Some time last month I hooked up the vacuum gauge to the PCV port on the inlet manifold and it was pulling 15" but I replaced the power valve in the carburettor anyway. I also decided to hook up a pair of manual switches for the two-speed electric cooling fan as that wasn't kicking in and I was having to shut the engine off at 210°F, before I could get to the bottom of the fuel/air/mixture and/or timing issue.
While waiting for those electrical parts to arrive I read the CDI ignition and billet distributor/magnetic pickup instructions, after working out what the combination of components is that I have.
CDI IGNITION: MSD 5520 Street Fire CDI Ignition
The Street Fire Capacitve Discharge Ignition is perfect for performance enthusiasts with a tight budget. The ignition offers capacitive discharge technology and will fire a series of multiple sparks that last for 20° of crankshaft rotation when the engine is running at lower rpm. This ensures...
www.speedwaymotors.com
The Street Fire Capacitve Discharge Ignition is perfect for performance enthusiasts with a tight budget. The ignition offers capacitive discharge technology and will fire a series of multiple sparks that last for 20° of crankshaft rotation when the engine is running at lower rpm. This ensures...
www.holley.com
DISTRIBUTOR: Speedway Motors 1942-48 Flathead Ford 2 Bolt Electronic Distributor [1x Part # 5478351-1 & 1x Part # 5478824 (MSD 8824 Connector Kit, 2-Pin)]
Speedway Motors offers this billet aluminum electronic distributor for the fabulous 1942-48 Flathead Ford V8. Billet 6061-T6 aluminum housing Hardened steel shaft Sealed ball bearing & sintered busing Extremely accurate Hall effect pickup Brass HEI-style terminals NOTE: Requires high energy...
www.speedwaymotors.com
CAP: MSD 8541 'Crab' Style Cap
MSD molds our most popular V8 distributor caps in-house. These terminals offer improved locking connections and the Rynite material is extremely strong with excellent dielectric properties. Plus, most caps have an optional wire retainer that is supplied with these cap to lock the wires in place...
www.speedwaymotors.com
ROTOR: MSD 84673 Race Rotor for Distributor 8351, 8353, 84891
Replacement Race Rotor for MSD distributors 8351, 8353 and 84891
www.speedwaymotors.com
COIL: Universal Fit, HEI / Male Cap Type, HEI / Male Cap Terminal Style, .80 ohms Resistance
Oil filled heavy duty coils are guaranteed to out perform your stock unit delivering over 30% more spark energy. The oil filled design and arc resistant top, results in superior performance. The coil delivers the added voltage required by street and strip performance engines, and will fit in...
www.speedwaymotors.com
Then I measured the resistances of the coil and all the ignition leads. At first the coil seemed to read too high on the primary circuit at 1.5 Ohms (supposed be 0.7 to 0.8) but I discovered that it was due to the multimeter leads, after I ordered a replacement coil.
MSD Ignition Coil - Blaster 3 - Extra-Tall Tower
The Blaster 3 Coil features an extra-tall tower design to improve the coil wire attachment and spark isolation. Supplied with a 90-degree terminal and boot. If you are looking to upgrade your stock coil, or want to compliment the performance of your MSD Blaster Ignition, MSD 5, 6, or 7, the...
www.holley.com
So now I have a spare coil. The original coil resistance measured at 0.5 to 0.7 when I rechecked used a different set of leads for the multimeter (although the first set of leads read zero Ohms when touched together - I suppose the multimeter was calibrated to disguise that). When I was connecting the coil lead back to the distributor HEI connector it felt wonky and I discovered that the 90° metal elbow clamp seems to be broken back inside the rubber boot.
Ahah! Maybe that's the source of every missfire and all the unburnt fuel. I'll just make a new coil lead then. Or buy one. Oh yea, not so fast - remember those MSD instructions? Said something about "Use helically wound spark plug wires. Do NOT use solid core." Um, I can buy a kit of 8 MSD plug leads and 1 coil lead for $250 but would have to also buy a $65 crimp tool because they come with 1 end fitted and you must finish to your own length. There are 18" premade MSD coil leads, exactly what I want, but none in NZ. Black or red. $22 US but the shipping pushes it to over $100 NZ. Red one on eBay AU almost half the price of a black one, get it sent here for under $65 NZ total. Done. Then it sits at Brisbane airport for 10 days because our lockdown closed the border and stopped the flights. Yay it landed on Saturday, I might get it this week and be able to fire the flatty up again. Must put the battery on charge tomorrow.
Today, for something to do (and because it's a recovery day after 3 labouring in the yard) I took the old autolite sparkplugs from my flathead around to a mate's and ran them through his shot blaster. Then I discovered just how useful a tool one's phone camera can be. I expected, found, and used a bit of mig wire to pick out some shot down between the cramic and the outer steel but decades ago had never been able to check between the ceramic and the pin. Spent about 90 minutes taking photos and knocking 8 plugs against a shipping container door frame to dislodge grit that was invisible to the eye. Here's a sample of a couple.
Plug #5 before...
Plug # 5 after......
Plug #6 before...
Plug #6 after.......