First, I'm using the factory Sport tach in my car. Not aftermarket.
I hooked up an MSD Street Fire ignition kit. It has a gray wire that states it goes to the tach. I didn't hook it up, and now I have no tach. (1988 SPORT).
Which wire is the tach wire under the hood so I can hook it up?
OK....I'm told it's the green wire to the coil......but there are two green wires. Does it matter which one?
OK....I tried touching the MSD wire to both green wires to the coil....one at a time. either way...no start, no run.
Nevermind....I pulled it. It needs a tach adapter to work the tach and I'm not in the mood to mess with that. SO, it is brand new and on the bench.
I don't know if you've looked at the D.U.I. distributors, but they are great. It is basically a GM high output distributor modified to work with Ford, or any other brands. I used one on my race car for a lot of years with no problems. Much less hassle to hook up as well. You've got a hot wire and a tach wire and that's it.
http://performancedistributors.com/
Not worth replacing the distributor. Mine has literally 100 miles on it. I pulled the ignition box and harness back off the car and stuck it on the work bench.
Yeah, all the stock Ford Fox tachs needed this adapter for the MSD ignition. I am pretty sure the other Ford cars of this era did too but I do not have any experience with them. Have you looked out on http://www.okdhm.com to see if anyone has one of these laying around for $20 they want to get rid of?
I have decided to let the box be bench decor at this time. I appreciate the replies.
sorry i missed this,,, ive been piddling all morning here and could have chimed in earlier if i had noticed... hope all is ok
Why the MSD box Vinnie? We have similar setups and stock Motorcraft stuff works great for me.
I was going to try it. I got the whole MSD kit in a trade from a local car friend. Distributor, coil, Street Fire box, harness and wires. No loss if I don't use it. It'll be fine on the bench at this point.
All is good. I was hoping the gray wire from the box didn't need a tach adapter, but apparently it does. I'm not investing any money into it.
I don't think you'll notice any improvement vs. stock Motorcraft components. The stock stuff is actually quite overbuilt and can handle a bunch more than either of our cars have.
I am using an aftermarket distributor. My factory piece gave out a long time ago. I'd like to have an NOS distributor, not rebuilt, but in the meantime, I have what I have, an MSD Street Fire distributor. I also have a brand new billet DUI hot forged distributor on the shelf. It came with two TFI modules, one for an auto, one for a 5 speed. I may swap it in just because I have it.
This is an interesting thread. I was just wondering if anyone had installed a fully electronic ignition in our birds. Rip out the dizzy and plug the hole? It would be sweet to just dial in timing on the fly. Not sure if there are other advantages worth the money i.e. performance.