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    #91
    Originally posted by Rodentkiller View Post
    When you get the Distributor get it with the right gear or you will rebuild your engine, another thing do not get one from Advanced Auto Parts. Just read my story of the crap Distributor.
    I figure whatever I get, I can compare the gears and swap them if necessary.

    I've been looking at replacements, but all I see are rebuilt/remanufactured/new units from brands I either don't recognize or don't trust. So much of everything else are HEI setups, and for now I don't want to rewire for HEI even though I already have an HEI dist on hand. I mean, if I continue on with the HEI I have, I could find high quality module and coil to swap around instead of whatever gets supplied with a $50 dist. But for now I think it better to just stick around with Duraspark. I did find these options on eBay...

    Motorcraft 50 D8TE 12127 BA 9B 20 Small Block Ford 351W Distributor OEM 1978
    This one would need to be cleaned up and given new reluctor, magnetic pickup, rotor and cap, but should be nice and dandy (especially if I could find a new blue cap). But not sure how to replace the gasket to prevent oil from leaking (which I think may have been happening with the original dist).

    Ignition Distributor Ford Bronco Econoline 351W Carb F150 F350 5.8L1974-91 (369)
    This looks to be a direct fit swap in my price range, but also runs along the lines of my issue with what I found at RockAuto/Jegs/Summit wherein the brand is either unfamiliar or not trusted.
    1978 Ford LTD wagon, 351M
    1979 Mercury Marquis, 351W
    1987 Ford F-250 HD 4x4, 460, 4-speed, reg cab full bed
    2003 Mercury Marauder, 4.6L DOHC, JLT CAI, 4.10 gears, J-mod, custom tune

    Comment


      #92
      no roller cam 351 ever came with a Duraspark unit, so no worries there. Roller cams didn't come out until 94 I think, D-spark ended 1991? I believe the Crown Vic was the last thing running it. Trucks were all EFI/TFI by 88 or so.
      86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
      5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

      91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

      1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

      Originally posted by phayzer5
      I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

      Comment


        #93
        So hydraulic flat tappet and rollers used different dist gears, eh? I was not aware of that. I'll keep that in mind if I ever go the roller lifter route.

        Also, has anyone ever modified the mount for a canister style coil mount to use a larger bolt? I find that tiny bolt to be really annoying, and hate it. It's hard to reach, too. Would it be worth it to drill it out a little and use a bigger nut and bolt? Also, thinking about having the mount powder coated in silver.
        1978 Ford LTD wagon, 351M
        1979 Mercury Marquis, 351W
        1987 Ford F-250 HD 4x4, 460, 4-speed, reg cab full bed
        2003 Mercury Marauder, 4.6L DOHC, JLT CAI, 4.10 gears, J-mod, custom tune

        Comment


          #94
          yes. Flat cams are iron and run an iron gear. Rollers are steel and run a steel gear. The iron gives up to the steel. Less of a problem if your distributor gear goes away, big problem if the cam gear does. The little metal bits aren't good for anything though.
          86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
          5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

          91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

          1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

          Originally posted by phayzer5
          I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

          Comment


            #95
            Yeah, don't need them falling down into the oil... one would hope they'd make a direct run into the pan with nothing in between so they'll get caught in the filter... Without doing any damage to the pump along the way. Given that, though, I'm concerned that maybe the HEI dist I have has a steel gear, the metal is a brighter color than that of the original dist. Or maybe I just haven't cleaned up the old one enough, not sure. Any way to know with any certainty?

            I also received a nice DuraSpark II diagram that I think will help with wiring up a DS II system. Thinking that I need to start sliding out the DS III and EEC wiring first, though, regardless of whether I put in a clean DS II system or install the HEI. It'll be pretty messy with two coil connectors sitting out there. Need to unweave it from the wiring for the AC, cruise control, charging system, and maybe an oil pressure switch or something. One way or another I need to take apart some of the looms so I can try to find the coil resistor wire, if it has one. I think it should given that it was still a DuraSpark system and had a canister style coil.

            On a separate note, I picked up a set of H4 conversion lamps with a projector and LED driving lights. They look nice, but it's not a true projector, and they seem to require modification of the lamp buckets in order to fit the dust boots properly. I can get past them not being a proper projector lamp, but I have no interest in carving out my lamp buckets. It's just like what I went through when I bought a set of H4 conversion lamps for my LTD wagon that halo rings that also required cutting in order to fit the protrusions for the two 194 bulbs to fit in the lamp housing for the halo rings. By time I decided I didn't want to deal with cutting the buckets it was too late to return them. Kind of in the same place with these other lamps, too, although they only cost about a third of what those round lamps cost me. So, now I have a set of 5.75" round lamps and a set of 4"x6" rectangular lamps that I don't want to use. I'm a damned fool. But, when I have some good cash to spend, I really like the options available from Dapper Lighting, and those look like they should fit without modification. I noticed that NAPA now has some LED sealed beam lamps. Totally look like normal lamps. The thing that kills me with them, though, is that these lamps are about $150/per lamp, not per pair.
            1978 Ford LTD wagon, 351M
            1979 Mercury Marquis, 351W
            1987 Ford F-250 HD 4x4, 460, 4-speed, reg cab full bed
            2003 Mercury Marauder, 4.6L DOHC, JLT CAI, 4.10 gears, J-mod, custom tune

            Comment


              #96
              its really fine particulate stuff so mostly it catches in the filter but if the filter clogs it just bypasses and gets pumped through the bearings.

              on the Ford gears the iron usually has a more rough texture and the steel shows machine marks. Aftermarket, not honestly sure.

