External ignition coil mounting (TBI)

[Mastiff]

Would someone mind posting a picture of how an external ignition coil mounts in a factory TBI setup? I have coil-in-cap at the moment from a Frankenstein TBI conversion, but will likely go to the external coil setup if I need to replace my distributor. Any thought on mounting more generally, with aftermarket parts all around? Is there an aftermarket solution? From looking at the pics of the external coils, they don't look super amenable to ginning up a home brew mount.

 

[scouthead]

they have a small bracket that attaches to a boss on the TBI intake with one bolt, and shares a bolt hole with the throttle cable bracket on the other side - mounts right next to the dizzy and the coil wire is all of 5 inches in length?

google is your friend on this one- click the image tab... but, since i already did that, heres a couple:

 

[Mastiff]

Thanks. So with an aftermarket manifold I may have to rig up something custom I guess.

 

[nvrenuf]

If you have the earlier factory coil in cap set up keep in mind the TBI distributor is a completely different unit. Your wiring may also be different.

The easiest route might be to replace yours with the same style of distributor except use an external coil conversion cover from someone like MSD. You'll need to use a universal coil rather than the TBI part but this would make the swap simple and you'd still end up with an external coil.

Pardon Our Interruption

I'm not sure this is the exact part number but this style of coil.

Pardon Our Interruption

 

[Mastiff]

It was many years ago (20+), but I hired a guy off the internet to build me a harness and help with the conversion. I think the harness connectors are standard, but adapter connectors are used to use the coil in cap. The base of the distributor is TBI but I think the cap and coil are my originals from 1983. I could be mistaken.

In any case, when this setup craps out, I'd like to get it more standard. I was thinking about the DUI computer controlled distributor with their matching external coil. Then my wiring could more directly match the factory diagrams. I'd just need a way to mount the coil, and to dig up a wire from distributor to coil.

 

[dyeager535]

My truck had threaded holes in the firewall on the passenger side fairly close to the distributor, for something to do with the diesel engine IIRC. No idea if all bodies have these holes or not.

But the coil mount for my setup bolted right to it. Don't have good pics, you can just barely make it out in these:

I would have sworn there was an application that used the back two passenger side intake bolts as the coil bracket mounts, but I certainly can't find it now, if it ever existed. Isn't there room there for something like that?

 

[scouthead]

Thanks. So with an aftermarket manifold I may have to rig up something custom I guess.

I have the edlebrock aluminum TBI manifold, and i think the bracket fits like it does on the GM TBI intake, but, I guess it was designed for that motor so it is is very very similar to begin with

 

[Mastiff]

I have the edlebrock aluminum TBI manifold, and i think the bracket fits like it does on the GM TBI intake, but, I guess it was designed for that motor so it is is very very similar to begin with

Yeah, I have the Edelbrock carb mainfold with a TBI adapter. Not sure where I'd get a bracket anyway since I didn't have one from my truck to start from. Maybe I'll check ebay.

 

[Mastiff]

Is this my guy? I could just mount on the firewall or whatever.



They also have this one:

 

[scouthead]

bottom one looks more like the bracket my EGR solenoids and MAP sensors are mounted attached to the intake manifold on / with

 

[dyeager535]

I think that bottom one would be a bit more problematic if you weren't mounting it as factory did. It would probably be fine, but a closed bolt hole will never slip free.