WILL THE ENGINE CONVERSION WORK? More Ford V8 Pilot spannering 

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I'm not mechanically minded but it makes sence to me that if the car was put back to the way it was originally intended, it should work as it once did - successfully for many decades. Congratulations on sorting this magnificent beast.

BRILLIANT ! I'm as happy as you are Rick - there's nothing as annoying as a car that won't start ! Just goes to show - 'modern' is not always best. I just love this Pilot - everything about it - the colour is perfect, and the condition is beautiful. Out of all your vehicles, this is the BEST ! Well done in getting her sorted out. Looking forward tto many more videos with her on your travels. Thanks and take care 🙂

Rick, I could feel the smile on your face all the way across the Atlantic. Congratulations from Canada.

Great you got the Pilot going, back to original. Well done.

Proves that going back to the original setup was a very wise move, so easy to adjust as well. Great progress made.👍

Think your sorted guys, superb motorcar 👍 standard old school kit over comes Chinese tricky electronics lol

Brilliant! Chuffed to bits for you.....👍🏻

Rick,I'm so pleased that you diagnosed the starting problem correctly and cured it by reverting to the original ignition distributor and carburettor. I just love your Pilot,what a great motor.

That's fantastic that you have the ability to fit the parts that were required to bring it back to standard that you can purchase all these parts and now you have a real runner its a beauty thank you for the videos safe driving to you both.

A most satisfying job.

Hi Rick, I’m the guy who owns that Citroen CX which you saw at the Avro Museum earlier last year. For a year or two I’ve been pondering whether or not to convert it to electronic ignition and I think you’ve just convinced me to leave things as they are. It starts and runs well and I just check and adjust the points once a year, a bit of a faff but it seems to work fine. Love the Pilot by the way, definitely the standout in your collection for me.

I have loved the Ford V8 Pilot for over 50 years. One of our neighbours had one in the early 60’s in the same colour as yours. Keep up the fantastic videos.

What a very pleasant start to the day. Thoroughly enjoyable. More of this when possible please.

Delighted for you. The difference in your voice was uplifting. Well done for your perseverance.

Well that's a great transformation Rick, well done to you. Just shows modern isn't always better, far better back as it should be

Congratulations job well done sounds sweet cheers

A great video in the pilot series , and a bonus look at little dodge. 👏🏻

Well happy fòr you rick,the v8s purring, wonderful car, loving the vids.❤

So pleased to see the car going so nicely with stock ignition! I said before that I would rather stay with original! Thank you for a lovely film. Best wishes from George

Impressive Spannering there Rick, V8 sounds sweet

Well done Richard, and another enjoyable workshop video to boot! The original distributor looks much more business-like than the electronic version. You sounded a really happy bunny at the successful conclusion and I hope you have many happy outings in the tamed Pilot, which looks so much better minus the wing mirrors.

That's a great result, well done.

That sounds great now, my brother -in - law had one in the early sixties then worked his way through the whole range of Zodiacs until buying the FD Ventora that we have now. Great video! 👍

Looks like a good job, you know where you are with the car set up now. Great. Cheers Bob

Happy Days!! She runs as she was designed, how nice it is to see that the original set up is back and working at peak performance! Loved this process you showed in the 2 video's. I also enjoyed hearing your relief with the solution. Loved the Toss

Congratulations! I am pleased to see someone else using a stock/points distributor in an older Ford V8. I have gotten flak from a few people on the internet who don't seem to appreciate a proper, dual-point distributor (and probably don't understand them either). My car is 10 years older and I have, of late, been re-building and timing the "diver's helmet" style distributors (for my own personal use). As you pointed out, points type distributors were around for many, many years and are extremely reliable. I had not (being in the U.S.) ever seen a Ford Pilot before-your car is absolutely beautiful. I am going to look for your other videos on it. Outstanding video!

Excellent RJ, job well done and the right decision to go back to the original configuration. Good brekkie viewing also. I think Harley is owed a new jacket for his efforts. 😇

What a great little starter, I'm so glad it worked out for you. 👍

What a faff - but a highly successful one. Well done! It bodes well for future trips to more shows. V8s certainly have burble that is throaty, and I loved my V8 Disco, but nowt beats a straight six twin cam for me! Thanks Rob

Excellent solution!

