Basic DS II questions - FINAL

Greetings Ford Six Fans,

I'm going to set up a DS II, MSD box and MSD Blaster coil on my Ranchero's 250.

I've reviewed wiring instructions and the MSD box connections appear relatively straightforward:

one wire (+) to battery voltage (I have a terminal block mounted under the battery tray)
one wire (-) to ground (I'll go to the engine block, where battery - is also connected)
one wire (+) to switched ignition voltage (this is the wire previously connected to my now defunct DUI)
two wires to the magnetic pickup inside DS II (connected via the distributor wiring harness)
two wires to a traditional, canister-style MSD Blaster coil

Does the DS II require a distributor gasket?

If having two vacuum advance connections, what do they connect to (ported vacuum)?

Thank you,
Bob

the DSll distributor does not require a gasket, but there is an O ring on the body that must be in place.

the two vacuum connections on the vacuum advance can are,

center one pointing outwards is the vacuum advance connection

the upper middle one is the vacuum retard feature, you can leave that one disconnected, unless you are running a boosted engine, then run a line with full manifold vacuum and a check valve to allow boost out, but not vacuum, and you have a boost retard feature.

Bob, I have the "0" ring already on the distributor & lubed the ring for easy installation. I also supplied 2 extra "0' rings which you will probably never need.
Don't forget to put moly on the distributor gear to ease the break in.
As R. Bohm stated you use no gasket distributor to block.
Sometimes you have to trim the adapter plug from MSD to easily insert into the DS11 wiring harness female connection.
Any questions you can always give me a call. Bill

I received a DS II from wsa111. It has been rebuilt and tested with the desired advance curve.

The oil pump hex shaft does fit into the distributor shaft.

However, When I try to insert the DS II into the block with the hex shaft in place, it stops about an inch from full insertion. I have tried many times but it absolutely won't go any farther than that with the hex shaft in place.

Interestingly, when I insert it without the hex shaft, it inserts all the way. To me, this rules out an issue with the cam or distributor gears or the distributor body itself.

If this distributor was from a '78 Fairmont, then it was originally from a 200. Do I need to use a different length hex shaft for my distributor to work with my 250?

Edit: I did some searching and it appears that 200s use a 5.14" hex shaft and 250s use a 4.14" hex shaft. Interestingly enough, the hex shaft I have been running on my 250 for a year measures 5.14"! So it appears that I have been using a 200 hex shaft in my 250 for a year! My only guess is that this was possible because the DUI had a deep pocket in the distributor shaft that allowed the hex shaft to fit higher up into the distributor shaft.

Thanks
Bob

PM sent, back from vacation, Bill

Hope you got the DS11 installed.
The multiple spark from the MSD will help you on idle quality & help drive-ability in the low rpm range.

Getting a distributor in the first time is a pain. I had a heck of a time getting my DSII in after I bought it. Took me a few days to get it done. Chalk it up to a skill most of us don't have. This is the only car I've ever had that has a distributor, and Dad never had to stab one when I helped him with his cars.

IIRC the shaft has a shaped hole at the bottom of it. That has to match what it's mating with, or you won't get it to go all the way down.

wsa111":1kz5u9qe said:

Hope you got the DS11 installed.
The multiple spark from the MSD will help you on idle quality & help drive-ability in the low rpm range.

Click to expand...

I'm waiting on a shorter oil pump hex shaft, which isn't stocked at any auto parts store that I can find. Had to special order one, should arrive late this week. Thought about cutting the longer one I have with an angle grinder and a metal cut-off wheel, but I wouldn't be able to accurately reproduce the shouldered shape at the end.

What do you think about the MSD Streetfire vs. the MSD 6A/L? The Streetfire is $80 less and I like ignition components to be black.

