FJ60 big DIZZY conversion, do you have to use the 60 coil/ingnitor?

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I got the dizzy, side cover, coil/ignitor today off an 87' fj60 to put on a 79' 40. There is no way I can use the 60 coil without hacking and splicing (dont want to hack into my loom) but, my stock coil plugs into the new dizzy no problem, will that work?
 
What's wrong with your current dizzy that you are going thru the hassel of switching. The 79 setup is similar in design to the FJ60. I would run what you have until it breaks. From what Jim has told me they should perform about the same.

Jeremy
 
There is no way I can use the 60 coil without hacking and splicing (dont want to hack into my loom) but, my stock coil plugs into the new dizzy no problem, will that work?

:confused: It's a one wire connection... I realize the connector on the FJ60 coil/ignitor is different but you have three choices, all easy.

1. Permanent: Cut the green, single wire, square connector, off the FJ60 ignitor. Cut the end off the existing switched ignition wire. Splice these together. Note: The other round connector off the FJ60 ignitor is for a tach connection.

2. Get the matching coil/ignitor connector from an FJ60 harness (or possibly find it on any Toyota car of that period. ) Cut the end off the existing switched ignition wire. Splice these together.

3. Buy a single pole connector (like the Weather-Pak style) cut the end off your existing switched ignition wire, crimp or solder the new female plug onto it, then cut the green square connector off the FJ60 coil/ignitor and solder/crimp the male connector to that wire.

Installing a FJ60 Dizzy

That link takes you to my site where I show you all the wiring on the FJ60 system and how to bench test it.

Good luck! :cheers:
igniter.webp
 
Its a 3 wire connection, as is my 79' 40. There is the obvious one that runs to the dizzy, it is the same plug but not near long enough to mount the coil in the stock location. And there are the two square connecters that run into the coil/ign, each has one wire in it on my 79' but one has two wires in it for the 60 coil/ign, not to mention it would be female to female plugs. I could grab the wires off the 60's loom, but if it will work with my stock coil/ign this would be pointless, everyone keeps saying it is basicly the same other than cap size. Belmont, to answere your question, my vac. pod is bad and I cant find a replacement 79'.....:hhmm: which makes me think, I am going to see if the pods are interchangeable.
 
What's wrong with your current dizzy that you are going thru the hassel of switching. The 79 setup is similar in design to the FJ60. I would run what you have until it breaks. From what Jim has told me they should perform about the same.

Jeremy


what Jeremy said....

why are you switching? I've never tried it, but I would think the '79 should be able to run the 60 distributor, but am still confused why you're switching?


I know it will not work with earlier setups mixing and matching...


bk
 
I think mini-truck coil and ignitor bits can be used, but I would recommend running FJ60 stock coil/ignitor. I just lengthened the wire to the pick up, and mounted the coil/ignitor in the stock FJ40 position. The power hook up is one wire-thick black/yellow in your existing harness.
 
I think mini-truck coil and ignitor bits can be used, but I would recommend running FJ60 stock coil/ignitor. I just lengthened the wire to the pick up, and mounted the coil/ignitor in the stock FJ40 position. The power hook up is one wire-thick black/yellow in your existing harness.


That's what I did, too. Looks stock, only slightly longer.

Ed
 
you already have a fully electronic, sealed ignition system. Why change?? You like the looks of the bigger cap? Unless your stock dizzy has broken, you are not going to notice any "performance" gains.

Your stock 79 ignitor and coil will work perfectly for the 60 dizzy if you choose to do so.

You are making this way more trouble than it really is.
 
you already have a fully electronic, sealed ignition system. Why change?? You like the looks of the bigger cap? Unless your stock dizzy has broken, you are not going to notice any "performance" gains.

Your stock 79 ignitor and coil will work perfectly for the 60 dizzy if you choose to do so.

You are making this way more trouble than it really is.


Mace-In another post, I think it was Moto that said the vac advance in his existing unit was dead. The vacuum pots are discontinued, hence the desire to switch to the FJ60 stuff (which is a good swap for other reasons as well).
 
Mace-In another post, I think it was Moto that said the vac advance in his existing unit was dead. The vacuum pots are discontinued, hence the desire to switch to the FJ60 stuff (which is a good swap for other reasons as well).

If his unit is kaput and he can't get parts then I that makes a heck of a lot of sense. What other reasons make it a good swap tho? The spark will essentially be the same. There is a possibility for bridging across the cap, but I have never seen that on a Fully electronic small cap dizzy. Not saying that it does not happen, but I would doubt that it is a common occurance. As far as I know, the mechanical advance systems on both dizzys are the same.

BTW, mini trucks have a slick integrated ignitor and coil.

Any electronic ignition will work with the 60 Dizzy.. The two wires are just to tell the computer when to fire.
 
The other reason it's a good swap is because it's mechanically better. In the small cap 79, the rotating shaft is supported by a bushing that wears out and wobbles a bit, eventually screwing up the timing. In the large cap, the shaft is supported by bearings which basically don't wear out. The cap is sealed by an o-ring and parts are still available from Toyota. In fact I got a vacuum pot for my FJ60 about a year ago, so I know it to be true.

