Harmon Collins help

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gmaynard

Member
I recently picked up this Harman Collins distributor at a garage sale. I am curious if any one has an idea of the value and if it would be worth the effort to install in on my 59a flathead. I am also wondering if there are replacement parts available and the cost of rebuilting the distributor. If there is a good rebuilder that you would recommend. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

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I don't know a value, but see "wanted" for them on the HAMB all the time, so for sure don't let go for 10 bucks....
 
gmaynard said:
I recently picked up this Harman Collins distributor at a garage sale. I am curious if any one has an idea of the value and if it would be worth the effort to install in on my 59a flathead. I am also wondering if there are replacement parts available and the cost of rebuilting the distributor. If there is a good rebuilder that you would recommend. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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This distributor is my favorite, the rotor, secondary coil plate, and real 21-A ford crab cap are no longer made. Do not try an use a new style crab cap, or you will break the rotor. This ignition uses a different firing order, than an original ford. The points were aircraft magneto points made by Bendex, and can be found today, without much trouble. Originaly this ignition came with 8BA FOMOCO oil filled condensers. I can't see in your pictures, but i think your missing the condenser mounting bracket. It was an U shaped bracket, that mounted under the vac brake ajusting nut, Good Luck......Ed
 
gmaynard said:
I recently picked up this Harman Collins distributor at a garage sale. I am curious if any one has an idea of the value and if it would be worth the effort to install in on my 59a flathead. I am also wondering if there are replacement parts available and the cost of rebuilting the distributor. If there is a good rebuilder that you would recommend. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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After helping a friend find some parts for his HC distributor I became interested in them and advertised on the old Fordbarn looking to buy one myself. I had maybe 5 or 6 responses and the asking prices ranged from ~ $350 to $750. I bought a nice one at the lower end of the price range and a fellow Fordbarner helped me get some Bendix Aircraft points and condensers. I'm planing to use it on a 59ab or possibly on one of my early 221ci, 21 stud engines. J.M.
 
WOW, What a find.

I have one on a 59 AB in my '32 Roadster. Runs GREAT.

There are several people out there that will go thru and set it up for you. I did mine by myself and it took a little doing but the end result is great.

Just be VERY CAREFUL handling the caps and rotor. These parts are getting VERY hard to find.

Good luck with your find.

Chris
 
Now that were on the subject of Hot ignition systems for the flathead, has anyone mess with an distributor made by Burk Engineering, in Temple City Calif? It built off of the 59A dist, using a modified 59A cap. I have the unit, but the rotor is missing, and have never seen one of these before, and i don't know what the rotor was, thanks....Ed
 
gmaynard said:
I recently picked up this Harman Collins distributor at a garage sale. I am curious if any one has an idea of the value and if it would be worth the effort to install in on my 59a flathead. I am also wondering if there are replacement parts available and the cost of rebuilting the distributor. If there is a good rebuilder that you would recommend. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
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I have several here at the shop and rebuild these all the time. I'd be glad to talk to you about it and give you a quote to rebuild it and run it on my SUN machine. You can contact me through fordbarn. I will be at the Iola swap this week but will be back on line next week :)

Matt
 
HC2.jpg


Notice the inside of the cap. I'm told the repro capes have a raised area from the coil nipple to the center contact. That raised area breaks the rare rotor.
 
34fivewindow said:
This distributor is my favorite, the rotor, secondary coil plate, and real 21-A ford crab cap are no longer made. Do not try an use a new style crab cap, or you will break the rotor. This ignition uses a different firing order, than an original ford. The points were aircraft magneto points made by Bendex, and can be found today, without much trouble. Originaly this ignition came with 8BA FOMOCO oil filled condensers. I can't see in your pictures, but i think your missing the condenser mounting bracket. It was an U shaped bracket, that mounted under the vac brake ajusting nut, Good Luck......Ed
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With all respect, how in the world does a distributor change the firing order of an engine?
 
It doesn't change the firing order of the engine just the cap. Because this operates as 2 4cyl ignition systems. Also do not usr high output coils the 72* of dwell will saturate a stock or OEM coil. The advance curve and vav. retard is the same as the 11A
 
I need a set of those points to my dist. Can any one pleas tell me were I can find them, whit oute to pay like ebay price $125.
Thanks
 
You can try a place that sell aicraft parts, or at your local airport. the Bendex part number is 10-357174, and they list for $50.00 ea., you can also make part number 10-35174 work. I come across used ones sometimes, but I don't have any at this time. Randy
 
The HC dual coil distributor was originally designed to use two stock 42-48 Ford coils with ballast resistors on each coil.. Bottle type coils can be used, they just have to be the same value as the original Ford coils.
I have an HC ignition on my 59AB engine....I goggled Harmon Collins and found a fellow in Idaho that rebuilds them.
 
If not cracked, the plastic parts are worth more than the metal...good ones are nearly unfindable.

"Now that were on the subject of Hot ignition systems for the flathead, has anyone mess with an distributor made by Burk Engineering, in Temple City Calif? It built off of the 59A dist, using a modified 59A cap. I have the unit, but the rotor is missing, and have never seen one of these before, and i don't know what the rotor was, thanks....Ed "

You have the conversion with the brass ring installed inside a standard 59A cap, right? The rotor for this is also modified stock '46-56 Ford...the mod is simply a small strip of brass bent to 90 degrees and installed on the counter-weight side with tiny screws. One end is cut to reach the cap terminals, the other to ride at the brass ring.
This cap conversion might be a way to put an HC with bad plastic back in use, too.
 
I have a stock crab that was setup by a pro (ran up to 6K on the machine without a miss) and it worked fine on the run in on the stand....haven't got it going yet in the car. I hear from many sources that this setup works just fine for street use. Why are so many wanting to use all of these other expensive setups ?
 
Largely the bragging rights on neat speed equipment...but once upon a time coils were not up to the demands of high RPM's and 8 or more cylinders.
Ford went to dual points as a way of building dwell as a cheaper solution when the V8 was at the edge of coil tech, and dual coils were used not just on racing cars but on most early eights and twelves. I think with a good modern coil there is little actual need.
By the 1960's, single point, single coil setups could handle very high RPM if in good shape, and of course the flathead is not a high RPM engine as it was considered in 1932...
 
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