I want to swap the stock distributor on my Mustang to the Duraspark II. I read several posts about this subject, but still have a few questions. Are the donor vehicles an I6 engine, or are they V6's? I'm not real up to speed on those vehicles or engines. My car is from California, and still has the air pump, and I assume "California emmissions". Will this have any thing to do with what donor I look for? I plan to de-smog my engine if that matters.
Duraspark distributor in a '66 200
- Thread starter jimlj66
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early ford fan
Well-known member
get one from a 78 -83 200 or 250.grab the all the wiring and control box too.and the sparkplug wires if they look good.
The later 200's seemed to be fairly common in Fairmonts.
early ford fan
Well-known member
mine came from a 78 fairmont.
Howdy Jim:
And welcome to the Forum.
Q- "Are the donor vehicles an I6 engine, or are they V6's?"
A- straight sixes only. 200 or 250 engines found in Fairmonts, Granadas and the Mercury clones.
Q- "My car is from California, and still has the air pump, and I assume "California emmissions". Will this have any thing to do with what donor I look for? I plan to de-smog my engine if that matters."
A- No. Are you still in California? You may want to check on current smog laws where you are before you remove it. The smog nazis can be pretty anal. Or, if it is in good working shape it may have some value to someone doing a restoration.
FYI- If this is a '66 200 with C/E equipment, know that you do not have a Load-O-Matic distributor and a SCV carburetor. A '66 C/E distributor will still be a point type, but will have vacuum and centrifugal advance, and the Autolite 1100 carb will not have a SCV, but will have a ported vacuum source for the distributor vacuum advance. So this carb will be compatible with a DS II upgrade, but will be down on CFM, 156 compared to 185, on non- C/E carbs with SCVs. That may not sound like much, but it definately hurts performance. Unfortunately, there are no OEM, non-SVC 1100s with 185 cfm capacity. Once you have the distributor upgrade finished, and you're still looking for more bolt-on performance consider and upgrade to an Autolite 1101 from a '69 Mustang with a 250 @ 210, or a Carter RBS ('70 - '74 250 carb) @ 215 cfm. The 1101 will be a very stock appearing upgrade with minimal adaptation requirements, the RBS will require some linkage and line modifications to work. Both will be compatible with a DS II ignition.
Again, Welcome and enjoy the journey.
Adios, David
And welcome to the Forum.
Q- "Are the donor vehicles an I6 engine, or are they V6's?"
A- straight sixes only. 200 or 250 engines found in Fairmonts, Granadas and the Mercury clones.
Q- "My car is from California, and still has the air pump, and I assume "California emmissions". Will this have any thing to do with what donor I look for? I plan to de-smog my engine if that matters."
A- No. Are you still in California? You may want to check on current smog laws where you are before you remove it. The smog nazis can be pretty anal. Or, if it is in good working shape it may have some value to someone doing a restoration.
FYI- If this is a '66 200 with C/E equipment, know that you do not have a Load-O-Matic distributor and a SCV carburetor. A '66 C/E distributor will still be a point type, but will have vacuum and centrifugal advance, and the Autolite 1100 carb will not have a SCV, but will have a ported vacuum source for the distributor vacuum advance. So this carb will be compatible with a DS II upgrade, but will be down on CFM, 156 compared to 185, on non- C/E carbs with SCVs. That may not sound like much, but it definately hurts performance. Unfortunately, there are no OEM, non-SVC 1100s with 185 cfm capacity. Once you have the distributor upgrade finished, and you're still looking for more bolt-on performance consider and upgrade to an Autolite 1101 from a '69 Mustang with a 250 @ 210, or a Carter RBS ('70 - '74 250 carb) @ 215 cfm. The 1101 will be a very stock appearing upgrade with minimal adaptation requirements, the RBS will require some linkage and line modifications to work. Both will be compatible with a DS II ignition.
Again, Welcome and enjoy the journey.
Adios, David
Wow, Thanks guys for all the great information, and thanks David for point by point answers. I am not in California. I live in Wyoming (fly over country) where the smog nazis have not discovered. I am looking for good drive ability and fuel economy as a main goal. 'Mo powa is a bonus but not necessary. Can you enlighten me on what SCVs means? Will the DSII donor cars have a better carburetor than I now have? Mine is a Autolite 1100, I just finished rebuilding it and am headed home to bolt it back on and see if I helped it out any.