The real reason though, is that all the cool guys run the big cap.:hillbilly:

I do agree that the spark is the same.
 
From Jim C.

81-87 distributor body was redesigned to use a larger cap. The larger cap is less prone to cross arcing inside.
It's also less prone to arcing down the outside in wet conditions. Same dual diaphragm advance introduced in '79.


The 81-87 distributor is a work of art. The shaft spins on sealed ball bearings, the breaker plate advances on a proprietary large ball bearing ring, the weights pivot on Teflon inserts, the distributor is sealed against dirt & water contamination via O-Rings, The cap provides for a source of fresh, clean air when connected correctly.
These late model distributors don't fail. The FJ60 distributors will run a long time. The only problems they develop is a leaky vac advancer and the stop pin bushing ** can wear.

The 81-87 ignitor does have variable dwell (like the newest Pertronix) and has self protect to keep from frying itself if the key is left on (like the newest Pertronix).

The 81-87 ignition is uber reliable because the electronics are not all packed into the hot, vibrating dizzy. The finned aluminum heat sink seems to be of benefit also.

Sounds like if you used the mini-truck coil/ignitor combo and the FJ60 dizzy you would have the neatest appearing setup with great reliability.

:cheers:
 
From Jim C.

81-87 distributor body was redesigned to use a larger cap. The larger cap is less prone to cross arcing inside.
It's also less prone to arcing down the outside in wet conditions. Same dual diaphragm advance introduced in '79.


The 81-87 distributor is a work of art. The shaft spins on sealed ball bearings, the breaker plate advances on a proprietary large ball bearing ring, the weights pivot on Teflon inserts, the distributor is sealed against dirt & water contamination via O-Rings, The cap provides for a source of fresh, clean air when connected correctly.
These late model distributors don't fail. The FJ60 distributors will run a long time. The only problems they develop is a leaky vac advancer and the stop pin bushing ** can wear.

The 81-87 ignitor does have variable dwell (like the newest Pertronix) and has self protect to keep from frying itself if the key is left on (like the newest Pertronix).

The 81-87 ignition is uber reliable because the electronics are not all packed into the hot, vibrating dizzy. The finned aluminum heat sink seems to be of benefit also.

Sounds like if you used the mini-truck coil/ignitor combo and the FJ60 dizzy you would have the neatest appearing setup with great reliability.

:cheers:

And none of this applies to the small cap fully electronic unit?

I need to take one of mine apart to see if it has a bushing or bearing on the shaft. I suspect that it is a bushing. But am not positive.

Parts availability is a distinct concern tho. The only thing I have not been able to find for the small cap is the vac advance diaphram.
 
Like i said, the ONLY reason I am doing this is because my stock 79' vac pot took a sh*t and I cant find a replacement. Someone said above my stock coil/ign setup will operate the 60 dizzy fine, if this is the case its a done deal and I will keep the 60 coil/ign for a spare:cheers:
 
Also... I have the carb off the same 87' fj60 on this 79', it has the (4) vacume ports back by the air/idle adj. screw, which one goes to which port on the 60 series vacume advance pot? THANKS
 
Again from Jim C.

'78: redesigned with Medium size cap, screw down, waterproof cap, electronic ignition. Vacuum advance & retard.

The air gap for the reluctor is .008-.016".

The resistance value for the igniter is roughly the same for all 78-87.

The igniter will not consistently fire one cylinder, but not another. It will either shut down for good, or misfire erratically. The igniter doesn't know if it is hitting #1 or #4 or whatever. It just makes a spark after it gets the trigger from the dizzy.

The dwell is built into the igniter, and it is variable w/ RPM.

The 75-87 dizzy all have the same advance guts so can be re-curved easily. The springs can be changed and the stop pin can be modified.

'79-80: dual diaphragm advance. One big advance stage for normal operation, small second stage for extra advance at hi-altitude
Cap held down with three screws.

All the 78-87 igniters are interchangeable. The coils are slightly different.

78-80 coils work with an in line ballast resistor wire in the vehicle harness. It's possible to run the 78-80 igniter& coils on full 12V with no ill effects.
On a 1978 igniter, there is a dual pole connector that receives 12V power for the coil on one terminal and 12V power for the igniter on the other terminal. Ground is through the mounting feet.

81-87 Ignitor/coil: The wire that goes to the + terminal on coil, is the wire that gets +12V power. The other wire goes directly to the igniter, that is the tach output. Ground is through the mounting feet, so make sure those are clean, and apply some grease when mounting, to prevent future corrosion.
 
78-80 small cap distributors have nylon(?) plastic bushings for the advance weights, an o-ring sealed cap, the same pickup as the later ones(only difference in the two part numbers is about 1" longer wire leads for the 81-87 ones) and doesnt require the side cover swap.

They do have two bushings for shaft support instead of the sealed bearing and bushing combo of the 81-87 distributors. Although, of the 4-5 I have had or toy'ed with, none had any discernable wear on the shaft bushings.

The canisters are discontinued, but there is a toyota car one that fits. Not sure exactly how accurately the advance in the canister in setup, but I imagine it differs slightly.
 
Coil Part Number 90919-02113, retail $92.59, but available from toyotapartsdeal.com for $65.69.
 

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