36 ford distributor question also 12 volt conversion

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Ohc Joe

Senior Member
Ok my 36 has a 37 i believe if I remember it's been awhile
Anyway I'm doing a complete rewire to the car hotrod wire set up
What's the best and easiest way to get this distributor replaced with a modern hei
Along with the 12 volt one wire alternator set up
Figure I'd ask earlier than later before I start on it next week thanks guys

This is my first flathead so I'm lost
 

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The distributor you have on there looks like the 1942 "crab" type which is well suited in terms of advance curve and reliability, if you put on a Tubman condenser. It is by far the most popular distributor for that engine because of ease of connections, versus the helmet types. Since you are going 12 volts you could put a Pertornix electronic ignition kit in it to eliminate the points and condenser. The downside to Pertronix is that if it goes bad on a trip, there is little that can be done roadside, unless you carry a spare distributor (which many do).
The other thing about Flatheads is that the ignition cables are 7mm diameter versus 9mm of modern cars. You can not get 9mm into the cap or through the spark plug wire housings. Pertronix requires spiral wound resistance spark wires. You can get it but I found it to be tricky to do the ends and a bit fragile. With 7mm ignition wires you can not go to a really hot coil, or the spark may jump between wires. Nor do you need a hot coil on a flathead.
 
Your engine looks like a 24 stud engine, later than 1937 which had the 21 stud engine. Show us a side picture of a cylinder head to confirm.
 
Zeke3 said:
Your engine looks like a 24 stud engine, later than 1937 which had the 21 stud engine. Show us a side picture of a cylinder head to confirm.
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Here ya go
 

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It has the markings of the post war British war surplus engines such as used in the Ford Pilot cars. They used the 81A style engines for a longer period than the US. A lot of them made it over to Canada as well.

The rabbit ear distributor caps of the post war era can easily be converted to a crab of the last of the pre-war engines. For a long time, the crab caps were the only cap available for the post war Fords so a lot were converted for them.
 
rotorwrench said:
It has the markings of the post war British war surplus engines such as used in the Ford Pilot cars. They used the 81A style engines for a longer period than the US. A lot of them made it over to Canada as well.

The rabbit ear distributor caps of the post war era can easily be converted to a crab of the last of the pre-war engines. For a long time, the crab caps were the only cap available for the post war Fords so a lot were converted for them.
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That's crazy
 
Not sure about crazy, but that's a good distributer with the simple crab type cap and nothing wrong with points. The 12v coil most of us like is the Bosch 'blue' coil. It has an internal resistor and is very reliable. As for the 12v alternator you would use a 'slingshot' bracket and a simple gm one wire alternator. There are alternators hidden in a generator type case such as 'power-gen' etc. If I were you I'd pick your favorite beveredge and use the 'search' feature and type in 12v conversion. I bet there are hours worth of good info on the subject. Before the internet in the '80s when I was new to flatheads, I ordered 3 or 4 excellent books on the subject and wore the covers off in the next ten years or so. You will have good days and bad days with these engines, but the good days win out for me.
 
Interesting to me, Rotorwrench says the markings indicate a post war surplus engine.

By markings, do you mean the square casting thing that shows the firing order?
I have a motor known to be out of a 37, with that casting, which is why I said a 37 motor.
So, mine is a surplus motor too, or did they all have that on 37 heads?
 
My cast iron 1937 heads just have a small Ford script in the center of them, no firing order.
 
My '47 came with 12 volts, an alternator, a Pentronic's distributor module and spiral wound wires. However the 12V alternator and its replacements occasionally put out voltage spikes (above the 14.5 volt limit) and the Pentronic's module would burn out, always when I was on the road. I worked with our Pentronic's expert in those days, Jim Lindner and we couldn't stop the failures. I spend much $ replacing modules and getting stuck out on the road. Finally I had Charlie S. convert the distributor back to "points". It works great and now years later am very happy I did. There's a saying ...."points will always get you home"
 
Drbrown said:
My '47 came with 12 volts, an alternator, a Pentronix distributor module and spiral wound wires. However the 12V alternator and its replacements occasionally put out voltage spikes (above the 14.5 volt limit) and the Pentronic's module would burn out, always when I was on the road. I worked with our Pertronix expert in those days, Jim Lindner and we couldn't stop the failures. I spend much $ replacing modules and getting stuck out on the road. Finally I had Charlie S. convert the distributor back to "points". It works great and now years later am very happy I did. There's a saying ...."points will always get you home"
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This.
 
I would not install electronic ignition and the last place I would buy any parts from is Speedway motors. I'm not the smartest guy here but I have a lot of V8 ford miles behind me.
 
I think the reason that many are taken by electronic ignitions is due to the success they have had on modern cars. The difference is that the modern systems are just that : Systems. Everything is designed to work together, backed by decades of experience and billions of dollars of research. With after market systems, you take this guys distributor, put in that guys module, perhaps spark plug wires from another source. Mix in an alternator (or generator) from someplace else, throw it all in a bowl and mix well. Then mount it on an 90 year old engine design lacking full electronic controls (NO EFI and NO computer).

It's surprising they work as well as they do. Sure, some guys come up with a winning combination by chance, but it's like winning the lottery.
 
I hear ya on that but this is my first ford so I gotta ask that's why I joined and it's great information
The car will be for my daughter who's 16 to cruise around town in and high cruiser so just want to set up something easy and reliable for to run around in
Did a 51 chevy for my son at 16 he's 20 still running around in it all over town....
I'll call petronix soon..

Here is a pic of my son's 51 216 engine hei distributor 12 volt rewire electric fuel pump
She fires up and goes everywhere
Here's the 36 and sons 51
 

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I have a basically stock 33 sedan, it does heaps of miles ,all over Australia, towing my caravan .
It is 6v and points Ign.
I too thought about a modern module for the distributor, bought one, fitted it to my spare distributor, made new spark plug wires as recommended,mounted it on my spare engine, then took it off and put it away.
Points work great,IF you use good quality points, condenser and coil
Lawrie
 

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Lawrie said:
I have a basically stock 33 sedan, it does heaps of miles ,all over Australia, towing my caravan .
It is 6v and points Ign.
I too thought about a modern module for the distributor, bought one, fitted it to my spare distributor, made new spark plug wires as recommended,mounted it on my spare engine, then took it off and put it away.
Points work great,IF you use good quality points, condenser and coil
Lawrie
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Awesome sweet looking ride
 
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