Sounds like a good job well done. Cheers Bob

Not only does she work as intended, everything is now original. Well done sir.

Well done sir!

Loved both the distributor replacement videos it was like being stood next to you, so glad everything worked out well. Happy new year.

When punching holes but timber in vice and use end grain

Well done for getting it sorted, now you just need to build a large catapult and launch the electronic one into outer space......🚀......

love your videos sir

Well done...it runs! Done the right thing. Leave electronic ignitions to hot rodders etc [ who dont know about original set ups]. That V8 Pilot looks great ; they are a very rare sight here in NZ but there are a lot of Canadian rhd V8 Fords. They must have been a desparate effort on the UK market [ rationing ?] but maybe they thought it would get sales in export markets like Aust. NZ & Sth Africa [ you could buy new American cars post War here & the Pilot did look like an old model]. Keep with the original carby. Great video . Cheers from NZ.

Great video, as always. Living here in Australia it's weird seeing that NSW number plate. Keep up the good work

Hi in I Tasmania Australia, I recently had a similar experience, with a friends car, with the same distributor, this one a 12v fitted to a 1936 Ford. The contacts were very burnt, worse than yours, but there was a track burnt into the cap from the centre contact to one of the outer contacts, the car would not run. So they definitely have some problems,. Keep up the videos.

Given the starting problems and the state of the rotor arm on the electronic distributor, I reckon maybe something wasn't set up correctly or there was a fault somewhere. In any case, reinstatement of the original set up works so why over complicate things? Looks as if someone went to the trouble of fitting the electronic ignition and carbuettor all for nothing. At least putting it all right again wasn't a major operation.

We had a green Ford Pilot as our family car in the late 50s, having traded up from a 1927 Morris 6. I remember going to the scape yard with my dad for some parts for the Morris. The scrap yard was full of 1920s and 30s cars I remember. The Ford Pilot was nice, but my Dad was never too happy with the drum brakes all round on such a heavy car. We then moved on to a grey standard 8 followed by a nice Austin A40 in white with the black roof. After that it was a string of Jags until my Dad got onto company cars. I am a micro car enthusiast, mainly Bonds. I have a 1956 Mark C Family I bought for £5 while at school and have now owned it for 53 years. I covered 12,000 miles in it during1976. I also have a 1956 Mark C with detachable hardtop and also an original Peel P50 I bought for £50 in the 1970s. The white and green Mark G Bond you filmed at Eccleshall show this summer, belongs to my brother.( Edited. Our Morris 6 was 1934 not 1927).

If your car is converted to 12 volts, negative ground, don't throw away your electronic distributor, you can use a Chrysler 8 cylinders reluctor ring and pick up coil toi convert that distributor to a reliable setup, you can use Chrysler ignition harness and module or a GM HEI module. there is much information on the internet about that setup.

Well done Rick, you were spot on with your solution! I was reading up about the twin points on flatheads. Reason for this is the ineffectual small dwell angle between the 8 points of point activation. Much closer than a 4 or even 6 cylinder engine. The one set breaks and the other one makes contact, resulting in a more effective "re-charge" of the coil for the next spark. Later 8 cyl engines did not need it for whatever reason. Maybe to do with 6 volts and the coil's slower ability to re-charge for the next spark as effectively as later 12 volt systems. I am please it is sorted, you were sounding guite disappointed about the poor cold starting! All the best.

👍👍👍👍👍

Hoorah! What a fantastic result. The starting problems must have really taken the shine off owning the car and now you can just get in and press the button. What a relief. That burned rotor and distributor cap on the electronic unit didn't look good at all. Poor quality components by the look of it. Maybe an incorrect spec coil too. I read some posts from the manufacturer about the type of coil that should be used and they said to use just a standard points coil with 1.5 ohms resistance. Also, who knows if what works in American engines will work on the UK version. I can completely understand why you ditched it.

