The Flame-Thrower Series billet PerTronix distributor, mated with the Flame-Thrower II “hot” PerTronix ignition coil, is designed for Ford 351 Modified and 351 Cleveland engines. It is combined with a high-performance ignition upgrade and provides emissions compliance.
Ford LTD II S 351 Engine Gets PerTronix Distributor & Taylor Spark Plug Wires
Some might call it entry-level customizing. Around the turn of the 20th century there was a regional trend peculiar to Orange County, California, called “OC Style,” and all it took to participate was to find a full size car from the mid ’70s and slam it into the weeds. For around $500, a mid-’70s barge could be found for sale in the Recycler, and for around $2,000 more you could lay it out on air ride suspension.
The key to a successful outcome is thorough initial preparation. I drew a reference chart with the firing order, rotation of the distributor, and location of the cylinders on the distributor cap and mapped their location.
The barge gracing these pages is a 1977 Ford Police Package LTD II S sold new to a traveling salesman named Frank. It was around Christmastime 2001 when we met Frank and Mary. Our veterinarian told us Frank and Mary’s Boxer had just died from cancer, so we gave the elderly couple one of our Pit-Lab puppies for Christmas. In a trade of sorts, the next day, Frank called and offered me his LTD II S, which he hadn’t driven in years, for free.
I located the terminal for cylinder number 1 on the distributor cap, acknowledged the distributor’s counterclockwise rotation, marked the firing order on the plug wires, and verified that the plug wires traced back to the corresponding cylinders. Number 1 is indicated on some Ford distributor caps.
Who can pass up a free car? Two weeks later, I had the LTD II S slammed on ’bags with a 10-switch box and swapped the factory dual-mufflers out for straight pipes—voilà, my overweight LTD II S was now “OC Style” and ready to scrape pavement at the doughnut shop.
Ford’s remote starter solenoid location, as opposed to a Chevy solenoid mounted on the starter motor, makes it easy to hook up a remote start button and turn spinning the engine over to land on Top Dead Center (TDC) into a one-man job.
I got interested in learning more about the LTD II S Police Package Fords and recalled in 1979 when I relocated my custom paint shop from the San Gabriel Valley to Westminster. In 1979, almost every patrol car in Westminster Police Department’s stable was a ’77-79 Ford LTD II S. Shortly after getting the car from Frank, I asked a friend of mine, a retired Westminster police sergeant, what he thought of the ’77-79 LTD II S police cars. He didn’t have much to say other than, “They made a good barricade.”
Firing it up for the first time? To install a distributor into a new or rebuilt engine that has never been timed, initial timing is set at TDC on the compression stroke (intake and exhaust valves closed), and the distributor rotor is pointed directly at number 1.
OEM Duraspark Ignition Issues
After 20 years of ownership, the LTD II’s Achilles’ heel has repeatedly proven to be the OEM Duraspark ignition system, which has the ignition module at its heart. If one is lucky, a melting black or brown tarry goo will seep out of a failed ignition module, confirming that it is bad. If not, one will have to consult the Internet wizards via Google to further diagnose Duraspark problems.
To verify the timing is not 180 degrees out when the TDC mark lines up with the pointer and not remove the valve cover to ensure the number 1 cylinder intake and exhaust valves are closed—pull the number 1 spark plug out, crank the engine over, and finger feel spark plug hole for the compression stroke.
For 1977 (from the LTD II brochure) Ford equipped 49 state cars with Duraspark II ignition systems and Duraspark I for cars with California or high-altitude emissions equipment. The Duraspark I, Ford’s first electronic ignition with “dynamic dwell,” delivered a hotter spark through lean and rich conditions, helping to pass emissions standards. In 2024, I discovered I had two problems servicing the failed Duraspark in my 1977 Ford LTD II S:
The Duraspark distributor has a freakishly large round body, so a special “distributor wrench” is required to access and loosen the bolt on the hold-down clamp at the base of the distributor.
Number one, the California-spec ignition module is no longer available, and second, I wanted to keep the car smog legal in order to pass California ’76-and-up emissions testing. Note 34 states require emissions testing and the rules vary for each state.
The stock Duraspark distributor hold-down clamp is kept and reused to clamp the Flame-Thrower PerTronix distributor in place.
EO Exempt PerTronix Distributor
In search of a solution where the LTD’s new ignition system would be a performance upgrade that eliminated an ignition control module and has been assigned an EO number led to buying a PerTronix Flame-Thrower Series billet distributor. EO stands for Executive Order and means a nonstock high-performance part that has undergone CARB (California Air Resources Board) engineering evaluation and has proven not to increase vehicle emissions.
