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a general, high level anwer is replacing: points, condensor, plugs, fuel filter, pcv valve, oil change. Then, check/adjust distributor timing (with a timing light)

Check, and plug wires, distr cap/rotor, belts & replace as needed. If your car is just a driver/fun car, changing the points over to a pertronix electronic ignition is ia good idea.

Carb adjustments are sort of an "as needed" thing. it might help to run some 'Sea Foam' through a couple tanks of gas. and NEVER put ethenol gas in there if you can help it.

You will want to check the vacum advance on an old distributor. You can just put a hose on the little can and suck on it to check that it holds a vacum and moves the little lever inside.

Then, just a general check, look over for any broken hoses or vacum leaks.

 

Which pertronix coil/kit would you recommend?

 

Before you consider tuning the engine, investigate your ignition system to learn and understand what is currently installed on your car. Find out what coil you have installed. Is it a full 12 volt coil or does it still use the pink resistor wire or ballast resistor to reduce the voltage. Find out what distributor you have installed. What is inside it? Is it points and condenser or has it been changed to an electronic ignition system? What kind of advance, if any, does your distributor have installed? What condition is the advance in? If vacuum advance, does the vacuum canister hold a vacuum or has it failed? There are more things to understand but master the few points above before you worry about more.

The above is a good place to start before you start changing things.

 

 

Back in the day, a full tune-up included putting the distributor on an advance machine. Today, most service centers don't even know what that means. Dan at the Mustang Barn can fix you right up.

 

Get a basic book and you CAN do this yourself. These old cars are so very easy.

Plugs
Wires
Timing
Points
Carb adjustments
Fuel and air filter
Oil and filter

Please try, you'll be surprised once you've done this once, with how easy it is.

You've got this!

 

YouTube is your friend if you can't find an answer on this forum. There's almost nothing for a tune-up for your car that you can't find on YouTube. You sound like you are new to the wrenching world so I would suggest doing a light tune-up first and then once you are more comfortable, go further.
Check plug wires and replace plugs, oil and filter change, if auto, fluid and filter change (Type-F), check/replace air filter, lube suspension and check for any worn/cracked rubber in suspension and throughout the engine bay.
Then move to replacing the points/condenser or swap out to Pertronix. If you have a timing gun, check timing. If you don't have a timing gun, you should invest in one even if it's a used one. Then you can move to carb adjustment if needed...
Good luck!

 

I like to scrap the contact points inside the dizzy cap (if I don't replace it). It does make a difference. If I don't change the rotor, I'll sand the edge of it to get fresh metal.

 

Invest in a good vacuum gauge and learn how to use it...Bart or someone had posted a very helpful chart that I cannot seem to locate at the moment.

edit...found it.

 

What I like to do first is put it on an ignition scope so I can see what it is currently doing. Not many folks have those and not so long ago I didn't either. But I did have a timing, a vacuum gauge, compression gauge, a dwell meter, and feeler gauges. And a manual. So with all that I could check the timing, point gap and dwell, valve clearances if necessary, and assess things with the vacuum gauge according to a chart like Knapper posted above. And of course a good visual once over. THEN I would see about getting what parts I judged necessary and start swapping and adjusting them.

To be sure, I didn't start out that way years ago. I would just swap a bunch of parts and then wonder why it didn't really run any better.

 

A "complete tune-up", like in the old days, every 12,000 miles?

1. Vacuum gauge interpretation.
2. Cranking compression test.
3. Ignition System Check.
a) Clean/adjust/replace breaker points and ignition condenser.
b) Check/replace distributor cap & rotor.
c) Check spark plug wires (physical condition & resistance).
d) Clean/gap/replace spark plugs.
e) Check ignition coil (physical condition, connections, primary & secondary resistance).
f) Check/adjust ignition timing.
4. Fuel System Check.
a) Check fuel pump (pressure and volume).
b) Replace fuel filter element/assembly.
c) Replace engine air filter.
d) Check/clean/replace crankcase breather filter.
e) Check/clean/replace PCV valve (and strainer mesh, if equipped).
f) Check/clean/replace vacuum hoses/caps/lines, as needed.
g) Check/clean/lubricate automatic choke & throttle linkages.
h) Check/adjust choke, choke pull-down & fast idle settings.
i) Check/adjust carburetor idle mixture settings.
j) Check/adjust curb idle setting.
k) Road Test.

 

A "complete tune-up", like in the old days, every 12,000 miles?

