1921 T,GOING TO INSTALL A DISTRIBUTOR ON MY FORD,WHAT DO I NEED TO DO WITH THE MAG POST?IVE NOT HAD IT RUNNING YET SO I DON'T WANT TO HARM IT IF ITS GOOD.THANK .GREG.

You can simply remove the wire from the mag post. No harm will occur

Richard-
I'm curious, why are you going to put on a distributor?
-Keith

I would wonder the same thing, especially since it sounds like he's not tried it yet, but who am I to judge?

I would find out if the mag works before you add additional trouble by installing a distributor.

You can remove the Red Terminal Block to Ignition Switch wire from the Terminal Block and move it over to the Yellow wire terminal, next to it.

Then you can turn your Ignition Switch Key in either direction and still have the Distributor turned ON.

Tim, additional trouble is an "upgrade".

Why do you want to "mess" it up before you know the car? I have found out the hard way that when I try to improve my tee I just create a "sore" spot for myself.

On tours, I have personally seen more problems with cars which run on distributor than those who use coils and magneto. It might be that those who use magneto are just in better condition all over. However, it is easier to trouble shoot on a tour with coils. You can just substitute coils till you find the one causing the misfire and then go on. If the mag fails you can continue on battery. Sometimes the timer needs to be wiped out, but still can drive.

Those on distributor need to carry along a spare cap, rotor, points and condenser. This is because there are different distributors and drivers without distributors don't carry these spares. Then also hope that there are no problems with the gears at the front of the flywheel.

The point I am trying to make is that a distributor is not an improvement, but can be an easier fix than replacing or repairing a malfunctioning magneto. But if the magneto works, coils is the best way to go. It is also a good discussion topic when showing the car to someone unfamiliar with the Model T.
Norm

KEITH,THE DIST,CAME WITH THE CAR,AND I'M FAMILIAR WITH THIS SYSTEM,I WILL KEEP THE COIL BOX WITH COILS AND AT A LATER TIME WHEN I CAN AFFORD HAVEING THEM SET UP PROPERLY WILL DO SO,[RETIRED VERY FIXED INCOME]IN GOING OVER THE FORD I FIND SHE IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION MECHANICAL'Y,IM WAITING TO TALK WITH THE FORMER OWNER'S SON TO GET THE FULL STORY ON THIS CAR,ITS MY UNDERSTANDING IT WAS IN A COLLAPSED BARN FROM 1938 TO SOMETIME IN THE 1960'S,AND THERE HAS BEEN A WOODEN PICKUP TYPE CAB & BODY BUILT ON THE CHASSIS.WILL HAVE PICTURES SOON WHEN MY SON HELPS ME WITH THAT, ITS BEEN VERY ENJOYABLE TO HAVE THIS OLE GAL COME INTO MY LIFE,SHE IS OLDER THAN I AM BUT I LOVE HER ANYWAY.ITS BEEN TOUGH HERE IN THE HILLS OF VERMONT THIS WINTER TO GET MUCH DONE OTHER THAN TRY TO SURVIVE THE WEATHER, BUT ITS EASEING A BIT NOW,AND I CAN GET BUSY ON THE FORD AGAIN.I WILL KEEP YOU POSTED.RICHARD.

Richard
It's your car and I fully support you. You are not destroying any original parts!!
Question; what type of distributor? Knowing this if you need help finding parts. IF the condenser is old (10 years or more), consider testing it and perhaps replacing it. Certainly own a spare condenser and perhaps points.
You sound mechanically competent and I wish you all the best!!

To reiterate info Royce passed on to me when I installed the distributor on Popeye:

- Make sure you carry an extra 6v coil (Bosch is best), spare points, spare condenser.

The coils, particularly today's modern Chinese production, tend to fail early/often. Good American or European coils are a great safeguard against being stranded. Ditto the condenser.

My 2 cents worth....I have all three items tucked away in a corner under the back seat. If nothing else, having them probably insures I'll never need them.....my luck.....

Cliff

Carrying extra parts works if the distributor has points that can be bought new. Vintage units, not so much re the points. Condensers can be remote mounted so easier to change.

I wonder if the problems experienced with coil failures are on 12 volt converted cars. Not everyone realizes that 12 volt ignitions in the '50-60-70 point versions seem to ALL incorporate a ballast resistor. The ignitions essentially ran on about 7 volts. The resistor was bypassed during cranking by the 4th connection on the starter solenoid.
Just a thought. Personally I've never had any coil failure problems with distributor ignitions

LES,THE DISTRIBUTOR IS A BOSCH,AND IT IS IN NEW CONDITION,WITH EXTRA CONDENSER,[NEW]THE CONDENSER HAS BEEN CHANGED,AS IT'S NOW HELD IN WITH SCREWS.AS YOU KNOW THE ORIGINAL WAS HELD IN WITH RIVET'S. POINTS NEVER RUN,I HAVE MANY EXTRA COILS SAVED OVER THE YEARS,I LIVE WHERE I CAN DRIVE ON DIRT ROADS [NO LAW] FOUR MILE'S ROUND.THE OLE GIRL JUST NEEDS SOME TENDER LOVEING CARE AND I'M GOING TO SEE TO THAT.I WOULD LOVE TO HEAR THE BUZZ OF THE COILS BUT THAT WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR A WHILE,NEED TO ORDER A HEAD GASKET&VALVE COVER GASKETS FROM LANG'S NEXT WEEK,THEN WE WILL CRANK ER UP.THANK YOU ALL FOR THE HELPFUL INFORMATION I TRULY APPRECIATE IT.THIS FORUM IS SUPER, GREG.

30 years on one car and 20+ on another with VW distributors. One coil overheated and started to run crappy (no internal or external resistor, lesson learned). I did replace normal maintenance parts a few times as preventive measures but never had points, condenser, cap or rotor fail on the road, just one coil. No, I don't carry spares for these, they are too reliable (in my world) to bother with. I do carry a spare timer and set of coils in the trunk of my other T. Carry spares for what you think might fail and hope you are right.

Regardless of the system, have at least a basic understanding and keep up your preventive maintenance for success on the road.