              I've driven things with those H4 conversion lamps. Cant say I was impressed, but everyone tells me I don't know what I'm talking about so I'll just leave it at that. Relay harness on stock sealed beam lamps does me fine though. Stock ancient sealed beams with lots of voltage drop thanks to old wiring is pretty shite though.
              86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
              5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

              91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

              1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

              Originally posted by phayzer5
              I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

              Comment


                #97
                Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                Relay harness on stock sealed beam lamps does me fine though.
                Had a great improvement in my Marauder when I ran a headlight relay harness. Made the headlights suck a little less and will certainly help extend the life of the replacement LCM. I've seen some relay harnesses for sale, but they seem to be for also having a conversion to H4. Could probably grab one of those and try to make an adapter to run it back to stock sealed beams.

                Personally, though, the options for sealed beams kind of sucks now. Back when I still had my Town Car I could get those nice Sylvania lights (XtraVision or something?). They were quite nice. Frankly, though, I don;t want to use a straight H4, I'd rather do a nice projector setup, but I have to not bother with those ~$50 sets. I should know better. With Dapper, I could do an easy conversion for $300, but I want to go a few steps up form there or not at all.
                1978 Ford LTD wagon, 351M
                1979 Mercury Marquis, 351W
                1987 Ford F-250 HD 4x4, 460, 4-speed, reg cab full bed
                2003 Mercury Marauder, 4.6L DOHC, JLT CAI, 4.10 gears, J-mod, custom tune

                Comment


                  #98
                  I've run the H4 E-code type lamps and I'm currently running standard sealed beam lights, both on a relay harness. The H4s work very good, but the sealed beams do a damn good job for what they are when properly aimed. I like General Electric lamps, but I can usually only get them online, so I'll spend a few bucks to have them shipped.


                  My Cars:
                  -1964 Comet 202 (116K Miles) - Long Term Project
                  -1986 Dodge D-150 Royale SE (112K Miles) - Slowly Getting Put Back Together
                  -1987 Grand Marquis Colony Park LS (325K Miles) - April 2017 + September 2019 POTM Winner
                  -1997 Grand Marquis LS (240K Miles) - The Daily Workhorse & March 2015 + January 2019 POTM Winner

                  Comment


                    #99
                    Looks like I'll have to wait for some unknown amount of time if I want to get new bolts from Totally Stainless. They're stuck from the COVID policies in PA, whenever those let up. I also took some time to look at the EEC wiring to see what I'd have to do to remove it. Doesn't seem like it ought to be difficult. I might have to trim a few wires ere and there, but most of it I think can just be removed by disconnecting a few more plugs. I managed to expose some ignition system wires, especially those for the coil. Not seeing a resistor wire under the hood. I also found some rodent damage to the ICM wiring, but if I get new harness for the ignition system, that wiring is getting tossed anyway and doesn't matter if it's damaged. But I'll still need to find a way to make sure the running power to the coil has resistance inline. I think the frustrating part with the wiring is that there's some loom sharing between the EEC wiring and the other wiring. There's a section of loom that runs across the front underneath the AC compressor, and there's some EEC wiring running through there, too, along with charging system wiring. Would it be best to just unbolt the compressor from its bracket to manage that section?
                    1978 Ford LTD wagon, 351M
                    1979 Mercury Marquis, 351W
                    1987 Ford F-250 HD 4x4, 460, 4-speed, reg cab full bed
                    2003 Mercury Marauder, 4.6L DOHC, JLT CAI, 4.10 gears, J-mod, custom tune

                    Comment


                      Also, I'm going to rebuild a DuraSpark II dist. Found one on eBay and ordered it. Have a new pickup coil and cap/rotor coming, but I haven't determined a vacuum advance to use. I found two options on RockAuto for a '79 351W, one stamped with 12 (24 degrees advance), the other with 16 (32 degrees advance). I assume I'd set the initial timing the 12 degrees, so maybe the advance marked 12, so there'd only be a total advance of 36 degrees?
                      1978 Ford LTD wagon, 351M
                      1979 Mercury Marquis, 351W
                      1987 Ford F-250 HD 4x4, 460, 4-speed, reg cab full bed
                      2003 Mercury Marauder, 4.6L DOHC, JLT CAI, 4.10 gears, J-mod, custom tune

                      Comment


                        not sure how the wires are routed but I'd figure it would be easier to unplug the wires and pull them under the compressor vs unbolting the compressor but your eyes are actually on it. If you have to move the compressor, do it.

