What is This

[tom9961]

I have a 72 bronco ranger with a 302 and this this thing is mounted to the engine.

Does anyone know what it is?

 

[Viperwolf1]

The blue thing is the distributor vacuum advance control valve. Here is a diagram that shows it.

 

[CopperRanger]

I was also wondering about the blue thing. I have a 71 with one. Is it possible to
re-rout the vacuum lines and eliminate it? Or if you do eliminate it, do you have to change the distributor to a newer one?
Also I read somewhere there is an adjustment under the cap, what is the adjustment for?

 

[Quick & Dirty]

The vacuum advance control valve is intended to reduce exhaust popping on deceleration by switching to full manifold vacuum advance.
Not all models had one, so it shouldn't be a big deal to remove.

The dual diaphragm distributor is designed to retard ignition timing at idle and mild deceleration. This increases the exhaust temperature for reduced emissions. On high deceleration the late timing may result in the mixture burning in the exhaust system.

 

[DirtDonk]

Just saw this and agree you can remove it. But don't throw it away in case you decide to sell and someone in a state that does inspections needs it.

Simply connect your front distributor advance port to the "ported" or "timed" vacuum fitting on the carburetor and you're done.
Most find this the best spot, while some still find that theirs runs better on full vacuum. Most of us however have better luck with the timed vacuum signal so there is no vacuum at idle.

Paul

 

[broncodriver99]

Just saw this and agree you can remove it. But don't throw it away in case you decide to sell and someone in a state that does inspections needs it.

Simply connect your front distributor advance port to the "ported" or "timed" vacuum fitting on the carburetor and you're done.
Most find this the best spot, while some still find that theirs runs better on full vacuum. Most of us however have better luck with the timed vacuum signal so there is no vacuum at idle.

Paul

I hope he's not still working on this 2.5 years later.

 

[DirtDonk]

Ya know.... I first saw one of his other threads from '16 and thought this was the same year at least!
But yeah, I did see the '14 before posting and figured that someone might be helped if they kept the little doohicky for someone that needs them. His looked so clean I hated to think of it being thrown away.

But hated the though of a thread I hadn't thrown my 2 cents into even more!

Paul

 

[rydog1130]

maybe a dumb question but I'm assuming if I'm upgrading to an msd distrubotor I wont need this?

 

[crutch]

Thanks for resurrecting this thread. I had this thing attached to my engine but no hoses connected to it and was wondering what it was. Thanks!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[DirtDonk]

maybe a dumb question but I'm assuming if I'm upgrading to an msd distrubotor I wont need this?

You wouldn't actually be able to use it with anything but an original style Ford distributor with the dual-diaphragm vacuum advance.
So no, with the MSD (or any other brand) you won't need it.

Paul