[AMC-list] Duraspark "TFI" parts wierdness...

[tom jennings <tomj@xxxxxxx>]

I've been having some odd misfire problems in my Classic so I started
poking around...

My 232 has a Duraspark II system with the big Ford TFI cap and
adapter. The rotor and cap never looked quite right to me (any of them
I've ever had) and I finally (duh) got around to measuring them -- the
rotor tip never comes closer than 3/16" - 1/4" to the cap contact! So
that big fat spark has to jump nearly 1/4" on to it's way to the .040"
gap in the plug. The parts are not broken or out of spec -- two
Standard "X" numbered parts sets have the same gap.

(Its easy to measure -- with the cap off and the rotor on, measure the
distance from the rotor tip to the edge of the adapter. Then measure
from the matching edge of the cap to the contact and subtract.)

So I modified the rotor. Pulled/twisted out the rivet, cleaned up the
old rotor's contact (used part), filed the slot in the brass so it
could slide outwards (towards the contact) 3/16", slotted the rivet
hole and reassembled. Now it runs about 1/16" from the contact.
Haven't got enough run time on this yet to see if it's helped the
misfire but it's hard to picture it hurting anything.


Why would they be made this way? Distributors weren't any sloppier in
1979 than they were in 1959, and certainly don't need 1/4" of contact
clearance.

Do we have to make our own ignition parts now?!

If this EDIS thing works out on the 195.6 OHV I will probably do one
on the Classic 232. That's a sellable kit too, distributorless
232/258's would kick butt! ZERO spark timing jitter.
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