Correct condensers for '40 distributor

M

mcgarrett

Well-known member
With all the trash ignition parts coming out of China, can anyone recommend a supplier for good quality condensers for the '40 helmet type distributor?
 
mcgarrett said:
With all the trash ignition parts coming out of China, can anyone recommend a supplier for good quality condensers for the '40 helmet type distributor?
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Get one from Tubman on this forum.
It will need to be mounted externally but you will never have to buy another one.
 
Pete said:
Get one from Tubman on this forum.
It will need to be mounted externally but you will never have to buy another one.
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tubman's beautiful condensers that Pete mentions above. The link BELOW is for direct PM to "tubman".


https://www.fordbarn.com/forum/private.php?do=newpm&u=36688


401745



503828
 
To answer your title of the post, picture one "should" be what is used for your 40 distributor/coil IF you have the correct one. Picture two is one that some will "say" is for it OR will work.......and it will BUT IF your goal is "concours" correct I.E "as Henry Ford built it" then its not correct. AND experience will tell you, YOU CANNOT bent the ground strap to work like original. YOU can however use a soldering gun and un-solder your original ground strap and the other ground strap and swap them. As others have said via above post, the quality of what you get from the above posted NAPA condenser "CAN" provide more headache than satisfaction.....i.e IF you get one, get three as the likelihood of it quitting on you is high and you can keep one in your glove box to get you home. OR IF originality is not your goal......Call tubeman and be done with it as posted!! I bought "standard" brand ones when Standard quit making them and got as many I could get from NAPA.....The first one lasted about 2 years, I just recently had to replace it on my 39 Merc. Judging by your post I seems you may already know the above.
 

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There are no exact matches but the NAPA FA-49 is the closest and mounts properly and has the correct electrical characteristics. NAPA made their capacitors in Mexico at one time but they do go through testing. It can be seen above in post #4 on the left. The ignition condenser on the right above is not for a V8 engine and does not have the proper electrical Spec. It will work but may cause long term damage to the ignition points. Many guys use the magneto condenser sold by several of the ignition shops they do not mount correctly and take some time and modification to mount and still look correct but they are the best condensers available in my opinion.
 
In recent years I have used condensers from Hunt's Magnetos. 30mfd as I recall. I open up a nos condenser and place the Joe's within the housing. Then, a little soldering and it appears as concourse correct. They are a bit pricey perhaps at around $30 each but my oh my, they are wonderful!
These have been installed on my last four or five restorations never to be detected.
 
rockfla said:
To answer your title of the post, picture one "should" be what is used for your 40 distributor/coil IF you have the correct one. Picture two is one that some will "say" is for it OR will work.......and it will BUT IF your goal is "concours" correct I.E "as Henry Ford built it" then its not correct. AND experience will tell you, YOU CANNOT bent the ground strap to work like original. YOU can however use a soldering gun and un-solder your original ground strap and the other ground strap and swap them. As others have said via above post, the quality of what you get from the above posted NAPA condenser "CAN" provide more headache than satisfaction.....i.e IF you get one, get three as the likelihood of it quitting on you is high and you can keep one in your glove box to get you home. OR IF originality is not your goal......Call tubeman and be done with it as posted!! I bought "standard" brand ones when Standard quit making them and got as many I could get from NAPA.....The first one lasted about 2 years, I just recently had to replace it on my 39 Merc. Judging by your post I seems you may already know the above.
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The condenser in photo #2 was released in 1938. It grounds to the coil mounting screw. It was to be used with the 81A coil but will work on the 78 coil as well. That is the condenser I use as it is so easy to change out.
 
It is the MFD spec that matters. Last I heard of the NAPA ones, you needed to buy 10 to get 2 within the correct MFD value. I don't have the meter to measure that but know someone who does. I have a couple of NOS condensers I wouldn't trust driving the length of my driveway. I may try Kube's suggestion and swap out the innerds. Thanks Mike.
I have a NAPA condenser that I have long (16") jumper wires soldered to that I keep with me in case a condenser pukes on the road, clip it on and drive away and fix later.
 