                        The advance plates in the distributors usually have 2 notches. Not sure what the usual combos are but very possible 12/16 is one of them. And yeah 2x the number is the number of degrees. I guess they thought marking it in distributor degrees rather than crank degrees made sense? Or because Ford. Anyway, initial + mechanical is total advance, plus whatever the vac adds to it. Then you get into what springs to use to control when the advance is in.

                        http://vb.foureyedpride.com/showthre...r-Timing-Guide

                        might be worth a read. I know just enough about distributor operation to get how they work, but not enough to know what the right settings are.
                        86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                        5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                        91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                        1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                        Originally posted by phayzer5
                        I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                        Comment


                          Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                          ...I've driven things with those H4 conversion lamps. Cant say I was impressed, but everyone tells me I don't know what I'm talking about so I'll just leave it at that. Relay harness on stock sealed beam lamps does me fine though. Stock ancient sealed beams with lots of voltage drop thanks to old wiring is pretty shite though.
                          I like sealed beams. I've got Sylvania Xtra Visions in each of the four slots on my Townie. They run through the ancient, stock wiring. They light up the road wonderfully when properly aimed like I've got 'em. When we road trip I primarily drive at night, I don't notice much of a difference between that old Town Car and the modern shitboxes I have to rent for work, certainly not enough of one to make me go out and spend money. I love the look of sealed beams and incandescent bulbs, especially on vehicles originally equipped with them. I think LED's and all of that swapped in place of the OE stuff just looks tacky. Something I'd never do or undo.
                          1985 LTD Crown Victoria - SOLD
                          1988 Town Car Signature - Current Party Barge

                          Comment


                            how much the harness helps really seems to depend on the specifics. I got better than 2v on my Towncar and about 1.6 on the Continental. Made a huge difference. If your wiring isn't as lossy it won't matter as much. It never did anything on the Mark VII other than cause me trouble. After burning out several relays for less than 0.2 volts of improvement I trashed the harness.
                            86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                            5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                            91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                            1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                            Originally posted by phayzer5
                            I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                            Comment


                              Originally posted by gadget73 View Post
                              not sure how the wires are routed but I'd figure it would be easier to unplug the wires and pull them under the compressor vs unbolting the compressor but your eyes are actually on it. If you have to move the compressor, do it.
                              I had gone back to take another look at it, and yeah, I can just unplug it. Somehow I had it in my mind that there weren't any plugs to connect wiring from one side to the other, that along that stretch there were just plugs for individual components. Proved myself wrong about that. That was a couple weeks ago, but kept forgetting to get back over here. Haven't made any progress lately. I've been too caught up in a bunch of other things, like trying to repair my daily drivers (currently a 2001 Buick Century and 1995 Chevy Caprice former FD car). Also, with all this pandemic nonsense plaguing us, I haven't been able to get new plate tags for my other Panther. They expired late last year, but since it doesn't go outside in the winter these days, I was just going to wait until springtime to get plate stickers, like I've done for the past five years, for when I actually drive the car. DMVs have been closed since the week before I got the money to get the stupid sticker. Would go to the currency exchange, but they seem to be wanting extra paperwork or something that I don't seem to have. And can't renew online because they require a code on the renewal notice cards that get mailed, and mine disappeared. I think I may have accidentally grabbed it when clearing up a bunch of junk mail to destroy. So, no Panther enjoyment on either of two fronts for now.

                              But for now, I really need to get my rear in gear to clean up the front of that 351W so I can install the new timing set and the new cover. Don't have any new studs yet, though, since Totally Stainless has been closed, also due to the pandemic.
                              1978 Ford LTD wagon, 351M
                              1979 Mercury Marquis, 351W
                              1987 Ford F-250 HD 4x4, 460, 4-speed, reg cab full bed
                              2003 Mercury Marauder, 4.6L DOHC, JLT CAI, 4.10 gears, J-mod, custom tune

                              Comment


                                I'm held up on DMV closures too. Towncar has been expired since November. Wanted to swap it to a historic plate because its much cheaper but then the world went nuts.
                                86 Lincoln Town Car (Galactica).
                                5.0 HO, CompCams XE258,Scorpion 1.72 roller rockers, 3.55 K code rear, tow package, BHPerformance ported E7 heads, Tmoss Explorer intake, 65mm throttle body, Hedman 1 5/8" headers, 2.5" dual exhaust, ASP underdrive pulley

                                91 Lincoln Mark VII LSC grandpa spec white and cranberry

                                1984 Lincoln Continental TurboDiesel - rolls coal

                                Originally posted by phayzer5
                                I drive a Lincoln. I can't be bothered to shift like the peasants and rabble rousers

                                Comment

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