Now say your driving away from home and your pertronix or unilite goes out, can you go to your local auto parts and get a replacement part right away? I dont think so......
Ah but you are assuming that everyone runs out in their car unprepared. In your scenario I still have to hoof it to the parts store. A back up set of points and condensor is just one of many items I keep in my survival bag in the trunk so that in 20 mins I am back on the raod where I belong instead of sitting roadside or shamefully being towed back into town.
At the risk of hijacking this thread... What do y'all think is the best distributor for an FE engine, preferably with an adjustable advance and as stock appearing as possible? I want to throw out my old MSD setup & go with something that works well but looks more stock. I know that I need a stronger spark, the 428's run very rich.
i'd go with the duraspark dizzy and an masd box hidden under the dash. get a duraspark dizzy from a mid 70's ford pickup with the 360 or 390 engine, just make sure it's 75 or newer model
On my 428, I did a very simple system which was basically the same as I outlined originally. I bought a new stock distributor, pulled the points and put in the Unilite Kit. I added the quickest advance springs I could find, and blocked the vacuum advance, but left it there for stock appearance. Top quality cap, 8.5mm all-black wires, a MSD coil painted black to look stock, and new, high quality plugs, and that system was trouble free for the two years I had it in the car before the ex took it. To my knowlege, seven years later, it is still untouched. While I had it, I would check the occasional plug, perfect every time.
I should also add, thay I did ALOT of carb tuning, and that also is critical in getting these motors to sing. It has a Holley 3310 750, and once I got the jetting nailed, it was perfect. Grey exhaust, instant starts, and 13.80's in full street trim.
Work with those two areas, and you'll have it. No high-dollar stuff needed.