460 dist ?
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Junior User
Joined: Jan 2005
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460 dist ?
i have an 80 460 in my rockbuggy that has an hei conversion on it and i want to go back to ford stuff but im new to the ford stuff so i need to know what i will need to buy.
dura spark
or
points system
and the respective parts that go with them both or which ever one is the best for off road use only
...........eddie
dura spark
or
points system
and the respective parts that go with them both or which ever one is the best for off road use only
...........eddie
Postmaster
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,613
Likes: 6
From: Coal country
An 80 engine will have Duraspark II from the factory. You will need the 460 distributor, Duraspark II coil, the "brain box" and the wiring harness between the distributor, coil and brain box.
The distributor can come from any carbed 460 with Duraspark II up to about '86, and the rest of it can come from any vehicle with Duraspark II. Be sure to check the color of the tab on the brain box where the wires enter it; that indicates which one you need to get to replace it with when it fails.
You can harvest the whole system from a truck or car; I suggest a truck is best. Don't cut any wires. The entire harness is self contained, except for the power wires. There is on this site a diagram how you can add Duraspark II to a points vehicle; it really is quite simple. I added it to my '66 when I put a 460 in her.
The distributor can come from any carbed 460 with Duraspark II up to about '86, and the rest of it can come from any vehicle with Duraspark II. Be sure to check the color of the tab on the brain box where the wires enter it; that indicates which one you need to get to replace it with when it fails.
You can harvest the whole system from a truck or car; I suggest a truck is best. Don't cut any wires. The entire harness is self contained, except for the power wires. There is on this site a diagram how you can add Duraspark II to a points vehicle; it really is quite simple. I added it to my '66 when I put a 460 in her.
Last edited by banjopicker66; Jul 15, 2006 at 07:04 PM.
Hotshot
Joined: Dec 2003
Posts: 18,423
Likes: 9
From: iowa
GM HEI was never a good dist (this is not just because I run fords, I used to be a dealer mechanic for a chev dealership) anything above 3500rpm and they started to get spark scatter really bad. The duraspark dist is basically the same thing as the MSD dist that are used in the aftermarket and will work just as good.
Another bad point of hte HEI is the coil is self contained which causes a lot of heat buildup in the coil and degrades the spark. The advantages to the HEI is it is selfcontained so cleaner and easier install which is why the hotrod car guys like them as less wires to try and hide on a show car.
Another bad point of hte HEI is the coil is self contained which causes a lot of heat buildup in the coil and degrades the spark. The advantages to the HEI is it is selfcontained so cleaner and easier install which is why the hotrod car guys like them as less wires to try and hide on a show car.
Postmaster
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 2,544
Likes: 2
From: okc
FYI: if you can only find a points style distributer, you can replace the points with an electronic ignition module....its made by a company called pertronix, i helped install one on a friend's (also another FTE member) truck..it was very simple and only cost him like 80 bucks..in the end he had an electronic ignition inside his stock dizzy, he tells me it still works great...it hooks to the same wires that went to the points, and it even comes with its own gapper tool to install it....we put it in his truck in under 20 mins...just a thought...
