Small block Ford distributor question.

Where u located?

I loved my old Ford except for the points distributor.  The breaker plate didn't rotate around the distributor shaft like sensible people did it, it pivoted off of a small plastic bushing.  Ford claimed this was to optimize dwell at different engine loads (as "sensed" by the vacuum advance moving the breaker plate) but more likely someone figured they could shave a few cents per distributor.  Even with everything in good condition, dwell was wildly variable, and after 3000mi or so, you had to adjust the points every morning to get the engine to start, until you rebuilt the breaker plate.  Or bought a reman distributor for $30.

Points are a maintenance/wear item.  I strongly recommend against them.  You'll need to add a resistor to get down around 9v to prevent erosion of the points or you'll be replacing them all the time

The electronic stuff from the 80s is bulletproof.  You can even get a Davis HEI for a Ford which is the really slick setup.

My suggestion is the dizzy and Duraspark box from an 80s car or truck.  Nothing complex about it.  It's a solid-state controller with no computery stuff and will give twice the spark voltage of points with zero maintenance.  The dizzy itself looks old-school, and you just hide the duraspark box down on the firewall somewhere.

What I'm saying is... if you're looking to go with points because they're reliable and mechanical, don't.  It's technology from the 1890s and it has been eclipsed by far better methods.  A Pertronix will give you 200k miles without ever touching it.  Points will give you 5000 miles until you go out one rainy day and have a misfire and realize you have to file the points and reset the gap and dwell, which requires resetting the timing.

IIRC you can use a points style cap on a Duraspark distributor.  They only had the big ugly cap in order to prevent crossfire with the .060-.080" plug gaps they were using for 70s era emissions controls reasons.

or am I thinking of HEI with those plug gaps?

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

Sadly, not anymore. 

Pertronix is hecho en mexico now.

4 of the last 5 units I've installed have failed within a year and two of my suppliers won't even carry them anymore because of all the warranty headaches.

Use the points distributor to trigger a Ford TFI module which is commonly available at any FLAPS. The points are just a switch now and the module handles the heavy current. Points last until the rubbing block wears out now.

Or, use an HEI from DUI. Or use a Duraspark.

In reply to MuSTANK :

Rockauto.

In reply to MuSTANK :

I find using Rockauto to get a part number and then just asking the counter monkey to get me that part number is much easier than year-make-model for most of my interactions with cars older than about 20 years.

"No, it doesn't have air conditioning"

Points and condensers stank.  Get one of the Summit Racing (GM style) HEI units.  They are super easy to install (short of spacial requirements for air filter or shock tower bracing) and work way better than anything O.E.  If anything goes wrong, they take it back without batting an eye.