Hey all, I'm hoping you can help me out with my 71' F250 Camper Special 390ci. Looks like my point are fried and I am going to have to check timing and dwell, and tach after I replace them Is there a spot on this site that has the specifications I need or can someone tell me them? I looked around but couldn't find a thread relating to it. Thanks,
KOT :-X11

 

timing is 6 deg. although it would probably like 10 deg better.
I think the point gaps should be .017. if I remember right

 

The dwell should be 26 - 31. Dr Ford is accurate on the info above especially the initial timing set to 10. Might even like 12 better.

 

Instead of putting points back in,why don't you try pertronics.I have used them in several of my vehicles and the are great.WWW.pertronics.com.

 

Pertronics is supposed to work great but I also hear that the ford duraspark distributors are almost or just as good. You could probably get a complete rebuilt duraspark dizzy for the same price as the pertronix module.

 

Hey Guys, I got everything set last night thanks to your help. It's running strong. I'll look into the Pertronics and Duraspark as time allows. This truck is my primary mode of transportation so I can really only do a little at a time til spring hits, then I can ride the motorcycle and keep the truck in the shop.

I really like driving these old trucks. A guy at work yesterday said that it would be nice to be making $250K/year, then we could afford better vehicles. I told him if I made $250K/year, I would still be driving my old truck, it would just be in better shape!!!!!

Thanks again,
KOT

 

i am thinking about getting a electroic distributor instead of my point. i dont have any of the tools to set the timing on this thing except a feeler gauge and that doesnt seem to be working that well. The distributor i have now is only about 1 month old from autozone. its a single point, was about 35$. Hopefully i can take it back if i get electronic. Well my question is what type of electronic distributor should i get? do they sell them at auto zone or advance auto? How much do they run? Is performance better with the electronic?

thanks

 

CRJ,
Your performance question is a good one. I'd be interested in know ing the answer to that too. I also am running a autozone distributer, cost was $29 + tax and it even came with points (LOL, the ones that just fried). I wonder if the electronc dist. would help on gas miliage as well. I would thin it would a little bit bu maybe not enough to notice. Would any of you more knowlegable folks care to enlighten us technically deprived folks ? :-X11

 

Keepontruckin, I got tired of point adjustment in my 72 F-250 390 and went to a petronics setup.Now the ignition sequence firing does not erode as time goes on, it always stays the same . Therefore my fuel economy has increased a little.I have done nothing to adjust the petronics unit since I first installed it,I have replaced the cap, rotor, wires and plugs as they wear. The life of my plugs has increased by two since I changed the ignition. It was worth it to me to save me the hassle of adjusting or replacing the points every 3000 miles to keep the truck running correctly. Hope this helps.
"bowties in the rearview mirror"

 

how much would one cost though.... and performance?

 

The Petronix is gona cost you about 75$ + 30 for there coil. Try a salvage yard get a duraspark dist, module, elec coil,wiring for half of that and keep it blue oval. You can do a search of old posts and find links on how to wire it. I thought myself about the petronix, was going to put it in a reman point dist. then I came to this conclusion. I'm going with a MSD 6A box. With the box, the points in my dist no longer carry a significant load, they serve only as a swith for the box. i choose the 6A box opposed to the 6AL for cost, and because i'm not concerned about having a rev limiter as my truck shouold never be put through the paces. There is a lot of info in these old posts. I have not ever heard of anyone who has had problems with the petronix, but it all comes down to what you want to build YOUR truck to do, and how much your willing to pay. The badest of the muscle cars came factory with point distributors.

 

KeepOnTruckin. Check this site for some answers to the Duraspark. This guy's laid it out pretty good, although a engine ci.

http://users3.ev1.net/~bmarr/duraspa...on_upgrade.htm