Thanks again
Jim
Thanks again
Jim
Howdy Back Jim:
To elaborate on what Joe has already told you, the spark control valve (SCV) on the carb sends a load sensitive vacuum signal to the stock '66 OEM Load-O-Matic distributor. They were designed to work together, and when working as designed it is a fairly good system. Unfortunately, when you upgrade one, the other won't work as designed. There are some good stickies at the top of this forum explaining how each functions, and what is lost in changing one, how to crutch it, and what to expect. Read the stickies and then, if you have questions, ask away.
Q- "Will the DSII donor cars have a better carburetor than I now have?"
A- The DS II donor cars will have a Carter YF from when the DuraSpark 1st appeared in mid-model year 1974(?). THe DuraSpark II appeared during the '75 model year and can be distinguished by the larger distributor cap. The Carter YF lasted until 1979. It was replaced you the Holley #1946, which was used until the end of production. Both have pros and cons, but know that both will require a change in linkage, fuel lines and a different air cleaner. Your 1100 is rated at 185 cfm, the Yf at 187, and the #1946 @ 180 cfm, so neither will improve performance or economy. The pluses of the 1100 are that it is very simple and easy to rebuild. It's weaknesses are that the accelerator pump system is fairly weak and requires periodic rebuilds. It is also prone to dirt contamination, partly because of the choke hot air intake system, so needs periodic cleaning.
Given you're in Wyoming, I'm guessing that you are at a fairly high elevation. If so, know that you can increase your initial advance setting 5 degrees over the stock specs for a boost in economy and performance. Does you car have an auto or manual trans?
Adios, David
To elaborate on what Joe has already told you, the spark control valve (SCV) on the carb sends a load sensitive vacuum signal to the stock '66 OEM Load-O-Matic distributor. They were designed to work together, and when working as designed it is a fairly good system. Unfortunately, when you upgrade one, the other won't work as designed. There are some good stickies at the top of this forum explaining how each functions, and what is lost in changing one, how to crutch it, and what to expect. Read the stickies and then, if you have questions, ask away.
Q- "Will the DSII donor cars have a better carburetor than I now have?"
A- The DS II donor cars will have a Carter YF from when the DuraSpark 1st appeared in mid-model year 1974(?). THe DuraSpark II appeared during the '75 model year and can be distinguished by the larger distributor cap. The Carter YF lasted until 1979. It was replaced you the Holley #1946, which was used until the end of production. Both have pros and cons, but know that both will require a change in linkage, fuel lines and a different air cleaner. Your 1100 is rated at 185 cfm, the Yf at 187, and the #1946 @ 180 cfm, so neither will improve performance or economy. The pluses of the 1100 are that it is very simple and easy to rebuild. It's weaknesses are that the accelerator pump system is fairly weak and requires periodic rebuilds. It is also prone to dirt contamination, partly because of the choke hot air intake system, so needs periodic cleaning.
Given you're in Wyoming, I'm guessing that you are at a fairly high elevation. If so, know that you can increase your initial advance setting 5 degrees over the stock specs for a boost in economy and performance. Does you car have an auto or manual trans?
Adios, David
early ford fan
Well-known member
CZLN6 said:
I want to say the YF from the later '70s car have a larger bore and the bolt holes are farther apart. The point here is to check all the critical carb dimensions before you assume you can swap them out.
And the key point about the Load-O-Matic (LOM) distributor is that the advance is by vacuum only. There are no weights in there to advance the spark based on rpms. And the vacuum signal from the carb is not tha same as manifold OR ported vacuum. So if you use a later carb and don't hook up a vacuum source the dizzy will have zero advance (which is bad for perfromance and mileage) and the available vacuum sources will not advance the dizzy correctly (again not good for performance and mileage).
And the key point about the Load-O-Matic (LOM) distributor is that the advance is by vacuum only. There are no weights in there to advance the spark based on rpms. And the vacuum signal from the carb is not tha same as manifold OR ported vacuum. So if you use a later carb and don't hook up a vacuum source the dizzy will have zero advance (which is bad for perfromance and mileage) and the available vacuum sources will not advance the dizzy correctly (again not good for performance and mileage).
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