Correct Distributor Setup 1951 Flathead V8

H

hulleywoodworking

Member
I just sent this over to Bubba's and thought it would be a good general information post for here. I'll add his response to the post.

"So here is what I've got:
1951 Ford F1 239 Flathead 8
Motor completely rebuilt this year-bored .030 over, otherwise all stock internals
Edelbrock 1107 intake manifold with Edelbrock 1405 4 bbl carb
MSD 8200 Blaster Coil
Petronix 1283 Ignitor
Aluminum Loadmatic Distributor (cleaned, new bushings and drive gear)
3 speed column shift transmission
3.92:1 rear end
Stock exhaust manifolds with dual exhaust

The motor was assembled, tuned, and run by the rebuild shop, so I know that everything works. I want to know if this is the best distributor setup for this truck as a daily driver. Looking for a trouble free reliable setup. What do you suggest?"
 
The Load-O-Matic doesn't have a centrifugal advance. It is a carburetor vacuum controlled advance system that is not well suited for performance applications and is barely adequate for stock applications plus it must have the carburetor venturi vacuum control as designed to work properly. Some Chevy or Chrysler distributors can be modified to work very well.
 
That ignition setup isnt my first choice.
Load-a-matic with aftermarket intake and pertronix with low ohm coil.
My vote goes for a Bubba converted HEI if you want easy and reliable driver.
 
hulleywoodworking said:
The motor was assembled, tuned, and run by the rebuild shop, so I know that everything works. I want to know if this is the best distributor setup for this truck as a daily driver. Looking for a trouble free reliable setup. What do you suggest?"
Click to expand...
Probably as reliable as anything else with the Pertonix installed in the stock distributor. My only concern is if the timed vacuum port on the carb. is providing the correct signal to the distributor. You should not be using the manifold vacuum port on the carb.for that purpose.
 
Contact Charlie NY here on the Ford Barn
Delco distributor redone for the Flathead V8.
 

Attachments

  • image.jpg
    image.jpg
    61.6 KB · Views: 54
hulley
Who ever you get your distributor from ,in my humble opinion, PERTRONIX
will not get you anything over the Chevy distributor converted to 8ba. The units
Bubba or I sell easily crank to 5000+ RPM and have all the good features....mech
advance with additional advance supplied by the vac can PLUS the mechanical advance can be easily tuned without removing the dist from the motor.....yank the cap and rotor and there you have the weights and springs looking up at you.
While I can't say I've built a thousand of these babies I've sure built a lot. The
guys call these distributors......"ignition for dummies"......they are just that good and that easy !
51 Merc has it right, the loadamtic uses venturri vac not manifold vac.
Charlie ny
 
hulley, If you're not clear on how the Loadomatic works, find a Motor's or Chilton's Shop Manual that covers your '51 and it will likely have some cut-away drawings of the special carb internal passages and an explanation of the theory behind it.
 
Hully,
The vacuum ports on the edelbrock carb won't work properly with the loadamatic. Neither of them ( ported/timed vacuum or manifold vacuum) is the same as the original carb vacuum ports. The loadamatic needs a compatible carb plain an simple.
Martin.
 
I wish you had asked before spending any money.:eek:
The loadamatic wont work very well with the dual carbs if it works at all. It uses a venturi that is pretty low in signal strength .
The pertronixs in a load a matic is ok but the coil the MSD 8200 is totally the wrong coil . It has a primary resistance of .7 oms etc.... Amp draw will be high and burn up the module in distributor . ( aprox 18 amps without in line ballast resistor )
I would ( like Charlie) suggest a chev conversion with mechanical advance and a coil with 1.5 ohm resisitance...
 
BUBBAS IGNITION said:
I wish you had asked before spending any money.:eek:
The loadamatic wont work very well with the dual carbs if it works at all. It uses a venturi that is pretty low in signal strength .
The pertronixs in a load a matic is ok but the coil the MSD 8200 is totally the wrong coil . It has a primary resistance of .7 oms etc.... Amp draw will be high and burn up the module in distributor . ( aprox 18 amps without in line ballast resistor )
I would ( like Charlie) suggest a chev conversion with mechanical advance and a coil with 1.5 ohm resisitance...
Click to expand...

Luckily, the PO spent most of the money. All I have into it are new bushings and a drive gear, so no real loss to me.

Thanks for the feedback.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top