Thanks
Bob

Bob, i will call MSD tomorrow and see what the difference is. Remember you only get what you pay for.
I will check this out. Bill

Bob, the streetfire box has the same external wiring as the MSD-6al & both have the ability to connect the box to the DS11 using a MSD cable adapter #8869.
The 6al will produce a hotter spark & is build better internally.
I would use the MSD-6al. Bill

Hi Bill,

I put a Streetfire on my 6-cyl MGC two months ago, triggered with the points and firing a Ford E-core coil (0.7 ohms).

The 6A is more powerful, but for all practical purposes you can't tell any difference in performance. I think that unless you are running a power adder, lots of boost, or lots of RPM, the cheaper unit is as good.

Was able to easily stab the distributor with the shorter oil pump hex shaft. Mounted the new coil bracket on my homemade throttle bracket, which in turn mounts to the lifting lug boss on the driver's side of the block . Now to order the MSD box, which will mount on the driver's side fenderwell. Once I get the MSD box, I don't think it will take long to hook it up and get the Ranchero running.

Thanks
Bob

Upon consideration, I ordered the MSD Digital 6AL ($245 at Summit Racing). I'm hoping that the added durability is worth the $95 premium over the MSD StreetFire.

Have already received the 6AL - Summit Racing is so efficient with order fulfillment, I've resolved to order anything they can supply, from Summit.

Probably won't have any time to work on the installation until at least Sunday. Am looking forward to the Ranchero running again.

Thanks
Bob

Follow the wiring diagram for the MSD 6AL... do not swap the wires coming from the distributor to the ignition box [ask me how I know?].

Finally fired the Ranchero up today with the DS2 and the MSD 6AL.

Was delayed for several weeks because I had the wrong oil pump drive shaft (had to wait nine days for that to arrive special order at O'Reilly), then because MSD sent me an ignition box without the wiring harness (had to wait for shipping on a wiring harness).

I had a DUI before and all the spark plug wires are still good - they're only a little over a year old, with about 2,000 miles of use - but I needed a coil wire. Had to buy an entire spark plug wire set (Accel Super Stock) to get that.

Also had a lot of trouble getting the timing right, but finally used a compression gauge to find TDC at the compression stroke on #1 and the Ranchero fired and ran.

I discovered another problem- gasoline in the oil - but that's not related to the DUI failure and DS2 refit so I'll start another thread for that.

Thanks
Bob

Finally fired the Ranchero up yesterday - after draining gas-contaminated oil and replacing my mechanical fuel pump, then fixing a fuel leak on my Holley 2300 2 BBL - drove it to a local cruise-in. It ran great: starts instantly with no hesitation, seems to rev more quickly, and seems more responsive when I hit the throttle. I wouldn't be surprised if it dynoed with a few more horses than it did with the DUI.

Photos of the DS2 / MSD install:





While I was at my local speed shop picking up a 50cc accelerator pump diaphram, a Holley 600 CFM 4 BBL jumped into my shopping basket, so I had to choice but to take it home. I'll finish the interior refit first, then either the 4 BBL or 5-lug front disk brakes.

Thanks
Bob

im in the middle of a ds2 swap also and have it installed but can someone help wiht the conections from the orgional ignition module?

box has red and white wire also another green orange purple black that goes to the ds2?

where does the red and white harress go to i figure the coil?

MSD 6AL wiring:

heavy gauge red wire (+) to battery voltage (I have a terminal block mounted under the battery tray)
heavy gauge black wire (-) to ground (I'll go to the engine block, where battery - is also connected)
red wire (+) to switched ignition voltage (this is the wire previously connected to my now defunct DUI)
green and violet wires to the magnetic pickup inside DS II (connected via the distributor wiring harness, otherwise green to distributor violet, violet to distributor orange; the distributor harness makes it impossible to cross these two wires)
orange (+) and black (-) wires to a traditional, canister-style MSD Blaster coil
white wire is not used (it's for points-style distributor)

Sorry, I didn't notice "original ignition module" in your post above. This is for an MSD.

Thanks
Bob