1. Vacuum gauge interpretation…

Like I said above, part of that, from the good service centers, was putting the distributor on the machine. They go out of adjustment just like carburetors. Getting them serviced is practically a lost art. I guarantee dundermifflen123's distributor is out of spec. In my experience, probably WAY out of spec.

 

New belts from NAPA. Gotta keep the water flowing and the battery charged.

 

Step 1
get rid of that stupid super coil
and hopefully you don't have the Chebby ballast resistor along with your resistance wire

Youll end up with the coil at half voltage and overheating

get a 1.5 ohm blues streak coil from rock auto

 

Step 1
get rid of that stupid super coil

True. I thought I'd seen the last of those. Dan Gurney won the pole position at Riverside in his 200 mph 427 Ford. Guess what coil he used…

 

For some “light” reading I’d get a real Ford shop manual. They’re available from countless vendors. Check out National Parts Depot. That manual has detailed step-by-step instructions for everything.

 

so true. We are the original owners of my powertrain. My dad never wanted to spring for the $10 or $15 to have the dizzy re curved come tune up time.
granted it was a lot on $$ back then. about half the cost of a reg tune up
Finally about 8 yrs ago I sent it out to Tim who since retired. When I got it back the car never ran better. My dad got in to take if for a spin and almost cried saying why didnt he ever do it

 

Some people don't bother to replace the condenser. They almost never go bad, but when they do, boy it is a headache. And most people never suspect the condenser. So, whenever you replace the points, be sure to replace the condenser as well.

And, wow, I haven't an Accel Super Coil since the early 1980s! Yeah, definitely get rid of that thing.

 

Some people don't bother to replace the condenser. They almost never go bad, but when they do, boy it is a headache. And most people never suspect the condenser. So, whenever you replace the points, be sure to replace the condenser as well.

And, wow, I haven't an Accel Super Coil since the early 1980s! Yeah, definitely get rid of that thing.

I didn’t install that coil, but I’m definitely up to replace it. What do you recommend to replace it with? Pertronix maybe?

 

I'd use Pertronix I and a stock coil. Any more than that is costly overkill.

And get that distributor onto an advance machine. No doubt your advance curves, both vacuum and centrifugal, are out of spec, which kills both power and mileage.

 

Ive been eyeing this for a while. I need new wires anyways. Thoughts?

Pertronix Dual Point Vacuum Tune Up Kit V8

Pertronix Dual Point Vacuum Tune Up Kit for V8 Engines.

www.cjponyparts.com

 

I would confirm whether the kit works with the stock resistance (pink) wire in the car. I like trimming the wires, as provided in that kit.

 

Where exactly is this wire?

 

As for the wonky fuel line, you can simply order a new hard line from NPD. (Yours appears to have been cut.) Remove all that mumbo-jumbo. Install the new hard line with a factory, thread-in filter. Connect them with a couple inches of rubber hose and clamps just like it had from the factory. That's a very reliable setup. The glass filter you currently have installed is a class Bravo fire waiting to happen. Those things are notorious for cracking, breaking and simply disintegrating.

 

As for the wonky fuel line, you can simply order a new hard line from NPD. (Yours appears to have been cut.) Remove all that mumbo-jumbo. Install the new hard line with a factory, thread-in filter. Connect them with a couple inches of rubber hose and clamps just like it had from the factory. That's a very reliable setup. The glass filter you currently have installed is a class Bravo fire waiting to happen. Those things are notorious for cracking, breaking and simply disintegrating.
[/QUOTE
So is the fuel regulator needed? Thanks for the tip too, It was not my setup so I was not aware.

 

Id ditch the whole set up and go back to a stock ford points dizzy


Nothing will beat it for the street once its curved right.

Buy an A1 cardone rebuilt at any store and send it to Dan.
You will never be sorry

 

Nothing wrong with your existing distributor and ignition coil as long as they're working fine. Yeah, the Accel Super Coil is a bit "tacky" by today's standards and if you want to replace it with a new coil just make sure you use one with 1.5 ohms of primary circuit resistance as the Super Coil was intended to have ballast resistance. A stock replacement coil from Standard Motor Products will be quite satisfactory. Looks like you could also use a new cap & rotor, too.

I think it was already stated, above, but ditch the "fire starter" fuel filter and go with a new steel line.... If you get a compression union adapter you can eliminate the short rubber hose connection to the fuel filter by using the filter for a '85 Bronco 5.8 (see pix below).

 

Could you link that distributor?