Great car and looks nice and shiny! It looks much better without the wing mirrors now. Does the car have an opening windscreen and heater by any chance?

old school rules. What a transformation the old dissy makes, wonderful. With the electronic dissy and the rotor arm , I would not be surprised if the rotor arm was hitting the pick up points for the leads, that arm was extremely pitted and it look as if it got quite hot. Cannot beat a V8 sound , a straight six comes close but that V8 rumble is music to my ears. 😂.

Hello! Nice to find some UK based Flatty content. I have some experience with the old flattys, but never a Pilot. I like the Dodge too. I have a 41 Ford Pickup. Can I offer some observations? Ford didn't flare their vacuum lines. The fittings had a tapered end built in and the hole has a taper seat and the nut crimps onto the pipe. I think Rockauto has the correct nuts, but I have used salvaged ones with success. That said, flares work and I have done that myself sometimes. The Holley 94 carb is the only type I use and I am quite familiar with them. They sometimes suffer from warped bodies which van create a vacuum leak, which counter intuitively can cause an over rich condition. Over rich can mean great at cold starts but a bit fluffy when idling hot. The 94 carb might not be strictly compatible with your motor. If the manifold has an exhaust heat port at the top, it needs to be blocked off as the 94 must not have that port open. I see you have a spacer below the carb, which may be blocking the exhaust heat port. If it is, you might be ok but if not, the port needs blocking off. I have a lot of flathead content on my channel and have shown lots of 94 content and also blocking the manifolds. I have a mistrust of electronic gubbinry on these old cars and much prefer the old points distributors. All my cars have the crab type distributor. If you have any flathead questions don't hesitate to give me a shout. My email is in my channel about page. I have a Churchill timing fixture if you ever need your distributor setting up. And if you have 94 problems I might be able to help with that as well. All the best, Mart from Mart's garage in Solihull. Dropped you a sub by the way.

You can use rubber fuel pipe for the vacuum pipe, works very well, even if only to see if dizzy is working as it should.

Impressive repair, putting all the removed parts back on and goes so well, fuel and ignition all in one!!. Mind you I am quite happy with my 123ignition electronic conversion but it is on a 12V car.

Thanks for the video of the Ford V8 Pilot, I remember them on the roads, a man I knew had one about 1950, really impressed me as a small boy, I'm reminded of the story of Bonny and Clyde, the infamous American Bank Robbers, Clyde Barrow would always steal Ford V8s,when he needed a getaway car, because nothing could catch him, I believe he even wrote to Henry Ford, praising the car, I think Henry Ford produced The V8 engine about 1934.

Good result ; I seem to remember aquiring a new old stock dwell angle meter & getting old BL 4 & 6 pots running sweetly

What a beautiful car always loved the look of the old pilot 👍🇦🇺

Amazing, well done and timing must be spot on for engine to start at the push of the button in cold weather.

Good morning Rick. Watching these videos takes me back 30 or 40 years when I worked on my own cars. Unfortunately, age and disability have put a stop to that. My thoughts about the electronic distributer is that the rotor arm may not be the right one. Maybe it was a case of " this looks right, so it will work?" I had that on an old Peugeot in the early eighties. It took me ages to realise what it was, as at first I thought it was timing and points, the usual suspects. I couldn't find an original distributor and replaced it with an old VW one that worked fine for years. The Peugeot went years after I got fed up with it. It felt like I rebuilt it.

Well done, she sounds sweet now! And starts up very nicely for a 6 volt

I'm willing to bet that, as soon as the camera stopped rolling, the errant distributor was quickly retrieved from the bin, and found itself a home in the dark storage of the garage... That Rotor arm looked extremely dodgy, especially the screw holding the contact arm on, and it had a twist in it. Glad you solved the problem, I could feel your pleasure! The burning on the rotor and cap potentially could be due to the coil being a "high performance " type. Some people think that massive sparks, like bolts of lightning are a must but in reality, it only needs to ignite the fuel mix and old coils did that perfectly.

