I modified a Ford 4.9 distributor to fit my slant. I now have TFI and it cost around 20.00.

The Ford distributor is larger in all meaningful dimensions, so I just turned the body and cut to length. Then ground the shaft to accept the slant drive gear and cut to length.

The adjustment strap is secured with 6-32 screws from the bottom.

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1960 Seneca 225 turbo soon to be EFI

Are you planning on using the eec-IV ecu too?

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Thom

Cross-threaded is tighter than Lock-tite

EECV

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1960 Seneca 225 turbo soon to be EFI

FYI- this is a HUGE step forward in the adaptation of the Ford MAF based sequential fuel injection to the slant six. The Ford system uses a Hall sensor under the distributor rotor in the distributor to trigger the ignition, pulse the injectors, AND give a reference signal to the computer as to what injector should be firing.

I had been mulling over how to adapt the sensor to a aslant six lean burn body, but modifying the Ford distributor appears so easy that I think that that would be the preferable way to go.

Ford used distributors that had the TFI module both mounted on the distributor housing and mounted remotely.. This was due to the early TFI modules being heat sensitive and failing prematurely when mounted on the distributor body. The remote mounted TFI modules could run cooler. In a slant six application one may want to run the remote mount TFI module and distributor simply for clearance issues, especially on tight engine compartments like early As.

Now that it has been established that he Ford distributor is easily machineable to mount in a slant six block, the hardest part of installing Ford MAF based sequential fuel injection is putting together a fuel supply system. I have some thoughts on that too, but that is for a different thread.


Major Kudos to Ken USA for accomplishing this!

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Ken,

Did you machine the distributor for an o-ring? Do the 6-32 screws interfere with the large top o-ring? Reed sounds hot on Ford EFI. Has he asked if you're willing and how much $$ to do more of these?

Thanks,

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Joshua

I haven't asked for a price to machine one of these, but I have been discussing what machining was necessary with Ken. It appears to be essentially getting the shaft and body cut to the right lengths, turning down and drilling the shaft for the slant dist. gear, and turning the body of the dist. down to fit into the slant block. Doesn't look too complex or too expensive. I imagine a local machinist could do these fairly cheap. Of course, I would rather pay a member of the slant six community who cares about doing it right and is knowledgeable about slants. So, Ken, how much to machine a Ford 300 distributor to fit in a slant block? I have a distributor I could mail you.

Yes, I am very excited about using the Ford MAF efi system. I have been ruminating over how to adapt one to a slant for about three years now. I have most of the parts but haven't found the time to actually assemble them.

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

How cool! Nice work. The first factory Ford electronic ignitions of the mid '70s to early '80s weren't very good or reliable, but they seem to have looked upon that optimistically as "plenty of room for improvement" and done exactly that.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

The holes are beveled to accept a flat head 6-32 screw so they are flush with the bottom of the strap.
I'm no machinist, I just begged for a little time at a friends lathe. I think if you brought both distributors to a smaller machine shop, they could do a vastly superior job for a reasonable price. The tolerances required are not overly close.

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1960 Seneca 225 turbo soon to be EFI

Looking at the pics, I think I'd dispense with the old distributor retaining bracket. The Ford flange looks like you should have no problem using a 1979+ locking claw and a bit longer bolt to keep the dizzy held in the block. It almost looks like you could adapt an LA block dizzy retaining claw to do the job as well...

-D.Idiot

I didn't cut a relief for an O ring yet, I wanted to have the ring in hand and check fit and function first. You can see that the Ford part has Vertical ribs in the center, as opposed to the solid slant. I mig welded some meat in there to minimize "worry".

In order to save time turning down the body, I removed the drive gear and slid the shaft upward far enough to drill a hole in the body to accept a tension pin. Then I chucked the shaft. The portion of the body that was drilled gets cut off anyway.

The donor vehicle was a 96 E150. The ICM is mounted to a substantial cast heat sink. I'm guessing that heat was the cause of the distributor mounted failures, if so it was probably isolated to V blocks, since the diz on the I six is on the cool side of the motor. This late model ICM only operates in "limp home" mode when used without an EEC. I think the earlier ones may be more versatile for stand alone use. I think they call them "push start modules".Ford sites are loaded with info.

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1960 Seneca 225 turbo soon to be EFI

Duster,
That's definitely the way to go. I'll check the bone yard next time out.

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1960 Seneca 225 turbo soon to be EFI

If I understand it correctly, the TFI that is used with the EEC-IV computerized fuel injection system acts like the standard four pin HEI module- it just triggers the spark and has no control over timing. I don't believe there is a "limp" mode for the TFI module itself. It either works or it doesn't. It is the EEC-IV unit that controls the spark advance.

For what it is worth, I believe even the v-8 TFI module were modified to correct most of the heat related issues. I have been running the same module on my 89 E-150 with a 351 for several years now (and before I began running it it sat on a parts motor stored outside for a year) with no problems, even when I was tearing along the highway at 80 MPH in 105 degree ambient temperature and my temp gauge pegged earlier this summer. I think the heat related issues were mostly worked out but Ford switched to the remote mounted TFI unit for absolute assurance that any TFI module problems weren't heat related. That and changing the TFI module with the distributor installed (especially on an AC equipped motor) is a royal PITA.

I second the suggestion for the later ring-style hold down assembly.

Man, I really REALLY need to make some time to get some work done on this conversion...

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Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Here is a link that describes TFI modules
http://www.myo-p.com/Ford-EEC/EEC%20Hel ... black.html
I may misunderstand, but doesn't that write-up describe a stand alone RPM based advance system, with the EEC only monitoring in order to provide fault codes?

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1960 Seneca 225 turbo soon to be EFI

Josh,
I just grabbed the parts I need from a common donor vehicle in order to install an EFI system that I know will work. I'm reasonably certain that by the time I have it running, I'll stumble across info on a Ford forum that recommends a "better" year, casting number, bearing size, blah, blah, blah distributor. If I do, I'll chuck the prototype and have the real deal done professionally.

I had a boss who apprenticed in a machine shop in Germany. One of his first tests was to true a block of steel with a hand file. If I could not find a lathe to play with, I would have done this mod with a file and hack saw in the driveway, just to prove it could be done.

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1960 Seneca 225 turbo soon to be EFI

Dan I saw on A-bodies that you have done research on speed sensors.
Do you know if there is a Hall effect vss that will install on the speedo end of an early mopar cable, between the cable and the speedo?

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1960 Seneca 225 turbo soon to be EFI