To remove a stuck Duraspark distributor, squirt WD-40 at the base, press down the distributor body and rotate. Before lifting the distributor up, pay close attention to where the rotor points, as the drive gear disengages when the distributor is lifted out. To install the PerTronix Flame-Thrower on a 351M that is “in time,” a reference point must be marked (“red” dot) to drop the PerTronix distributor back into the same position. Here, the rotor is pointing to the fire number 1 cylinder, and the position of the Duraspark distributor body marked with a black Sharpie aligns with the red dot.
Quoting CARB, “The EO exemption allows the modification or part to be installed on specific emission-controlled vehicles. Every Executive Order part or modification has an assigned number that smog check stations, BAR Referee stations, or by CARB can verify.” The PerTronix Flame-Thrower Series billet distributor (PN D132700) fits all Ford 351 Cleveland and 351M/400M engines used in a wide variety of Ford and Mercury cars and trucks. Interestingly, the only difference between a D132700 distributor for the 351C/M range and a D7131710 for the 351W (Windsor) is the distributor drive gear (not available separately).
The reference point for the rotor pointing to number 1 (red hole) is at 3 o’clock. The red dot at 12 o’clock is where to point the rotor on the PerTronix distributor to install (drop-in) and end up with the rotor pointing to number 1.
Universal Taylor Spark Plug Wires
To ensure compatibility, meaning no mismatched ignition components that might create hard-to-identify problems, I chose to install a Flame-Thrower II PerTronix coil with Taylor 100th Anniversary universal-fit spark plug wires. The best advice I can give when assembling the Taylor spark plug wires is to use plenty of dielectric grease and not miss any area where the boots have to slide over the distributor and spark plug terminals.
Before installing the PerTronix Flame-Thrower distributor, prepare by lubing the O-ring with light oil and applying assembly lube or moly grease to lubricate the distributor drive gear.
PerTronix manufactures a broad range of ignition products. It’s hard to imagine an application where PerTronix doesn’t offer a high-performance ignition system solution. The ’77-79 Ford LTD II is an oddball car with a common engine. PerTronix’s D132700 billet aluminum Flame-Thrower distributor fits any Ford or Mercury truck, or car equipped with a 351M (Modified) or 351C (Cleveland) engine, including Pantera. MR
Point the vacuum advance in the same direction as the Duraspark vacuum advance pointed and drop the Flame-Thrower down, jiggling the rotor slightly to engage the oil pump drive and mesh with the distributor drive gear.You will feel satisfied when the Flamethrower drops (locks) completely into place, and the rotor points directly to the fixed alignment mark (red drilled hole) on the intake manifold. Tighten the distributor hold-down clamp.Match up number 1 on the distributor cap to where the rotor points and mark number 1 on the distributor cap. Press a fillister blade screwdriver downward and twist left or right to hook the distributor cap in place onto the distributor.The simplified way to custom-make Taylor 100th Anniversary universal-fit spark plug wires to fit the 351 was to number the old plug wires and then match their lengths to the new Taylor spark plug wires.The old 8mm plug wires and the new Taylor universal-fit spark plug wires were laid out on a bench and cut, allowing 1 extra inch in length compared to the old wires.The Taylor spark plug wire was clamped in a vise because pressing (pushing) the black distributor end boots and spark plug end boots over the Taylor universal-fit spark plug wires requires considerable exertion. There is no such thing as spreading too much dialectic grease on the spark plug wires and inside the boots. Leave one little dry spot and you will hit a serious snag.Thanks to the inherent slipperiness of a thorough coating of dielectric grease and strong pressure applied to push the boot over the Taylor universal-fit spark plug wires, the hardest task is over.The next step is to spin the PerTronix T3004 spark plug wire stripping tool 360 degrees in a circle around the Taylor universal-fit spark plug wire to strip away a ½ inch of insulation.The PerTronix T3004 spark plug wire stripping tool has different depth settings. There will be plenty of lengths of scrap plug wire to practice on and be assured the T3004 is set to the right depth and will not harm the conductor core.The terminals’ distributor and spark plug ends need to be squished narrower with pliers to fit into the jaws of the PerTronix T3001 quick-change crimping tool with dies. Leave the terminal wide enough to wedge into the dies so the terminal will not fall out of the PerTronix crimping tool’s jaws.Notice the conductor core is folded over inside the uncrimped distributor end terminal. The same steps are used to crimp the spark plug ends with the PerTronix T3001 quick-change crimping tool.The PerTronix Flame-Thrower distributor requires using only one wire from the Duraspark harness. Use a continuity light to find the switched 12V feed in the two-prong Duraspark plug.Connect the 12V feed wire from the Duraspark plug to the positive terminal on the Flame-Thrower II PerTronix ignition coil. Connect the red wire from the Flame-Thrower PerTronix distributor to the positive side (+) of the coil and the black wire from the distributor to the negative side (-) of the coil.
