86 duraspark conversion

[fordchick]

Hi. I would like to put a 2.8 carburated engine in my 86 ranger. I would like it to have duraspark ignition. It has a 2.9 with the A4LD transmission. I read the very informative section on how to do this but wanted to know if there were any additional steps with an 86 because of the OD button, or if that means I can do the conversion without making modifications. I've got five vehicles and one with fuel injection/computers is enough! Thanks!

 

[fastpakr]

Yikes. Why?

 

[RonD]

Welcome to TRS

You want the Duraspark distributor but use an HEI module with it, not Duraspark module
Cheaper and more reliable, simple wiring
Google: duraspark hei conversion

Yes, I would agree with above, EFI is more reliable than carbs ever were, so a big WHY on that.

But to each his own

You can rewire to use the OD button without computer also the TCC lock, they are both just 12volt solenoids that use their Ground wire as the activation
There is a 3 wire connector on the transmission, center wire gets 12volts with Key ON
Each outside connector is the Ground wire for one of the two solenoids in the trans.
You add a switch to Ground it to activated it.
The computer did this for the driver but driver can do it as well

Older A4LD just had the TCC lock and no OD solenoid, OD selection was done internally, it had a 2 wire connector instead of 3 wire

 

[fordchick]

Thank you! It looks like it's going to be pretty simple. I converted my 5.0 in my 86 f150 from efi to carb a few years back and its been great, but I never had to mess with the transmission (it has the C6), so I needed some pointers. This site is really a treasure trove of Ranger info!

 

[4x4prepper]

Thank you! It looks like it's going to be pretty simple. I converted my 5.0 in my 86 f150 from efi to carb a few years back and its been great, but I never had to mess with the transmission (it has the C6), so I needed some pointers. This site is really a treasure trove of Ranger info!

I would convert to a reg. carb (1974 2.8L) and points dist, then if I felt the need convert to Pertronix.