35fordtn said:
The condenser in photo #2 was released in 1938. It grounds to the coil mounting screw. It was to be used with the 81A coil but will work on the 78 coil as well. That is the condenser I use as it is so easy to change out.
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can this condenser be bought at a NAPA store?
505392
 
Kube said:
In recent years I have used condensers from Hunt's Magnetos. 30mfd as I recall. I open up a nos condenser and place the Joe's within the housing. Then, a little soldering and it appears as concourse correct. They are a bit pricey perhaps at around $30 each but my oh my, they are wonderful!
These have been installed on my last four or five restorations never to be detected.
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Hey Mike
Here is the "Hunt" condenser (advertised 36Mfd), curious....how do you make the wire work in place of the machine screw mount?? Thanks
 

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v8fordman said:
Short answer…NO, but as 35Fordtn pointed out, this is a viable option if you can find one. Someone else mentioned it was not a Ford condenser. It most definitely was.
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It was a Ford part. They are fairly common, NOS. Still, 75+ years old doesn't typically fare well for a condenser.
 
rockfla said:
Hey Mike
Here is the "Hunt" condenser (advertised 36Mfd), curious....how do you make the wire work in place of the machine screw mount?? Thanks
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I'd been using their standard part, 33mfd. SKU 3210

This Hunt part does fit within the Ford casing.
Shortening the wire, soldering... PITA but well worth it in my opinion.
 
Kube said:
I'd been using their standard part, 33mfd. SKU 3210

This Hunt part does fit within the Ford casing.
Shortening the wire, soldering... PITA but well worth it in my opinion.
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Thank you for the clarification Mike, very much!!
 
rockfla said:
Hey Mike
Here is the "Hunt" condenser (advertised 36Mfd), curious....how do you make the wire work in place of the machine screw mount?? Thanks
Click to expand...

That appears to be the 3210M condenser which is a higher rated cap than the 3210. The 3210 is rated at .33 micro farad.

Soldering a capacitor like that with the plastic film inside could be problematic. I would avoid the excessive heat near the internal plastic film. It might work or it might melt. Most of the caps that have something soldered to the can are soldered before the rolled up film is intalled then they are roll crimped or glued with epoxy to keep them together. If the soldering is confined to the lead then it should be no problem.

It's sad that with the modern mylar film and metal film attachment technology that we have in the modern era that no company seems to want to make good caps for the old cars. Most of it is just flat poor construction. The manufacturers just don't give a damn any more. Aircraft magneto condensers are the last of the good quality mass manufactured parts but they are expensive and the don't fit old cars. Many are too high a capacity rating for later cars anyway.
 
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To be clear, automotive condensers (capacitors) are usually in the .20-.40 microfarad range. For example, most modern condensers are .22-.24 microfarads; the original Malllory "Trash Cans" were .36, and the Hunts (as specified above), are .33. Actually the engine will run fine over a wide range of capacitance, the difference being point life.
 
rotorwrench said:
That appears to be the 3210M condenser which is a higher rated cap than the 3210. The 3210 is rated at 3.3 micro farad.

Soldering a capacitor like that with the plastic film inside could be problematic. I would avoid the excessive heat near the internal plastic film. It might work or it might melt. Most of the caps that have something soldered to the can are soldered before the rolled up film is intalled then they are roll crimped or glued with epoxy to keep them together. If the soldering is confined to the lead then it should be no problem.

It's sad that with the modern mylar film and metal film attachment technology that we have in the modern era that no company seems to want to make good caps for the old cars. Most of it is just flat poor construction. The manufacturers just don't give a damn any more. Aircraft magneto condensers are the last of the good quality mass manufactured parts but they are expensive and the don't fit old cars. Many are too high a capacity rating for later cars anyway.
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You are so very correct. I believe I have been nothing short of lucky with each of my "hunt modifications". I am not a master at soldering but well, luck is nice :)
 
If you can locate a copy of the 2014 September/October issue of the V-8 Times there is a very informative article with pictures of the condensers for each year.
 
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