Just checking to see how many other listers might be interested in seeing Ray Livingston’s EDIS/Megajolt ignition system upgrade kit make a return production run?
To any interested listers on Jag-lovers.com, I recently saw a post on etypeuk.com by our very own Jag-lovers major contributor, Ray Livingston, regarding his EDIS/Megajolt electronic ignition system. As many of you are aware Ray, until a few years ago, produced and supplied a complete DIY conversion kit based on the Ford EDIS (Electronic Distributorless Ignition System) platform as an upgrade for E-Type owners. Unfortunately, I for one, was rather late to the party and I missed out on that particular offering so I was happy to see Ray’s latest post about the EDIS kit possibly making a return. FYI, the EDIS upgrade has been so popular that etypeuk.com several years ago made it a sticky on their website. For more info click here: http://forum.etypeuk.com/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=437&start=360
From several accounts E-Type owners have reported this is the single best upgrade they have done to their pride and joy … bar none. If you’re one of the lucky few with Ray’s earlier kit maybe you can chime in here with your comments.
And now to the point of this post. From the above-mentioned sticky, on pages 19-20, Ray indicated he may be willing to supply an installation kit which would include the mechanical parts to complete the installation … if there’s enough interest. This “installation” kit would not be the full kit he once offered but rather the major mechanical tried and true installation components - owners would need to source their own electronic components to complete the upgrade. Ray’s proprietary machined parts included in this proposed kit (the trigger wheel, coil pack mount, VR sensor mount and other pieces) are all critical bits neccessary for a successful conversion. The remaining electronic EDIS/Megajolt components can be readily sourced by individual owners through several third-party part suppliers including FLAPS or online or used units from scrapyards, etc. For more specific details of what Ray has in mind for this kit read through pages 19-20 in the etypeuk.com sticky above.
So, besides myself, are they any listers who would be interested in seeing Ray’s offering become a reality??? Hopefully, Ray will see this post and add a few comments of his own. So, whaddya say, Ray?
Personally I would only want a complete kit so I knew all the parts were correct. Shopping for half the kit is not an option for me! To easy to spend a lot of money on the wrong items.
I have Jags, but not an E-type, and because Ray keeps mainly to the E-type list, there are many Saloon and XJ owners who would be unaware, but interested I dare say.
just been reading the UK forum summary (not finished) and now know that this is what is needed for the modified S2 XJ motor in my 420G
As a qualified electronics technician, I feel stupid for not reading up on it earlier, and could probably cobble together new & used parts myself, but for a few extra $, I would WAY prefer the reassurance of proven pedigree
Just to clarify… The reason I stopped making kits was it became very difficult to get new connectors, EDIS modules and coilpacks in quantity, at a price I could handle. The parts ARE readily available, most from almost any auto parts store. In fact, new coils and EDIS modules are even cheaper than they were a few years ago. Getting those parts, and assembling the wiring is a very straight-forward DIY task. What most hobbyists find difficult to coming up with the mechanical bits - the trigger wheel, trigger mounting hardware, crank pickup bracket, coilpack bracket, spark plug wires, etc. The kit I am contemplating would provide ALL necessary mechanical parts, and complete instructions on where to get all the electronic parts, and exactly how to assemble the wiring harness, and install everything on the car. When done, you’ll have a complete functional equivalent of my old kit, with just a bit more “sweat equity”. For those who are seriously budget-conscious, it is also quite easy to source used coilpacks and EDIS modules for a fraction of the cost of new units. Even the connectors can be sourced from wrecking yards, EBay and other sources. My old kits included used coilpacks and EDIS modules, but always used brand new connectors.
Assume this would include Part #s or Ford model applications for sourcing, i.e. 6-cylinder Ford Mustang, Ranger, F150, etc, Model Year 1994 - 2000 for example??? I believe FoMoCo used EDIS across the range of all models for several model years so it’s pretty much open season for electronics parts sourcing, no?
That is correct. An EDIS6 module is an EDIS6 module, and millions of them were used through the '90s. Same goes for the coilpacks. ANY EDIS6 module can be used. ANY EDIS6 coilpack can be used.
The old site was a bit more “socially siloed” (i.e. people tended to stick to just one category). I have the feeling that since the migration some of that has changed, probably due to the way Discourse displays “latest” posts, and that the new search function is better.
A great deal of the info here on JL is quite generic - gluing underfelt, rebuilding an SU carb (or adding electronics to the pump), rebuilding a dizzy (or implementing EDIS), dealing with a broken bolt etc. are pretty generic tasks, so you’ll likely find an answer somewhere here on JL if you avoid thinking everything is model specific. And, as far as I know nobody has been hung, drawn, and quartered for posting on a forum dealing with a model which they don’t own.
I’m interested in the kit…or at least components of it, specifically the coil pack mount and the triggerwheel and triggerwheel sensor bracket. Rest of parts I can source without an issue. I have a 3.8 Mk2 engine. If there was only one part I could get from Ray it would be the coil pack mount…I could fabricate other parts.
Ray – if you don’t want to go back into production for these parts do you have CAD files you’d be willing to share (or sell) that could be brought to a local fabrication shop?
Sadly, that is not really true. First, there are numerous different crank dampers, pulleys, and belt arrangements used by different models, and those all affect where and how the trigger wheel and pickup bracket can be located. There were three different pickup brackets and three different trigger wheels just to handle the few variations of the E-type. The coil brackets also would likely be different. The E-type kits mount the coil-pack in the (empty) dizzy hole. But on sedans, there is often a wheel well or other obstruction that precludes that location. The basic parts required, and the connectivity of the wiring would be the same for all, but the mechanical bits, in general, do not adapt easily to other models. A few people did successfully adapt E-type kits to other models, but they all had left-over parts, and had to fabricate some parts to make it work.
My “manufacturing process” is designed for batches of 25 sets of parts. I’d have to be convinced there was enough interest that I could sell at least that many in a reasonable period of time. It took quite a while to sell the last batch of full kits…
I would only sell full “mechanical kits” - there is far too much hassle involved with selling partial kits. And the CAD models would be useless to anyone else. The way they were developed, they’re hard to understand (this project was not done in 3D CAD), and the cost of building a one-off would be through the roof. Machining the parts REQUIRES custom fixtures.
Hi Ray, understood and all kidding aside. Please add me to your list and whenever you are ready I’ll be ready to buy it. If you need more of an up-front commitment, let me know. Your mechanical kit would be perfect. And I suspect there are others like me willing to commit to it and find the electrical parts on their own. From what I’ve seen of your work, you’ve done a superb job of engineering the mechanical parts.
Thanks for reconsidering doing this and I’m glad Gary raised this thread.
Anthony
)