What's The Point?

The breaker plate is supposed to rotate back and forth on a pivot, but they do wear out and flop around. You used to be able to get replacement plates, but not anymore unless you can get an NOS part from an obsolete parts seller. But it's better to replace the entire dizzy, because you don't know what else is worn out. Try www.greensalescompany.com; they have tons of Ford dealer parts. I don't know if they'd have what you need, but it's a good place to start.

 

Then, does your mechanic know how to properly set dwell and timing? the dwell is very important, and can change timing, so it needs to be set first before dialing in timing. However, I still think you need to invest in a Pertronix unit and coil to replace the points.

 

I agree you need a new or operating distributor. One with Pertronix will make you pointless.

 

Yes Andy,but my point was that there was a worse problem inside the distributor.

 

Yes and the real point is you need another distributor so you won't keep bombing your cherry bombs and scaring old women and little puppies.
By taking the wagon back to the mechanic it's just costing more that would buy a distributor.

 

I think the point is to do away with the points.
Whether you go Pertronix or DS2, whatever.
Do yourself and your car a favour and upgrade the ignition to a more modern system.
We still don't know what your timing is set at, nor do we know if there are any other issues that a vacuum guage might point us to.

 

Firstly,I was stranded 75 miles from home,needing a 15-mile tow,5 miles of which was covered. Secondly,I was 15 miles from a known good service station. So with AAA,that's what I chose to do. Of course,their mechanic is very busy,so this will take a while. If they can't get to me,I could just DIY,but that might not be OK with a 4799 lb. car in their yard!

 

Also, the distributor they can get me is not expensive. Labor may be another story. The breaker plate has a tiny plastic button it can slide on. That had its little ears lopped off, and surprise,there were two of them under there. There is also a vertical spring with a cap on it--I don't know what that is supposed to do! And I don't even know if this one has centrifugal advance--some Ford units just had vacuum, but my books don't delve that deep into the 1970s. According to my Ford dealer's parts people, who think I'm nuts,it is a D3A7-12127-B with a tag that should read D3AF-12127-BA. Oddly enough,since the distributor is down behind the humongous non-functional AC compressor,I never got a look at the tag.
As to the Pertronix,I'll get to that later.

 

I'll take a peek in my books and see what info I can come up with.

 

I can't imagine a Ford dizzy, IMCO-spec or not, not having centrifugal advance. It'll be underneath the breaker and base plates. For the D3AF-BA dizzy, here are the curve specs:

Advance starts 0-1.5* @ 500 rpm, Intermediate 3.5 to 5.5 @ 750, 5.5-7.5 @ 1000, 8.5-11 @ 1500, full 14.5 @ 2000. 5" vacuum to start the plunger, and 13 @ 20", for a total of 27.5* @ 2000 rpm. Dwell is 26-30* at idle, and point gap is .017" initial gap.

 

Hey thanks,that's good info. I looked up the "Loadomatic" distributor online. It was the one with vacuum only advance. It was the one I (and lots of other drivers) had before 1957. The one on the '56 312 had dual vacuum, but none of them had centrifugal advance. I think they kept them on the sixes a bit longer (such as on a '65 Mustang). Anyway,that's the setup I was used to...a long time ago now.

 

Ah, I see. Well, the newer late 60's and up distributors do have centrifugal advance, and curving one can be a bit of a hassle. But man, when they work, boy do they work well. Take a look at this web page and see what you think:

http://www.reincarnation-automotive.com/Duraspark_distributor_recurve_instructions_index.html

 

I should be tearing my hair out at this point, but I don't have enough left! Anyway,I dropped $330.00 last week on the breakdown and consequent distributor replacement. My angel girlfriend drove 90 miles to get me so we could pick up the car. Then,later,when I drove the 90 miles back home, within 10 miles of the goal, the darn thing misfired again! Yesterday and today I installed a new cap & rotor,coil & points & condenser and vacuum hose from the carb to the distributor. Before the new points & condenser,when I emery-boarded the points,the engine ran ok,so there's my clue--the points were still getting toasted after maybe 120 miles,because we ran errands when I was there with her. So since I've replaced everything but the resistor wire, that must be it!--it is letting too much voltage through to the points. I don't see my way clear to getting AT the darn thing, as the manual is unclear on how much of the steering column you have to rip up to get to it. But I will have a new resistor wire in my hands tomorrow a.m.,so I'll get it in there,come what may. What else can I do?

 

I'll see if my Chilton or Motor books say generally where the resistor wire is.

 

The Motor manual says the Ford resister wire is contained in the ignition wiring harness, and is the wire that leads from the terminal for IGN ON. However, without a proper wiring diagram, I can't tell you which terminal it is or what color code the wire has. Perhaps googling for a wiring diagram will yield a suitable one. I have a diagram I copied for my '74 Ranchero Squire, but I'll be damned if I can remember where I put it.