Today we (Rich, RChambers, was a HUGE help!) fitted my 1300 crossflow with electronic ignition and rid it of points.
To do this you need the distributor AND COIL (yes we forgot the coil!) from a Mk2 1.0/1.1 Fiesta, one of these…
It needs to be a late model one as the early ones had points so it would defeat the object. Once you find one in the scrappy remove the distributor (held on with one pinch bolt 10mm sized), the plug and length of wire going to the distributor, the coil, and the vac advance line as the old one might not be long enough. We paid £20 for all this so it’s a lot cheaper than after market solutions.
- Remove HT leads and distributor cap from old dizzy (remembering the firing order and where they go back).
- Set rotor cap to point at the first HT lead position so you can get the new distributor lined up enough to start the car again.
- Remove old distributor from engine and dispose of how you feel, we suggest launching it over the garage or propping a door open.
- Place new distributor into engine and making sure it the rotor is pointing towards the number one HT lead. Leave the distributor loose enough so you can adjust the timing at this stage.
- The new distributor will have a plug with three wires coming out of it (you did remember to cut a length of wire and leave the plug attached didn’t you! These need to be wired into your car in the following way:
- Black – positive side of coil
- Green – negative side of coil
- Brown – earth
The new coil needs 12V so if you are running a ballast coil you will need to run a new wire direct from the ignition feed as the old one will only give 9V.
- Place dizzy cap onto distributor.
- Replace HT leads.
- Replace old coil with one off donor car (or new electronic ignition one like we did).
- Make sure everything is connected up and in place and start car.
- You should now use a timing light to set the timing to the correct position.
Before:
- Sit back and smile smugly knowing you won’t be gapping or replacing points anymore!
After:
This should be easier on a 1600 xflow as the block is taller so there is more clearance from the inlet manifold to the distributor.
Bookmarks