While we are on the subject of ignition - I've toyed with the idea of replacing the internal ignitor with a more robust external one. Some of the V6 mazda folks had issues with theirs and switched to using an external GM HEI ingitor. They're significantly cheaper than the stock ones, a lot more common, and supposedly more robust. I may have talked about this here before, but what are your thoughts? It shouldn't be terribly difficult to wire up. I think we would need to fabricate a small spacer for inside the dizzy where the old ignitor bolted down, but that would be about it.
Theres some info available by googling "GM HEI mod"
Here's one I read not too long ago: http://www.clubprotege.com/wil/howto/hei/
I’ve read about people doing the GM HEI mod on probetalk, and figured if/when my ICM fails on my V6 in my probe I would do the upgrade and finally use the Blaster coil that’s been sitting around for the last 15 years.
When I did my BP swap I used all of the escorts ignition system.
As you can see it the pic, I’m already running an ECM controlled external ICM that’s mounted to the fusebox bracket.
Here’s my take on the GM HEI mod for a capri.
You can’t remove the stock ICM from the Inside of the distributor.
The first problem I see is the ICM is installed on the breaker plate inside the distributor which rotates to advance and retard ignition timing. Removing it would leave you with no control of timing.
The second issue is that the internal ICM is triggered by the 4 point star armature that spins next to the ICM. If you were to remove the internal unit, how would you trigger an external unit?
You also can’t use the the pick-up as a trigger either because it only pulses once for every 2 rotations of the crank so it won’t provide a signal for 3 of the 4 cylinders. It’s also fixed inside the distributor so it wouldn’t give you any advance/retard of the ignition timing.
You could try to drive the GM module with the tach signal from the ICM, then just use the GM HEI to drive the ignition coil. This would greatly reduce the electrical load on the internal module and should increase it’s life exponentially.