What a great result! Although the classic car scene here in Australia is very vibrant, it is a very long time since I have seen a Ford Pilot, and yours looks absolutely beautiful. The body shape so resembles the American 1935/36 V8 Fords, but I believe they are quite different in detail. Here's hoping you have many enjoyable and fulfilling times with this great old Ford.

Great work. I'm wondering if the MPG has changed since you reverted it. I had an automatic 1972 Triumph 2000TC with aftermarket electronic ignition. It would stall when putting it into drive at tick over or stopping in drive when warm. I replaced the torque converter...No change. Reverted it back to points...Problem solved. The MPG improved markedly once reverted although I suspect the electronics may have been causing other problems. Electrickery!!!

hi there. great video. but what a place to put a distributor, what were the clowns at ford thinking ?

Brilliant, I am so happy that she starts from cold without a problem. It does look as if that carburettor has been in a 'bath' at some point and it seems to be set up quite well so why it was changed I don't know? Best not to speculate I think. Great 2 part video Rick and very worth while from your point of view and it does give an insight into modern products. However as you point out electronic ignition may work well on some V8 Pilots. Happy motoring when the weather gets much better. 👍👍

I noticed your HT lead tubes are missing…. Did you not have them on when you purchased?…… mine was a 49 and the had them on. 🤔great to hear her running😎👌🏽

Great video. The Ford Pilot as Henry built it is the way to go.

Good one Rick. These twin point distributers Ford used were of a Mallory type although yours would be probably manufactured by Lucas ( a bit like Ford carbs were a Holly type), a very good and reliable type of set up. Those in the know will tell you that fitting electronic ignition on these old v8's was often a way those not in "the know" thought they could solve a "too hard problem". Once set up these dizzys should give miles of service. This was the right move and all credit for you for giving it a go, as a "newby" in the world of "v8ing". Another thing these electronic ignitions are really only recommended for 12v systems . The Pilot originally used a Solex carb if my memory serves me correct. Your car is running well so leave the Stromberg on it.

Just a thought, Doesn’t having a rigid vac pipe to the distributor hamper the adjustment or is there enough flex for it not to be a problem ?

Hi the small copper pipe is actually a Vacuum advance for the points and should move the points as the speed of the engine increases to fire the plugs sooner in time with the engine speed and can be checked by sucking the pipe and watching the plate move - hope this helps in future Best 👍

Very surprised you throwing something out 😂

Those Stromberg distributors cost £360.00 to buy new, I wonder why it did not work? Was the coil the correct rating and did it have modern style HT leads, old style leads can cause problems apparently. They are supposed to be made in the UK, whether that is assembly or complete manufacture, no idea, would be nice to know why this did not work. Thanks for sharing.

Well Done!! The rotor arm on the electronic ignition didnt look robust enough for the job to me. Like it been de-spec'd.

On the daily driver cars I have owned with distributors I have had to clean cap and rotor every 6 months and clean and gap points on those that still had points or they would come to the point where they wouldnt run.CHEERS from HERE!!! P.S. Some cars -trucks benefit from vent hole drilled into cap!

I would have stuck the gasket to the block using gasket cement and used grease between the gasket and the distributor. That way the gasket would only need round holes rather than slots.

😁👍

Rick you should get a Z Series MG Magnette in your life.

What a dreadfully awful location for the distributor

Hi when do you post the videos made at off the rails meet crewe? There is a Facebook group now Off the Rails car meet

Well ol' mate, we have to agree to disagree on original vs Electronic. The first thing was talk to the company that made the Electronic. You identified the source of a "weak spark" with the Rotor Button. That corrosion was wrong. It was almost like it was the wrong rotor button. I do understand you "Old School" and all, but I'd be surprised if you couldn't find the appropriate Electronic ignition that would make it purr like a kitten. Anyway.. good luck. cheers

Magneto would be the go and Holley 465 gear vendors overdrive more economy more power better car

You don't know much about ignition systems. The very idea of using an original 50+ year old paper condenser, which by now will have turned into a resistor. The carbon deposits on the rotor arm such as on your example won't effect the transference of HT current, and it is not 'burnt' just carboned up a bit. Standard coil ignition or electronic won't make any difference to the engine performance or economy.