[beheivjer]

what is different between the newer efi engines and the pre 85ish that makes the dizzy different? they are the same length fron the the point where it seals to the block to the gear but the bottom there is about a half inch difference between them so it doesnt sit down all the way to bolt it down. see i picked up a 79 pace car with a 302 that the po put in a 87 302 but didnt finish it. proboly because of the dizzy issue. the car still has the 79 wiring and i would like to use that still or run the older style dizzy that i have from another points dizzy just to get it running. I have the right gear on them and i have 4 different dizzys sitting on the floor right now a 70 302 bronco one, the original 79 mustang one, the one that was in the motor with the longer shaft, and then a new/remaned 79 one. my plan was just to drop the old points one in just to fire it up to make sure the engine runs and the tranny is good before going any father into the project. I would like to get the hei 1 wire conversion dizzy that is availible for a 302 when i get that far it would be nice to just get it running so i dont have to push the car around being that michigan winters suck and still need to use the shop for other projects. thats were im at if i didnt lose any one.

[bigdawg]

Pull the oil pump driveshaft, you will see a lock ring, you need to push this ring up further to allow the pump drive shaft to drop about another .5 inch into the pump. Alot of unsuspecting individuals seem to forget about this, and end up bottoming out there dizzy lock downs with the dizzy not seated. And low and behold, it gets twisted up, and screwed beyond all recognition. Was the oil pump drive shaft ever replaced?

Hope this helps some. Unless you already tried this?

[beheivjer]

no i didnt try that i didnt even think of it and the pump was replaced by the previous owner so i hope he did that i got a deal on the car and am not real sure about what was really done yet.

[ujslost]

you can do 2 things here and get it running pretty quick
buy a 1985 distributor(get one with a steel gear not cast iron) and a duraspark ignition box. or you can get the HEI 1 wire dist like you said. I have a 79 coupe and i just put a 5.0 in it and thats what i did. I found a billet HEI 1 wire dist on ebay for like $70 shipped, and it works good.

[bigdawg]

Hey, give it a shot. I remember I was going through hell trying to figure this out, and it worked when I moved the ring up.

[beheivjer]

Originally Posted by ujslost you can do 2 things here and get it running pretty quick buy a 1985 distributor(get one with a steel gear not cast iron) and a duraspark ignition box. or you can get the HEI 1 wire dist like you said. I have a 79 coupe and i just put a 5.0 in it and thats what i did. I found a billet HEI 1 wire dist on ebay for like $70 shipped, and it works good.

is the 79 distributor different than the 85? i just thought that the newer dizzy being a little longer than the older one so i thought it would just fit with out any problems but it never goes that way does it.

[Darrell]

Originally Posted by beheivjer what is different between the newer efi engines and the pre 85ish that makes the dizzy different? they are the same length fron the the point where it seals to the block to the gear but the bottom there is about a half inch difference between them so it doesnt sit down all the way to bolt it down. see i picked up a 79 pace car with a 302 that the po put in a 87 302 but didnt finish it. proboly because of the dizzy issue. the car still has the 79 wiring and i would like to use that still or run the older style dizzy that i have from another points dizzy just to get it running. I have the right gear on them and i have 4 different dizzys sitting on the floor right now a 70 302 bronco one, the original 79 mustang one, the one that was in the motor with the longer shaft, and then a new/remaned 79 one. my plan was just to drop the old points one in just to fire it up to make sure the engine runs and the tranny is good before going any father into the project. I would like to get the hei 1 wire conversion dizzy that is availible for a 302 when i get that far it would be nice to just get it running so i dont have to push the car around being that michigan winters suck and still need to use the shop for other projects. thats were im at if i didnt lose any one.

All of the 302 distributors are interchangeable (size wise) in all of the 302 blocks. You need to find out why the distributor isn't fitting. I'd start with the retainer ring on the oil pump shaft like bigdawg said except the retaining ring is at the top of the shaft keeping it in the block, not at the bottom holding it in the pump.

[ujslost]

Originally Posted by beheivjer is the 79 distributor different than the 85? i just thought that the newer dizzy being a little longer than the older one so i thought it would just fit with out any problems but it never goes that way does it.

Im not sure what the 79 302 dizzy is because my car was a 2.3
I changed a 90 model 2.3 to 5.0 and used the 85 dizzy and msd box
the 79 i just done i used the hei 1 wire. the 1 wire was inexpensive and easy install, but it is kinda tall and i think i gotta get an off set air cleaner base to run my 14 inch air cleaner. for the time being i am running the ugly ass edelbrock triangle shaped chicken wire air cleaner. beware of this air cleaner it will catch fire quick if you have your timing off or a vaccum leak and it backfires thru the carb!