I plan to purchase a new distributor for my T soon and I'm a little overwhelmed by the choices out there. Can someone educate me a little on what I should get? I am running a Chevy 283 from around 1961. I'm pretty sure I want to upgrade to electronic ignition rather than points, but after that I'm sort of clueless as to what options I need or would want. The car will see mostly street driving with maybe a few 1/4 mile passes from time to time. Thanks for the help guys!
If you don't care about how big it looks you could use an HEI from a '74-'79 Chevy V8. I'm guessing that that is NOT what you are looking for. Pertronix makes a pretty simple conversion to go inside the pre-74 points stock style distributor. I think Speedway also lists a similar conversion. If you want to step up in price there are a few different Mallory replacement distributors that might fit the bill. If you want the look of the early stock distributor but want the firepower of an HEI try: http://www.davessmallbodyheis.com/
Pertronix makes a wonderful electronic points replacement unit. The thing to remember is, use it in a distributor that has the correct curve and is good mechanical condition, and use the Pertronix coil with it.
Anyone running one of those Magneto-look distributors? How do you like it? Been thinking about getting one for my Chrysler. (sorry if this is a tangent to the subject)
I know depending upon whether you are wanting a certain look or not, you can use the HEI distributor out of a GM product and can completely bypass the computer setup in through a few simple steps. The problem with this setup, however, is that it often appears ungainly and isn't the prettiest option. The GM caps are large as well, so they don't lend themselves to tight clearance issues either. Years ago, (and I've seen the old man do it several times), we took the HEI distributor and jumperered between the "A" and "C" terminals on the pigtail (we connected them together). The we ran 12 volt power to the power lead on the pigtail and that was the bypass of the computer. Its been many years since the last time I was part of doing one of these conversions, but I'm sure someone else here has done one, and can explain possibly in more detail.
Just Run A Magneto .... Hunt & Zig Have Street Mags Now With Mechanical Advance.... I Have A Hunt Mag With Advance On My 389 Pontiac Powered '55 F~100. And Run An Early Vertex On My Desoto In My Sport Coupe. Nuthin Says "HOT ROD" Like A Magneto !!!!
this is what I'm doing in my car. I've got a 1964 283 in my 32. I just picked up an early nos mallory flat top cap distributor. (you can find these things everywhere still ebay, swap meets etc) they look beautifully traditional because they are. I'm leaving the stock points in it and i'm going to run an msd6 box with it. this makes the distributor just a switch instead of carrying actual current. it makes the points last much longer and perform better with the msd box. looks and performs great. one of these guys:
I'm not sure if this is a good thread to bring this up in or not, but maybe this would be a good time to ask... why NOT run a mag? I like mags. They're simple and self contained. Can you run a tach with a mag? I assume you can. The only downfall I was seeing about them was the advance (which apparently isn't a problem now) and the PRICE! Big bucks for Magnetos! So cool though. They look awesome as well! Sorry if I'm screwin' up this thread... Back to dizzies...
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