I have a 1957 312 Y-block in my '56 Fairlane and I'm looking for the best aftermarket distributor for my application.  My Y- block is bored .040 over and I'm running a mild "street" cam from John Mummert along with a Blue Thunder intake and a 500 cfm Edelbrock carb.  Is there a quality distributor on the market made for these motors, preferably equipped with Pertronix?  Thanks in advance.

Order yourself a referb dissy or referb your own yourself. Get the Pertronix 2 and a set of Mr Gasket 925D springs fit them..easy ! And I doubt if any of the high priced aftermaket stuff will be any better for you application. Many of us here have done it maybe Steve or Mark can throw up the thread Show you how its done



"Came too close to dying to stop living now!"

The Duraspark distributor conversion that Steve has done is interesting.You can still modify the advance curve but the reliability and repair parts availability in the event of a breakdown is an advantage over the aftermarket distributors.Also the fact that there is a "timing retard" built into the setup means easier starting for a performance motor.

  

These guys know I like to "build my own" - its traditional car guy stuff - and you end up knowing a ton about it in the mean time - but this will boil down to the purpose you personally have in mind for the car/engine. If this is a race car - seldom streeted toy - I'd say grit your teeth, buy one from MSD (with a CD box) and be done with it.

If its a streeter - it needs to have vacuum advance and several good options exist:

(1) Buy a quality rebuilt - preferably the Motorcraft distributor based version - probably will come from the rebuilder Cardone. Ask for the part for a '64 F-100 w/ 292. It is easily fitted with a Pertronix Ignitor II or other "points replacement" trigger/controller so you have an electronic ignition. Coil choices may be limited depending on how "smart" the chip is or how much current the firing transistor can handle. Most of these will also work to trigger an MSD CD box.

(2) Use parts from a donor Duraspark II distributor (Ford V8 from '76 to '84) to modify the upper end of the Motorcraft rebuilt unit mentioned above - so it has a Ford electronic trigger assembly (the 8 blade reluctor). This is pretty much a parts change operation - not too complex. Then use it to trigger an MSD "red box" - or a Ford Duraspark II module - or a GM type HEI module. All can be made to work pretty well - the mechanical advance will need to be "curved" for this variant as well as (1) above.

(3) A company known as "DUI" can supply a Duraspark II based distributor unit - already built up as described above. It is then coupled to a controller that looks like a MOPAR part and fires an "E-core" coil that they also supply. Charlie McCraney has one and he has had good results with it I think.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Yep. It is awesome.


Lawrenceville, GA

Many thanks, everyone.  Building one sounds like a money saver and a chance for informative fun.  How do you beat that?  Ron

If you ask Steve Metzger he has a ton of info on custom do-it-yourself ignition systems.

  

This diagram will build a system that you can service and troubleshoot yourself. It uses a GM HEI "four pin module" for a brain - a Ford reluctor for a trigger - and an "E-core" coil out of a later GM V6. Parts are cheap - and when you are done you will be able to fix it at will.

There are several threads on here that show "how to" build the Y-block / Duraspark II distributor - set the curve - and wire up the trigger and HEI brain. This is an inductive system - and the HEI module will saturate the coil to such a level - that the "joules" of energy delivered to the plug will rival one of the CD units. Wiring to the coil must be able to handle up to 7.5 AMPS of current and as high a voltage as you can find in your charging system. Use a quality HEI module (real GM salvage parts are preferred) they are good for 35 volts and 7.5 amps. The S-10 pickup coil has a primary side OHMs of .45/.5 - way lower than the oil filled units - and it gets to full charge much more quickly. The Motorola chip in the HEI will then regulate "dwell" to protect the transistor.

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona

Talkwrench,

the Mr. Gasket springs you mentioned

(925D) are they for a stock rebuilt 57-64

Distributor? Let me know when you can.


Michael

Sandy Valley, NV

Maybe Rob (Talkwrench) will be on a little later - he lives in Perth.

The Mr Gasket spring pack he referred to is a card of "re-curve" springs that fit the Ford distributor. Unless you have access to an old "Sun" machine or other such tuning device - you will have to choose your mechanical advance springs by the seat of your pants and try them out. The "softer" springs in the pack will let your advance mechanism swing out to full advance at a lower RPM. 

 
 Steve Metzger       Tucson, Arizona