Two Wire Distributor?

[HeadacheGuy]

Terry, couple of things. If you have gotten by that long with full power I would be pretty confident the coil is ok that way. You are probably better off that way as your burn time and spike KV are going to be better with the higher voltage (In reality I don't think you will see a difference in driveability either way unless you have your carb leaned back). You can however wire the original wire back so it doesn't run on accessory by just taking the section of resistance wire out right at the switch. If yours is like mine it has a bullet connector at the end and you should be able to bypass it. One other thing about the Pertronics (coupled with the higher voltage or not). You may already be doing this. Make sure you are running your plugs at a .045 gap or you loose some of the advantage of the system. You get a mildly lower burn time but a much hotter spark which fires lean mixtures off better. With a good platinum plug installed longevity of the plugs is a non issue and the coil will be taxed just a little more. The pertronics unit will take the extra saturation time just fine. Iv'e toyed with the idea of going .060 but the only thing gained is if I want to go leaner on the carb. 390's are great engines but valve burners if you get them too lean. Hey...guess I didn't buy the car because it got great mileage.

 

[Terry64HT]

My car is a bit of an oddball. It was originally a transistorized ignition, but some time before I got it, it was converted to a regular system. All the transistorized components are still there, they just aren't connected to anything. There is a ballast resistor beside the transistorized ignition control box on the passenger side wheel well and the amplifier is still mounted behind the dash, but it appears that the car was rewired to operate normally. The 64 manual and wiring diagrams had no info on the transistorized ignition, and it wasn't until I came across a 64 manual that I found out anything about it.
When I bought a Pertronix, I just ran a wire from the green/red at the voltage regulator and put the module in. Back then (I haven't looked into it lately), the Pertronix wouldn't work with TI.
Terry

 

[HeadacheGuy]

30 plus years in this business and I have never seen Fords transistorized ignition. Production electronic ignition didn't happen until 73 for Ford (and GM). First I ever read about what you had was in a Ford forum. I suspect it was probably troublesome or too complicated for average repair shops back then which is why it was converted back to points but I love reading about this stuff. That was pretty cutting edge back then as were the other neat stuff on our birds. I see sequential T/S are on the Mustangs now. Pretty sure that started with us. I still contend we have the coolest dashboards ever made.

 

[Terry64HT]

In my previous post I should have said "65 manual". The 64 manual had a description and a schematic, but there was nothing in the wiring diagrams section, and it wasn't listed in the index. Since there was no mention of it, I had no reason to thumb through Section 9, so I didn't come across anything until some time after I had the car. In any event, I had already figured out that it was no longer operational.
My 1964 is the only one I have ever seen with the transistorized ignition box near the battery. It looks neat and has a great big decal telling everyone what it is (or is supposed to be).
Terry
64HT

 

[HeadacheGuy]

If you get a chance post a picture of the box. It intrigues me. I love old technology.

 

[Terry64HT]

Don, I'll be glad to. However, I'm in Florida for the winter and the car is in Canada. I'll get home early April and will take a bunch of photos of the various components.
At my age, I'm also liable to forget, so it might be a good idea to rattle my food dish about then.
Terry
64HT

 

[Terry64HT]

Don, I'm home now and have uncovered the Bird. Here's a couple of photos of the transistorized ignition setup.
The first couple are the box beside the battery and the last is the amplifier that mounts behind the lower panel on the passenger side of the dash. It's currently sitting on a bench because I have to replace the vacuum motor for the recirculating air door in the heat/ac plenum (yet another nasty story).
Terry
64HT

 

[HeadacheGuy]

That is way cool. Amazes me that they had it back then but really amazes me that it took them ten yrs beyond to make it stock production. That's a keeper.