36-1 trigger wheel install pics

Just finished machining the damper and mounting the 36-1 wheel. I have one pic at the moment I snapped with my phone but I will post others once I have time.

What I did was machine the rear part of the damper on a lathe, cutting about halfway in and approx halfway deep. In all I would say I had to remove about 1/4 of the damper but no worries it will be fine. The trigger wheel is a 5.85" Ford unit I picked up for a few bucks and the size is just perfect. The damper itself is 141mm (5.55) in diameter making the Ford piece stick out just enough. The reason I cut into damper so much is due to sensor fitting location. I intend on mounting the sensor on the 1-4 bank timing cover as so many do meaning the trigger wheel has to be fairly deep on the damper itself for the sensor to face the trigger wheel correctly.

In all, I am now officially excited to dump the weights and springs advancing crud and running something from this century. Before I was completely against it, but with serious engine mods coming up I have to do this right. Now to decide which ECU to run......
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Plenty of resolution with 36-1. The 360 ran a 36-1 while the 355 and 348 ran 60-2 probably due to lack of ECU technology at the time. I *think* electromotive are the only ones clinging to 60-2 for some reason while everyone else has no problem running it.

This was pretty easy, no need to make a whole new damper IMO, unless you want something really light. The other part which is great about this method is the adjustability factor. I made 3 slotted holes in the trigger wheel 120 degrees from one another so I can adjust as needed to the sensor. I will probably adjust it just the one time to have it lined up, but still.....it makes me happy
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Well first of all a trigger wheel directly off the crank is far more accurate than reading off a camshaft. Camshaft readings cannot account for belt stretch and wear during operating which means timing can always be off just a bit. With a crank trigger wheel it is always accurate resolution counting off of many teeth rather than just a few magnets. The trigger wheel magnetic pickup plugs directly into an ECU. The ECU can plug into and interface a laptop (using whatever interface for that ECU brand) and the entire ignition map is programmable to a huge degree (also depending on ECU). Old ignition system are forced to run the most conservative timing possible because they are tuned for wide open throttle, which means partial throttle and regular driving loses a good amount of efficiency because partial throttle can accept a few degrees more timing than wide open throttle. For instance, half throttle at 4000rpm can accept 38 degrees of timing but can make an on-the-fly change to wide open settings should you hit the gas. The ECU is in constant motion setting correct ignition timing depending on engine load. The throttle sensitivity is controlled by way of either a map sensor (manifold pressure) or a throttle position sensor (judges how open the throttle is). The ECU takes into account the rpm the engine is running combined with the load read via map or throttle position and deduces what timing curve is optimal at that time. It really is a thing of beauty but sort of a !#$!$ to set up and a bit pricey

 

I setup a Ford Edis8 system with a megajolt box just to give it a shot. They are incredibly cheap and the system isn't bad at all, it's just they are not really user-friendly setup but the software is foolproof. The zap out of the coil is substantial but I'm not quite sold on the unit yet. I'm trying this out per recommendations from some Porsche guys who run these in their early 911s and absolutely swear by them. The ignition map is 10x10 which isn't very big but it may be just enough if I stick with carbs in this project. Stay tuned for more on that

The plugs on the silver megajolt box are for the map input and the other jack is for the laptop connection. The wires are a bit of a mess at the moment but I will clean it up quite a bit tonight.
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Nope. Just checked it to make sure all was concentric.

 

Shoo. I dumped that system and went for the 60-2 wheel with an electromotive like a grown up would. Works tons better and looks cleaner