Universal Distributor?

The EEC IV distributor for the Turbo Coupe is listed as a "Universal Distributor." To the eye, the unit appears to be the same as a 302 unit, except for the distributor cap and adapter. I did a search for universal distributor, but only found one entry by Pete D., in December of 2002. Does anyone have any information that defines "Universal" and how it pertains to the EEC IV ignition system?

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Dan S
NATO Member
84 and 88 Turbo Coupes
(87 TC parts car)
It's no longer a hobby, now it's an osbession!

Dan, let me clarify. This is from section 23-03 Ignition System service - EEC-IV, of Vol D of the Ford shop manuals.

Vehicle Application: Lincoln Town Car, Ford Crown Vic. Grand Marquis, Mark VII, Tbird/Cougar, Mustang

Description (shortened and paraphrased) The systems features a distributor which is cam gear driven and uses no centrifugal or vacuum advance...........
The operation of the univ. dist. is accomplished through the Hall effect stator assy. causing the ignition coil to be switched off and on by the EEC-IV and the TFI modules. The vane switch..... is used by the EEC for crankshaft position sensing and computing the desired advance based on engine demand and calibration. Voltage distribution is accomplished through a conventional rotor, cap and ignition wires.

Nowhere in the 7 pages of this section does it say anything about different distributors for different cars/engines.

The only difference is that some distributors use the big round rotor that is held in place by 2 screws and others use slip on type that is in most of our cars (87-88 at any rate). Either one of these will work in our cars.

The only other difference is in the cap - number of wire terminals depending on engine.

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NATO Member. it's not a vice, it's an obsession
Good judgement comes from bad experience, and a lot of that comes from bad judgment.
88 TC X 2, 86 SVO, mods list at
http://www.turbotbird.com/showroom/pd_88tc.htm

[This message has been edited by Pete D (edited 04-07-2003).]

One thing for sure is a V-8 distributor will have a plate with 8 holes/windows for triggering the hall effect....4cyl car only 4 not sure about other differences tho. this metal piece is below the rotor and held on with 2 bolts