magneto

good morning ford barn seeking information, a club member has a wico magneto he wishes to install on his model a trouble no club member has experience, any one out there with the necessary knowledge, to install and time this unit? any help is good thanks
 
My personal opinion is these units are not the best for performance. Originally WICO built these for stationary use where an engine could be self sufficient on the piece of equipment it was mounted on where the engine could be hand cranked without the need for a battery to supply the ignition. All of the WICO units made that I have seen that mounted in the head did not have any type of advance built in. This was because the engine was generally operated at a fixed speed. In a low compression head application and used on the street, it would likely not be a big deal however with higher compression comes the need to be able to adjust the timing. Also remember that at lower RPMs, a magneto puts out less energy so you will not have as strong of an ignition spark at the lower RPMs. Personally, I would suggest if your friend is seeking performance over looks, I would steer away from the mag and use a good distributor. Just my opinion though.
 
thank you brent , according to member this unit has internal advance system, ie the faster you run hotter thr spark or perhaps he does not have sufecent info
 
Most wico mags have impulse springs that give a good spark while hand cranking to start the engine because mags need speed to get spark. Mags work fine on tractors and stationary engines but I don't think they would be good on a car. Most old mags get a good enough spark to run but I wouldn't call them hot.
 
you will need a TDC mark on the engine. to get a starting point, go past the impulse (you will hear it click) then set the mag to fire at what you feel is right, start the engine and reset by using the marks. on a flathead, stay under 28 degrees. i don't recommend them for street use for the reasons stated by others above and they put more load on the small drive gears below.
 
i had a wico that had a brass swivel/collar on the bottom that allowed you to advance or retard the timing just like a stock one, only instead of rotating the plate it turned the whole mag
tk
 
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