duraspark II shopping list for the parts house?

[Anonymous]

has anybody just walked into a parts house like "the Zone" and bought ALL of the parts for the Duraspark II conversion?
how did it go?
Or does anybody sell a "kit"?
I know i sound lazy, just not enought time to scour yards...

Thanks!

 

[matt1967]

yep.

reman distributor ask for 1978 Ford Fairmont

1978 Ford Fairmont for the rotor and cap adaptor also

1975 Maverick distributor cap if you want to use your existing plug wires
1978 Fairmont if you want the tower style terminals ( like GM HEI )

plug wires for the same car

the ignition box, your just going to have to fool around to get the right 1, think it's a red marker box you want, any of them will work, and blue is the most common, there is no 1 application, as they were all designed for diffrent things, altitude ect...

if you want, you could fire it with a chrysler ignition box, in that case, just say you got a '76 Dodge car ( Fury, Dart, whatever ), you will need a ballast resistor for this also but just ask for the correct 1 for the '76 dodge.

if you use the DSII, than you will need to go to a junkyard and get the wiring harness for the distributor, which unplugs at 2 ends, you may need to cut a few ties to get it free, but probably not. this can be got from ANY ford duraspark II car, V8 or 6cyl, only diffrence between any of them is lengths of the wires.

 

[Anonymous]

great reply!
Thanks!

looks like i'll need to go yard shopping for some of it after all.

 

[Bort62]

No need for the yard, I did all of mine with the following.

Cap, Rotor, and reman Dist for a '78 fairmont as suggested above.

Coil for whatever the hell you want, and ignition module from say a 78 camaro. 4 pin GM module.

A lot smaller and simpler than the duraspark module, and super easy to install. No junkyard parts needed.

 

[mceachrw]

you are probably better off in the end buying all new parts. i bought a setup on ebay for $30. the distributor is only good for the $10 core charge. the rest was wear items that i would replace shortly. the only part you probably need from the boneyard is the harness.

 

[fordconvert]

napa has the plug ends listed as a seperate part for the module and dizzy. I didnt try and order them, I just used regular crimp connectors and so far has worked just fine.

I think the cap that uses the points style wires was for a 74 mav with electronic ignition. I looked up a 75 and it didnt give me a choice but that could be differnt from store to store. It looks just like the points cap but it screws on instead of clips. The newer one is flat and clips on. Make sure you get the right rotor to go with the cap. If you go with the newer cap you also have to buy the adaptor that screws to the dizzy and has the clips for the cap.

Here are some pictures of my setup which is the GM one and the newer style cap. http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=42167

I will look and see if I can find where I posted part numbers for all the parts

Found it!
http://fordsix.com/forum/viewtopic.php? ... light=dsii

The oriley links in my post dont work anymore but all you have to know is to ask for a single advance dizzy for the 78 fairmont with a 200. Its used on more than 78 but 78 is a safe year because its right in the middle of the years used so you have a better chance of getting the right one. Dont buy the cheap modules or the store brands. Stick to genuine Ford, Motorcraft, or other quality name brand. $30-50 seems to be the typical range for good ones. More for the fords is most likely some odd ball emissions or altitude one. I have seen them for as low as $14. All the $20 ones I have ever used have crapped out in a short period of time. With the GM ones a good heat sink and the special white grease is a must.

If you want a complete drop in 1 wire hook up work out of the box go for the DUI from classic inlines.... it cost more but its a nice quality part. Some of the rebuilts are hit and miss for quality.

 

[XFlow_Fairlane]

you coudl also get a TFI dizzy and a programable MSD box (about $500 total or so) and be able to fine tune your timing curve at home and play with things like a rev limiter and two step.

 

[Michael Mc]

NAPA part numbers for DS2 setup:

Cap (bottom): FA139
Cap (top): FA136SB
Rotor: FA159SB
Resistor Wire: ICR22
Coil: IC21SB
Module: TP40SB
Distributor: 48-2690

RockAuto.com (not carried by NAPA):
Coil Wire Socket: 85848 (four $ or so)

If I recall, I paid about $100 US for all of this, including shipping... no NAPA nearby at the time.

 

[XFlow_Fairlane]

I would just go JY on most of the bits. toss them in the car with some fresh wires and see how it does. if it has a miss then plop in a new cap and rotor and see if that helps. I only gave $35 for a setup form the junkyard once and it worked fine. as long as you are not paying much more then your core I would go for it. the box is either going to work or not. I would skip the DS2 coil and plug and get one off a TFI car. you will need to come up with a mount for it but it is WAY hotter. if I was buying all new I would look into a hotter aftermarket coil of some sort and the same for wires (maybe a u-build kit) in a 8mm or so size.

for my TFI mount I used a stock fox one and jsut tweaked it to fit my shock tower and drilled a couple holes for some selftapers took maybe 10 mins and a cresent wrench to bend the tabs around to work for me.

my junkyard list would be this...

EEC/TFI coil and bracket
duraspark dizzy/cap/harness
gm HEI module


that would prob be the hottest bolt in ignition you can do.

 

[Anonymous]

all,
Thank you for the plethora of good info.
now i just gotta go spend the $$$.
it sounds like it is quite the good move for these cars.


aquestion for TJ:

in a link you provided you said: "The biggest pain other than pulling and reinstalling the dizzy (the oil pump never seems to cooperate for me!!!!) is getting rid of the ballast resistor. "

I have missed that detail in all i have read... heck, it might be STEP 1 for all i know!
bear with me please, 'lectricity aint my best subject.
any links to the ballast resistor discussions?

 

[jahearne]

Have you checked out the options at classicinlines?

http://classicinlines.com/products.asp?cat=42&pg=2

http://classicinlines.com/products.asp?cat=42

 

[addo]

Your ballast resistor is a pink coloured wire that floats outside the main harness (because it generates heat). It's probably up behind the dash. Somewhere near the ignition switch end, it should have a bullet connector.

Fabricate a new wire that plugs into the bullet connector, and tape it to the main harness - follow through into the engine bay and fit an eyelet to the other end for connection to the coil positive threaded post. Fold the ends of your original wire back and tape it safely out the way.

Use wire that's a couple of gauges thicker than original - in case you upgrade the coil or module.

Regards, Adam.