Electronic ignition upgrade

[colin jones]

Hi all, this has probably been covered before but I'm not sure to what extent.
I think there was some talk about different length cam shafts for different distributors but I haven't found that. the first pic is the 2 bolt crab dizzy and the next is the bell style. the difference is the timing cover and the centre drive location. I'll load some more so you can see the difference.

[colin jones]

In the centre of the bell dizzy style is a location plug which comes out very easy which then looks exactly the same as the crab. As far as I know there is no electronic upgrade for the bell dizzy at this stage. So if you want to do the 12volt upgrade you will have to have a crab distributor. You can either buy the complete substitute or use your own crab dizzy and replace the points with the electronic points which are readily available from Macs auto. I'll get the part number and put it up for you.

[colin jones]

Here's a picture of mine. The original dizzy was blasted and painted. The new part comes complete with base plate and gaskets and there is no need for a magnet and you just use a standard 12v sport style coil and it remains the original look.

[colin jones]

The part number from Mac's Auto is # 47-68607-1 and it was $122usd + postage
I hope this is usefull and if I have pointed anyone in the wrong direction please let it be known.
Colin.

[jack neville]

There is units available for all types, crab, bell and Lucas from Jolley Engineering in the UK. Bu the price is a lot more expensive than Macs

[Ganmain Tony]

Great job Colin,

I'll certainly put that information to good use in the future..

Thanks for posting

[Private_collector]

Macs prices are fairly mild, but their international shipping prices are huge. Anything bigger than a thimble coming into Australia, can expect an average of $60 or $70 for a box 2/3 the size of a shoebox.

I bought my electronic conversion kit via ebay. Purchase price much the same as Macs, and postage considerably cheaper.

Its not just 12v available either, mine is 6v positive earth. Same branding as sold through Macs.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by colin jones

I think there was some talk about different length cam shafts for different distributors

Yes, the pre-42 camshaft had a longer nose to suit the diver's helmet dizzy. The post-42 camshaft had a short nose to suit the crab dizzy.

Aftermarket adapters were available to convert between the two types of dizzy, without having to change the camshaft. When converting a pre-42 motor to a crab dizzy, a spacer adapter was used. This fitted between the timing cover and the dizzy, moving the dizzy forward to accommodate the longer nose on the pre-42 camshaft.

When converting a post-42 motor to a diver's helmet dizzy, an extension adapter was fitted to the nose of the cam. This is the adapter seen above. In other words, it's a post-42 camshaft adapted to suit a diver's helmet dizzy.

Of course, it was also necessary to change the timing cover, because Ford changed the bolt pattern as well as the camshaft nose.

It's unclear to me why Ford made these changes. It would have been much simpler to design the crab dizzy to fit straight onto the pre-42 motor. It's as if they went out of their way to prevent interchangeability.