200 Crossflow Distributor Clearance

[SixFoFalcon]

I was just out in the garage measuring some clearances. I came up with the conclusion that the stock US200 distributor setup WILL clear the Crossflow intake manifold!

The cap w/ wires protrudes almost exactly 5cm vertically from the deck line... and with some coaxing of the wires I can get it down to almost 4cm. The Redline 4V intake mounted on the alloy Crossflow head sits a comfortable 5.5cm above the head surface between the first two cylinders. Even with some milling and/or decking, that's plenty of room to make this thing work!

"Hold it Dan... slow down. There has to be a catch."

My block is a '68 200. Now I'm wondering what dizzy is on there since in the tech pages it clearly states that dizzy mods will be necessary for clearance. : I'm beginning to think that I may have used the dizzy from my old '64 170 when I stuck this '68 200 engine in there (God, I don't even remember putting this engine in--must've been easy ). That would make it a Loadomatic WITHOUT centrifugal advance. This may explain the difference in height, right?

So now, a dilemma. I don't think the Autolite 1100 is going to cut it for this Crossflow project. (duh!) I know that the pre-68 Loadomatic has problems when you try to apply it to any other carb, since the 1100 has special vacuum arrangements to keep advancing the timing even at high speeds. Is there some way I can duplicate the vacuum conditions needed to make the Loadomatic effective at higher rpms while using a 2V or 4V carb?

Would I be better off forgetting about this whole thing and going the DIS route like I had originally planned?

 

[MustangSix]

Good luck. I was not able to get any post-68 distributor to clear any stock or aftermarket manifold. An early Load-o-matic "might" have barely cleared, but that is a poor choice on a hipo engine.

Even then, clearance is poor. You will have a difficult time removing the cap once the manifold is in place and you will not be able to remove the dizzy without removing the intake at all.

I still have a 72 dizzy with a pertronix mounted. It, too, barely clears the tubing manifold i fabricated and the plug wires are directly against the manifold.

Four options come to mind if a stock or aftermarket manifold is to be used.

First, a Load-o-matic with a locked out advance plate could be used with an MSD 6 and a MSD timing control.

Second, a DIS system such as the electromotive or megajolt light might work. Requires you to fit a reluctor wheel and Hall pickup.

third, an angle drive to turn the dizzy 90 degrees over on it;'s side

fourth, drive off the front of the cam, space permitting. Lots of fabrication to do to make that work.

Best approach is to do the DIS.

 

[SixFoFalcon]

In the grande scheme of things, I suppose the cost of the DIS setup is a very small price to pay for getting rid of the log. In the mean time, for fitment and trial purposes, it's good to know that I could theoretically have the engine running under its own accord before having to address spark too deeply.

All the other measurements seem to be falling into place nicely. The 4V carb is offset enough from the center of the engine compartment that it probably won't interfere at all w/ the stock hood. It appears that the headers will also slip into place w/o interference, but that still remains to be proven.

The mechanical fuel pump has got to go, but that's a piece of cake. I planned on switching to electric even before I found out about the Crossflow 200 idea.

 

[MustangSix]

I suppose one other option would be to shorten a distributor. I think you can get about 3/4" out of one just above the clamp.

 

[80broncoman]

I guess nobody that makes flat caps makes one for a ford six? I know they make them for eights.

 

[SixFoFalcon]

I guess nobody that makes flat caps makes one for a ford six? I know they make them for eights.

I've looked long and hard and haven't come up with anything. That's not to say that there isn't one or two floating around out there, but I don't think anyone is producing them.

I thought about hacking up a standard cap by trimming the collars right down flush, but that would be an awful lot of work and probably wouldn't come out looking very nice.

 

[Anonymous]

Are you talking about a 200 crossflow or a crossflow head on a us 200 block? Azcoupe has a bunch of bosch 2 wire dizzys for sale. Not sure how much smaller they are though. Plus the shaft is smaller then the US dizzys so you may have to come up with a way to make it work if you are building a US block.

Just thought it may be worth looking into.

 

[SixFoFalcon]

This is for an alloy 250 Crossflow head mated to the US 200 block. It has been slow going so far, and I'm not expecting to be at the actual engine test-fit/mock-up stage for several months, since I'll need to get a cam and some gaskets sent from OZ.

At any rate, the idea of eliminating the advance function of the dizzy altogether and then going with an MSD 6A box in conjunction with an MSD-8981 or similar timing controller seems viable. I know the Load-o-matic that's in there is just fine structurally, and since it solves the actual distribution function in the space that I have, maybe it's worth keeping after all. I'll toy around with some other setups, but this seems like the easiest and should still come in under $500.

If those Bosch units or some other distributor could be adapted to fit in the space I have and give me mechanical advance, it would be great. But there are just so many advantages to using computerized electronics--mainly, much more precise control of all the parameters w/o relying on mechanical components to do everything reliably.

As Jack suggests, DIS is THE ideal setup, but I know setting them up from scratch can be a PITA. To me, a distributor setup with adjustable electronics for the advance function seems like the best of both worlds--easy controls and easy set-up/build with a minimum of variables that can go wrong.