all working ok. Motor runs great so just need to sort the wires out.
With HEI distributor, there will definitely be a clearance issue with the air cleaner. I had to go to an aftermarket one. I also ended up just making the plug wires, its easy. These are from my 72 f250. On my 70 f250, I added Petronix to the original distributor. You have to run 12 volts to both of these, so you will have to choose what you want to do with the resistor wire.
With HEI distributor, there will definitely be a clearance issue with the air cleaner. I had to go to an aftermarket one. I also ended up just making the plug wires, its easy. These are from my 72 f250. On my 70 f250, I added Petronix to the original distributor. You have to run 12 volts to both of these, so you will have to choose what you want to do with the resistor wire.
Damn. Could you make my Truck look this nice under the hood? My '72 F350 arrives tomorrow. It's one of the things I'm actually looking forward to working on. Are these Trucks the coolest, or what?!?!
How much hassle is it to swap out a conventional Points Distributor for a Pertronix D134630 Flame-Thrower Distributor?
What extra parts are necessary? You gotta get the Pertronix Coil with it, right?
What's the process?
1. Pull Old Distributor
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
How much hassle is it to swap out a conventional Points Distributor for a Pertronix D134630 Flame-Thrower Distributor?
What extra parts are necessary? You gotta get the Pertronix Coil with it, right?
What's the process?
1. Pull Old Distributor
2. ?
3. ?
4. ?
Pretty much just follow the instructions. There isn't much you have to do other than stab it in there and connect the wires in the correct order. I use a pertronix coil with the pertronix distributor because it's internally resisted which means you eliminate your resister (if you currently use one). After you drive it a bit, you can play with the curve to suit your preferences. The pertronix distributers are fairly easy to adjust and have a lot of room to adjust their curve.
If this is your first time installing a distributor, you sometimes have to play with it a little to get it fully seated. May have to rotate the damper pulley just a hair to get the distributor gear and shaft to mate into the engine. Remember to either point your new distributor rotor to the same spot as the distributor you removed or set the first engine cylinder to top dead center and point the distributor rotor to what ever distributor cap connector you want for cylinder one. This will have your timing in the vicinity. Then you can set the timing when you fire up the engine.
My '72 F350 arrives tomorrow. It's one of the things I'm actually looking forward to working on. Are these Trucks the coolest, or what?!?!
