switching from EEC III TO DURASPARK II

[JPMcCaskie]

I just purchased an 82 Bronco that needs ALOT of work. In my attempt to get rid of the Variable Venturi carb I ran into a whole slew of problems ---

1). I can't find an aftermarket carb that will simply bolt on.

2). There are 2 plugs/harnesses that Are connected to the VV that appear to NOT connect to any other carbs beside a VV.

3). My distributor doesn't have vacuum advance.

I did a bunch of research and it seems alot of people on this site had similar problems with similar Fords and remedied these problems by switching to a Duraspark II ignition system.

So, I'm leaning toward doing this "upgrade." And, here I am...

That being said, is this switch as easy as it appears -- get a Duraspark II distributor, ignition coil, and wiring harness? But then what? Do I just create a vacuum between the ignition components and get a run of the mill carb? Can I just pull out all the other vacuum components and the computer?

I should mention too that the sticker inside the engine bay says it's a 5.8 L V8 351 but I'm almost positive the current engine is a swap. I'm in the process of degreasing the engine block and looking for engine code numbers to tell me what is in there. Also, the guy I bought it from said it has California emissions components. I live in Montana and there are no emission standards. So, can I just rip all that out as well?

Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[Kauffmanbros]

I'm in a similar situation. I've just bought an 86 with a 351 and it's been converted to duraspark, but still has the belt driven smog pump and egr lines. It runs fine now, so I don't want to mess something up, but I'm told taking that emissions stuff out would be better?