65 - 289 Distributer wire- ?function

bravoman... I believe that's the grounding wire for the ignition points ( the other one by your thumb is for the condensor ). Tough on where you get a new one... I remember it could fray right where it is crimped onto the terminals at either end. If this was long ago, I'd tell you to go to a junkyard and get it from the distributor of a junked car ... but I would think there are no longer a lot of 60's / early 70's cars laying around in yards anymore .... I aslmost say you might have to fabricate one of your own with some wire and terminals from Radio Shack ...

05RedHorse is correct, the ground wire was used because the points and condensor are mounted on a movable breaker plate due to the vacuum advance. You can probably buy one at the local auto parts or from any of the Mustang suppliers like NPD, Mustang Unlimited, CJ Pony Parts, etc. You could make one if yours is bad, but it may not be as good as quality as the factory one. Crimp terminals today are pretty soft. If you are desperate, here's one on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/FORD-MERCUR...t=Vintage_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr Good Luck.

Some of these guys must be good at bait and switch? I have driven Fords from sea to shining sea with points and condenser. Never noticed a problem.

TEN DOLLARS!?! Its called a 'distributor lead ground wire' and they are 99 cents at NAPA here. At the Wyoming, PA, NAPA store they are 78 cents. Take a whole dollar to be sure.

As has already been said, its to make certain that the base plate is well grounded which it might, or might not be without that wire. Both the points and condenser are screwed to the base plate and depend upon that wire for their ground.

NAPA AUTO PARTS

I nearly spit my teeth out { figuratively } at the comment that they are slightly better than sticking candles in the plug holes ! yeah, the biggest drawback that I remember of these was that they really didn't have a very long life. If my memory of the late 60's is any good, I think my Dad & I were putting these in the family cars every 5,000-10,000 miles, with a dwell/tach meter, feeler guages, a piece of chalk for the timing pointer, a timing light, and something to plug the distributor vacuum advance hose to the distributor. They went so fast we used to keep a little book in the glovebox where we wrote down all the maintenance... and when she started to run rough, and the miles were up there, out those damn points came. And God forbid you dropped the screws that held the points or condensor down into the distributor... before I learned of magnetic screwdrivers !

Oh, and with the points kit came this little capsule of cam lobe grease...with your fingertips, you had to crush the capsule against the center lobe ( a little better than sqeezing the head of a pin ), and I think AHEAD of the rubbing block that contacted the cam lobe... if the rubbing block wasn't lubricated, faster wear on the new points and soon you were doing it all over again !

If you buy a good set with the phenolic rubbing block and clean and lub properly and add the extra lube at the rubbing block you should have no trouble gettting 10,000 to 12,000 miles out of a set, with very little resetting of the dwell in between. The ones with the nylon rubbing block will not last as long. My 2 cts. Good Luck.