Duraspark II with ram air debacle

[351mach1]

My new to me 71 Mach 1 with 351c has a mish-mash of parts that I am trying to sort out. At some point a Duraspark was installed on this vehicle (best guess is out of a 74 Gran Torino along with the engine.) I was having running issues with the engine so I wanted to replace the whole ignition and start fresh. I was able to source all brand new parts from NPD except for the correct distributor. The issue I am having is that the currently installed distributor has the female plug cap that fits under the Ram Air where as all the "remanufactured" distributors from 74+ vehicles have the large 2 piece caps with male connections. The female plug cap does not fit on the distributors with male plugs (see end of this post). Also, all the "remanufactured" distributors from online and local parts store appear to be CRAP (Chinese Replacement Auto Parts).

For visual comparison:
Large Male Duraspark Dizzy: https://www.autozone.com/external-e...r-bdlg-fd03/193720_0_0?searchText=distributor

Correct size female Dizzy (without Duraspark): https://www.autozone.com/external-e...r-bdlg-fd15/193895_0_0?searchText=distributor

Questions:
1: Where can I source a new/refurbished Motorcraft duraspark distributor that fits the smaller, female plug distributor cap? (the female plug cap is the same for 71-73 351c with points)
1A: Is the easiest solution here to buy the points distributor and convert it to Duraspark?
2: What is the correct rotor for this distributor? (see photo below)
3: Where is the ballast resistor in the wiring harness? (I took the whole dash apart and cant find anything that resembles a ballast resistor you would purchase online)
4: Where do I find 12V "ignition on"
5: What engine wiring harness do I need with this 4 pin connector from the firewall? (the harness I bought from NPD only has a three prong plug)

Pictures:
The "tang" on the new rotor doesnt engage fully with the distributor


These are the plugs I have coming from the firewall. The pink wire is connected to 6.5V so that goes to the ballast resistor wherever its hiding. None of the other contacts show voltage


The 71 engine wiring harness I bought from NPD only has 3 contacts:



Notes:
-The Ignition Box I purchased from NPD is Chinese. Online reviews says the chinese Duraspark boxs are junk (big surprise). I bought it from NPD hoping it would be higher quality.

Helpful threads:
https://7173mustangs.com/threads/distributor-issue.45203/#post-455833
https://7173mustangs.com/threads/adjusting-rotor-phase-on-duraspark-distributor.45372/

From above thread: "One thing people should know about the Cardone....the housing OD, where the cap seats, is larger than a Motorcraft. In other words, you have to use their small to large cap adapter. I learned that when I tried to fit a small diameter HV cap and it wouldn't fit.....I ended up turning down the housing and use a Motorcraft adapter now. I bought it for its 10L advance plate."

 

[71coop]

I ran into the size issue with a Cardone dizzy and the small female cap - initially I just dremeled out a very thin layer around the inside of the plastic cap to get it to fit. A year or so later, I needed to replace the older cap and the replacement caps fit perfectly, so there must be some variation in size in reproduction caps.

If you want to go with a small male cap, I also found this video not long ago that presented another option. Not sure if that will fit with the ram air breather assembly, though - it would at least be very tight.

On the ignition box, I have actually never had a problem with the cheaper repro imported version, so take that for what it's worth.

 

[TheRktmn]

The 75 Ford Granada 302 used the small Duraspark cap and rotor.

 

[71coop]

will that fit a 351c?

 

[Sheriff41]

This is an option: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000C7XPX...4HN2IACZ&psc=1&ref_=list_c_wl_lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

[Stanglover]

You've probably seen mine and Sheriff41's reply in you previous post with suggestions where to buy a DuraSpark system. Maybe either of them can supply what you need.

 

[rvrtrash]

The pink wire is a resistance wire. There isn't a separate resistor. I think just the portion under the dash is the special resistance wire, and the engine compartment side is a standard wire.

 

[basstrix]

I ran into the size issue with a Cardone dizzy and the small female cap - initially I just dremeled out a very thin layer around the inside of the plastic cap to get it to fit. A year or so later, I needed to replace the older cap and the replacement caps fit perfectly, so there must be some variation in size in reproduction caps.

If you want to go with a small male cap, I also found this video not long ago that presented another option. Not sure if that will fit with the ram air breather assembly, though - it would at least be very tight.

On the ignition box, I have actually never had a problem with the cheaper repro imported version, so take that for what it's worth.

I had a similar experience with a Cardone brand Duraspark distributor. The distributor housing, where the cap fits, is slightly larger OD as compared to an OEM Duraspark. The adapter ring (for the large diameter cap) from my OEM duraspark would not fit the Cardone, nor would a small diameter distributor cap. I used a belt grinder to turn down the OD so that I could use OEM caps and adapters on the Cardone.

 

[Stanglover]

I had a similar experience with a Cardone brand Duraspark distributor. The distributor housing, where the cap fits, is slightly larger OD as compared to an OEM Duraspark. The adapter ring (for the large diameter cap) from my OEM duraspark would not fit the Cardone, nor would a small diameter distributor cap. I used a belt grinder to turn down the OD so that I could use OEM caps and adapters on the Cardone.

I bought a Cardone stock style 351C distributor awhile back and found it was made in China so it was all metric. Possibly the one you got was a Chinese metric casting which might be a bit different if they didn't do a correct conversion.
I never used the Chinese one, still in my junk box.