What distriutor do i need?

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wes beem

wes beem

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I have a 1998 360 magnum motor in my dart, its got an eddy 4 bbl carb intake and no longer uses the factory fuel injection. When we finished the top end of the motor we swapped over the distributor intake and carb off my previous 318 magnum motor (that was working at the time) now the 360 is getting spark clear up to the end of the coil wire, but no spark at the plug wires, so im assuming the distributor is bad. Went to replace it and im seeing alot of different ones and im not sure what i need. Do i need an older LA style distributor? do i buy one that matches the year of my motor? did the 1998's even have a distributor? This is all new to me. Feel free to post links, I know i dont wanna use a high dollar MSD or fancy racecar type one for big money. just wanting a basic factory replacement.
 
Standard electronic distributor.
Buy one for a 73 duster.
 
Woah! You're getting spark to the end of the coil wire but not to the plugs? While cranking the engine? You have a cap and rotor issue.
 
Are you using the OEM ignition box off the older car too?

I prefer distributors that bypass that, and run as a stand alone...
like these.
READY TO RUN DISTRIBUTOR | MOPAR SB 273-360 | V8 ENGINE | BLACK CAP

or you can buy a really nice "ready to run"
PRO SERIES READY TO RUN DISTRIBUTOR | MOPAR SB 273-360 | V8 ENGINE | BLACK CAP

Or like the post above...you can "rock auto" am OEM one for a 73 ish dart/duster with a 318 if you want to keep the factory type electronic ignition with a OE box.

or I suppose you could even try a cap and rotor first...
 
Exactly what toolmanmike posted. If in your test the signal to fire the spark is being triggered by the distributor, then the only reason it wouldn't be making it from the coil wire to the spark wire would be related to the cap and rotor.
 
toolmanmike said:
Woah! You're getting spark to the end of the coil wire but not to the plugs? While cranking the engine? You have a cap and rotor issue.
Click to expand...

THIS either that or the spark is so weak that you just think you have spark and it's not strong enough to really do anything

Test the spark using a WIRE core substitute for the coil wire. Crank the engine using the key, and it should generate nice blue spark at least 3/8" long and typically 1/2"

Check your coil wire with an ohmeter. The old "rule of thumb" for resistor wire was less than 1000 ohms per foot of wire means "good." If you have that then it's got to be a cap/ rotor issue somehow.

Please detail the ignition system. What exactly is the distributor you are using, ie points breakerless, what? Stock Mopar? Aftermarket? And what if any electronic ignition are you using?
 
Electric ignition, MSD 6A box and blaster coil. The distributor was some off brand reproduction, no clue which company.
 
Its definitely getting good spark to the end of the coil wire.
 
How are you triggering the spark?
 
screwdriver stuck in the end of the wire and touching it to metal.
 
wes beem said:
screwdriver stuck in the end of the wire and touching it to metal.
Click to expand...
Ok. Really shouldn't do that with a CD, but I suppose no harm no foul.
laugh2-gif.gif

Take a look at the cap and rotor.
wes beem said:
The distributor was some off brand reproduction, no clue which company.
Click to expand...
Take a couple of photos, at least one insdie the cap and of the mechanism inside and we can prob tell you if its a Skip White special or what.
Big difference if its junky or damaged cap or rotor vs. a distributor that isn't worth fixing.
 
wes beem said:
Electric ignition, MSD 6A box and blaster coil. The distributor was some off brand reproduction, no clue which company.
Click to expand...

I have run across some of those Proform distributors that the rotor phasing was so far off my HEI wouldn't make it to the right plugs at the right time.
Actually I have one here right now that I fixed by repositioning the pickup plate.

If you have one of these in this condition a regular spark would seem like the problem you have.
Autozone actually sells brand new electronic distributors pretty cheap, and is actually what I run my HEI ignition with and it works perfect.
I did recurve mine and limit the total timing with the FBO plate and Mr. Gasket spring kit.

One other thing.
That MSD might be sending the spark right through the rotor on a cheap one.
 
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So today we had test fire SUCCESS. The issue was first, the plug wire rubber boots shrunk over winter while they were in storage and when fully seated on the distributor cap they weren't making connections, secondly, once we fixed the issue of the plug wires not being hooked up cuz of the boots we also found out the distributor was 180* out. As soon as we corrected that the motor roared to life as soon as the starter was given power with no effort whatsoever. Shes LOUD. :D :D :D
 
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