289 Ignition issues

[Ryan]

Hey,
I put a 289 into my 64 Comet a couple years ago, and besides the occasional problem it ran fine. Then, of course, I decided I wanted to make some upgrades. I put on a highrise aluminum intake and a Carter 4-barrel carb, and also switched to an electronic ignition (All parts off another motor I had laying around that someone had overheated before selling). After I put it all together and timed it, it idled fine, but as I took it down the road, the engine would sputter and jerk. This seems to happen inconsistently, as I would take it for a drive and this would happen, then I would send my dad down the road with it and it acted fine. Almost to the point where he didn't believe me. So, I have been checking and replacing multiple things and am finally at a loss on what it could be. I have changed the coil, spark plugs, checked fuel filters and pump. A friend of mine suggested that maybe the electronic ignition I was using might be a problem, and I have been thinking of trying to make the conversion to the newer style magnetic electronic distributors on fords that used the ignition brain module, but am curious if anyone else has any ideas on what the problem could be? When the engine sputters, the car does not need to be warm or cold, it can happen as soon as I leave the yard, or 15 miles down the road.

[CALIFORNIA CALIENTE]

How is the gasoline,old or new!!! The factory electronic distributer is a great upgrade,there are many wiring diagrahms and parts list out there!! I did one,used the factory electronic distrbuter but used a crane ignition box and coil! This was on a 65 Comet,289,C-4! ROY.

[Ryan]

The fuel is all new. It has been my daily driver for the last couple years. I have been wondering if it may be the filter in the tank that accompanies the fuel sending unit, but haven't got around to checking that out yet. Although, the sending unit is relatively new and the tank was cleaned out.

Good to hear about the factory ignition, I figured it might be more reliable then the drop in crane conversion that was put on the old distributor.

[popscomet]

The fuel is all new. It has been my daily driver for the last couple years. I have been wondering if it may be the filter in the tank that accompanies the fuel sending unit, but haven't got around to checking that out yet. Although, the sending unit is relatively new and the tank was cleaned out.

Good to hear about the factory ignition, I figured it might be more reliable then the drop in crane conversion that was put on the old distributor.

2 yrs ago,my 1984 5.0 5spd mercury capri,which has a manual pump and carb,got to running like crap,I worked on everything concerning the fuel delivery,carb,pump filters ,even blew the lines out with air and it still acted liked it was running out of gas ,let it sit for awhile and would start up ,so I dropped the tank and found the pick up was bad,had sucked the filter ,redone all that and was good to go and right now my wife's 93 5,0 stang is acting up the same way so in the near future am getting ready to drop tank and check it out....good luck and thanks ,POP

[Jims65cyclone]

Ryan......I don't have any advice to offer that hasn't already been given, but welcome aboard. There aren't many on this forum that haven't collectively dealt with just about any problem you can think of, so post your problems and see what you get. There are always some nuggets out there.
Jim

[Rocket989]

I've heard of some issues (like yours) with the Crane units. You could drop your old dizzy (points I assume?) back in and see if that helps. I'm not sure if the Crane unit requires full 12-volts or will run through the resistor wire - how is yours hooked up? The original Pertronix I unit is the only one I know of off-hand that can run OK through the resistor.

The other thing is they do have to be gapped on the dizzy cam. Pertronix includes a little nylon shim to set it.

JH

[Ryan]

Thanks Jim for the welcome.

Rocket, the crane electronic ignition (XR-i) is being run through my ballast resistor, although maybe it shouldn't be? I am not sure. I had pulled the whole distributor (electronic ignition already in it) from another 289, and maybe it didn't have the resistor running through it. I had redone the gap though, so that should be okay.

For now, I am going to check my fuel filter in the tank and see if it is sucking anything up that it shouldn't be, and I'll still try and convert to the newer ford electronic ignition as I would like to steer clear of points if I can.

[poboyjo65]

Ryan I am in the process of installing the XR-i. It says in the instructions to use the factory ballast resistor or if it is gone to use the ceramic one that comes with their ps20 coil. here are the instructions;
http://www.cranecams.com/uploads/instru ... 1700c_.pdf

I agree with Pop & Roy in that it sounds more like it's fuel oriented / trash in fuel. even though the tank has been cleaned it is 50 years old & can still be rusty or dirty . they are making new ones now;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/231090350015?_t ... EBIDX%3AIT

[Comechero65]

Whatever you do if you retain the in-harness pink (ballast) wire don't add another in series with it. One is enough.
Ron

[Ryan]

Well I drained the tank and removed the sending unit, and the filter has fallen right off! So it looks like I will be taking the tank out anyways, so ill fish the filter out, and clean it again for good measure. In the mean time I might order another tank (Thank you poboyjo for the link, I didn't know that they were making reproductions), and if the problem persists I will change the tank out.

[Ryan]

UPDATE:

So the filter on the sending unit must have slipped and as I would hit the accelerator, it seems like it would suck the filter up and block off the flow of gas. I replaced it, and everything seems to be fine now. I also switched to the newer ford electronic ignition and everything is working great. Thanks for the help everyone.