There’snothing more
irritating than the starting
problems caused by
points or distributor
issues –and with older
American engines like
Ford’svenerable flathead
there were relatively few
solutions until recently.
Keith Harman oversees
theinstallation of a
Stromberg E-Fire flathead
electronic distributor on
Wo his flathead Ford truck...
rds
an
dp
hotography:
Keith Harman
T
he benefits of running an electronic
ignition system on your ride should be well
known to readers of this magazine, and
there have long been many versions available
for just about any engine you care to mention.
There will always be those guys who stick with
the old points and condenser set-ups of course,
and that’sfine,asl ong as you can access your
distributor easily onacold dark rainy night when
you do encounteraproblem. Unfortunately,the
earlier pre-’48 era flatheads, with their front-
mounted distributors tucked down behind the
radiator,can beapain to access, especially if
fitted in the close
confines ofahot
rod; even worse
if an electric fan
is down in there
as well.
Stromberg,
well known for
their cool re-
manufactured
carbs,recentlycame to the rescue with this
excellent new product: the Stromberg E-Fire
electronic distributor.Available for both the
earlier three-bolt fitting 11A motor built from
1932-1940, and the 21A two-bolt fitting from
’41-’48, these are easily installed components
which will enhance and improve the
performance of any earlier flathead motor.
Our own ’39 truck runsahealthy 24-stud
59A flathead with Edelbrock heads and intake,
three Strombergs, headers, and an Isky cam,
and runs well. Really,the only thing it needed
was areliable spark, so we took it along to our
local flathead specialist and Stromberg dealer,
Royal Kustoms, nearWareham in Dorset, for the
upgrade. The truck is now 12-volt, soa12v two-
bolt E-fire was ordered, and with Royal Kustoms’
technician, Andy,spinning the wrenches, we
followed the relatively straightforward install.
The E-Fire comes complete withadetailed
owner’sinstall ationmanual, gasket and even
crimp terminals. So, having disconnected the
battery, thelow tension wire was removed from
- Here’sour ’39
Truck at Royal
Kustomsready for
the E-Firedistributor
swap. - The E-Firecomes
complete with
instruction manual,
paper gasket,
and even two ring
terminals. - It’ sa
straightforwardjob to
remove the two bolts
holding the stock
distributor to the
front cover. - The truck was
alreadyfitted with
these steel-cored
plug wires, so they
were re movedalong
withthe stock cap,
and replaced with
new carbon core
wires.
BRIGHT
SPARKS
the coil, and the distributor cap removed from
the stock distributor.Before removing the plug
wires, mark each one so it can be refitted to
the E-Fire’scap in the correct location.
(Stromberg have handily providedaguide in
the owner’smanua linc aseyou trip up on this,
as it’ seasily done.)
It’salsoimportant to note at this stage that if
you run solid core or copper plug leads they will
need to be replaced as they are not suppressed
78 classic-american.com