crab distributor - only choice on early 21 stud ?

[35fordtn]

Originally Posted by Hoop

Quite possibly the change of Ford's distributor design was the result of the outbreak of WW2. Aluminum was critcal to war production ... with Germany outproducing the US in the beginning.

The crab contains considerably less aluminum than the helmet and uses the same ignition technology.

No aluminum, no victory.

Off topic , but Hoop I believe and have assumed the change was due to two reasons.

1. In 42 the fan was relocated to be more towards the center of the radiator and that made it necessary for a less bulky distributor.

2. The early coils are bad about getting hot given how close the sit to the engine. Relocating the coil to a remote coil likely helped with heat and gave space for the new 21a fan design.