FastFox

I have a 1969 351 Windsor. I have not modified my car very much but am trying to think of easy mods that may make my car better. I am pretty sure I have the original distributor, so I thought it could use an upgrade. What would be a good option for a distributor? I don't want to go into too much electronics. I want something simple to install that will make the car better overall. Thanks

JamesW

CJ Pony and other sources sell teh Pertronix Electronic Ignition Module for around $80. This is a great/cheap upgrade.

kalli

from an old post of mine:
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a) you are sick and tired from adjusting/changing points. but otherwise your distributor is perfect (which it hardly ever is after 40 years).
Most distributors that age I check have the following common problems, often combinations of them:
- mech advance sticking or not working at all
- vacuum advance not working
- the shaft is loose (the bearings are no good anymore) which gives you irratic timining as well
- the braker plate (the moving plate) where the contacts are sitting on is sticking, therefor no vac advance and timing changing between drives
- the "humps" that operate the braker are nearly flat. sometimes this can be compensated a bit with adjusting the points. Thatnkfully the system is digital (it's either open or closed), so it's not that bad.
Worse is when the humps for the cylinders are different size, you get different ignition timing rhroughout tyhe cylinders.
- don't get me started on rotors and caps that I've seen

You can fix the last thing by using the ignitor as it doesn't use the points anymore. at the same time you'll never have to adjust points again (which actually should be done every 1000-2000 miles) if you want to keep your timing to the point.
This is by far the cheapest option.


b) the advanced version of this: Ignitor II
This will adapt dwell throughout rpm range for a better (more durable) spark. as well you'll have to use 12V on them, so make sure to bypass resistor wire.
Even better when combined with high voltage coil.
It _should_ drive smoother and perform just a tad (tiny) better than the original ignitor.


c) if your old distributor is fried: example flamethrower billet plug and play distributor 240$
if you fix up your old distributor you'll need near 100$ for points, condensator cap and rotor. 3 times that money will give you the pertronix with matching coil.
You will save gas mileage i can't say what you'll end up with as I don't know how good your car is otherwise as well how you drive.
I saw a change of 2 litres per 100km average. in my case was gfetting ~25 miles further per filling.
At the same time I have changed all plugs and leads (to 8mm) as well. so don't forget about that.
maybe 400$ all in all, but it was worth it for me. I'll have my money back in a few gas fills and the engine runs smoother as weell, performs better. what more would I want.

I am mentioning pertronix here because I have this one installed. I don't know if the others (Mallory, MSD, etc) are better or worse, so I'm, not discussing this here.
I guess this is similar. I never had a MSD box, so I cannot say what kind of improvements you're getting from it. multi-spark properly helps with more complete combustion (performance and gas/mileage), a rev limitre is always nice as well to safe your engine.


Tips:
1. Internal coil vs external coil distributors
there are two options. the plug&play distributor (like D130700) that needs external coil (~30$) as well as the distributor that has the coil in the cap (huge cap like D1352).
I preferred the external coil option for a bit more stockish look and I'm glad I went for that. as we installed 2 of the internal coil models to two other cars and always came up with the exact same problme.
one engine stock 289 (mustang), the other stock 302 (truck)
- the original aircleaner will not fit. not even the K-code style ones. you need to swap to mini air cleaner;. the distributor cap is just too big
- the stock manifold has a water outlet/plug that interferes with turning the distributor for adjusting timing. i had to pull the distributor twice and make changes until i was able to put it in and find enough turning ratio to adjust timing.
So in future I'll never ever go for the internal coil versions ever again. too much hassle

2. Do not be mis-advised and buy a racing distributor that are missing vacuum advance. Only flat out racing engines that run on constant wide open throttle (liek drag race) use them.
I want to save you the time of reading books and articles to understand. I can refer you yto good articles if you want.
Those thingies have nothing lost on a street engine, they sound quick but perform crap.

3. no matter if you get new leads or not (you better do), you will need to match the old/new leads to your distributor cap.
more than once I've seen people ordering the wrong plug leads or distributor caps ...
the female version cap has cylindric tubes for each plug lead and the contact on the bottom of each of those tubes. that means the end of the plug lead will show a contact reaching down into this cylinder
the male version cap has the contacts showing at the top. so for this the plug lead needed for this will look on distributor side similar to plug side.
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kalli

kalli

forgot to mention. i have no experience with 351w. so the parts quoted might not fit. but you get the general gist