390 Distributor questions

I have a 390 Interceptor in my boat. The engine has a crab style or flat top cap. I am looking for help on:

1. A source for a replacement cap
2. A breakerless kit which will fit under this cap

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks

I'm searching as well to either add a breakerless kit or get an all new distributor. Pertronix and Accell make the kits. MSD and Pertronix make breakerless Distributors but I haven't been able to talk to the support people to get an exact part number yet. The 390 is a FE big block motor. More later.

Thanks I sent both of them emails and got no reply. Mallory responded that breakeless kit 502m would fit and then clarified it would not fit in the crab style cap and and had no further solutions. All the crab caps I have found are for flatheads. I would be willing to replace the whole distributor if needed.

I will keep looking and keep you posted as well.

Thanks

Both of you guys need to look at the distributor model numbers----My 361 has a mallory type YL distributor with a flat cap-do n---pertronix has a breakerless module but I found that it really did not work right as my yl breaker plate is held in place by two screws that pinch the plate on both sides and not held by the nuts as on other YL distibutors. See if this helps----yl distributors

I have mallory yl dist with mallory uni light kit no points it has a I in it and a differnt rotor fits under the cap takes up less room than the points did works good with the rest of the system summit sells it for 65.00 today.

Mallory uni light covershion kit no points uses a eye and different rotor takes up less room than the points did fits the yl dist on my 427 intercepters under stock cap and works good summit sells it today for 65.00.

Unless you need the flat profile, I'd dump the old distributor.
The conversion kits are Hall Effect, and do zero for any deficit that your existing distributor may have regarding a worn advance mechanism and/or shaft bushings, etc.

Treat your engine to a new VR triggering system by Mallory.... one of the YLM units. These are NOT photo eye!
New housing, shaft, bushings, driven gear, advancing unit, triggering unit, cap/rotor, etc.

Yea I'm sure a new dist would work but if all is good and he just wants to loose the points I don't realy know all about the dist system your refuring to but its a system and thay normaly say for it to work 100% you should change all coil wires plug and what ever else and if he don't know how to change a dist and the other parts he'd also have to pay someone so how much maybe 800 a reg dist point type for an fe is like 400 buy its self just my opinion but its not worth it. My 427 fe dist have a mechanical tack drive built in and a zert fitting for greeseing the shaft and I gust don't see them like that no more and here's a littel info that I have gone thew that may help someone much over looked is the littel roll pin that the dist drive gear is held on with its all riding on that I had one sher but did not spin it just would move. Bit at a time and mess up the timeing drove me nuts till I fould it and. You know that's driveing the oil pump also and my 427s cold with a mec gage make 80 psi at idel and 60 psi hot and if you touch the gas it jumps to 100 psi that's it relefe psi ok if your still with me in the qust at ford to quite don't engines for the market amonge other things like the hyd lifter thay put a plastic coating on the teeth of the cam gear in the 1980 s do to epa on cars thay raised the water temp to get low emishions but then the plastic started to fail messing up the timeing thay stoped makeing them like that and I was shocked to find one of those type of cam gears in my 1968 427 fe marine intercepter and it had not been worked on. Also let's not forget the chain and gear where so thares a lot of things that can mess with spark timeing to make one thing its a dist proble especially when its on the top of the engine right. Thank you all for reading.help keep old school going.

Glen, my point was...... his 390 is from 1968. Any older 390 may have lots of hours on it.
Lots of hours may equate to distributor shaft wear, advance mechanism wear, driven gear wear, etc.

Unless he has the entire old distributor over-hauled, or unless at minimum he has the advance curve checked, he'd be risking failure and/or poor performance.... possibly even engine damage if the curve were to go crazy!
Not necessarily early failure.... but failure that may be just around the corner due to the age of the units.
Too much Igniton TA, and too early, will definitely cause engine damage!

This is just a suggestion.