WPrins

Would it be best (Performance wise) to replace the points, Condenser, rotor, with an electronic ignition.
1965 327/300hp.............This is a driver, not a show car.......

Nowhere Man

the only thing you will gain is not to set the points every 6K miles or so. you wont gain anything else.

65GGvert

Performance wise, I don't think you'll notice any difference at all. Both produce a spark to ignite the gas. Troubleshooting when the car won't run is easier with points and can usually get going when on the side of the road. Maintenance wise, with electronic ignition you don't have to replace parts regularly. Both have advantages, but I've been stranded and had to have a car towed twice (not Corvettes) due to electronic ignition failure. Points are also cheaper. I don't drive the car every day, and I've had the same points in for over 5 years and don't know how long they were in the car when I bought it.
From all this, the answer is "whatever you want to use". Both will work, both have advantages and disadvantages. I prefer points due to the ease and low expense of troubleshooting. Your opinion may vary and I don't intend to get involved with any arguments about which is better, however I feel like this thread will end up like that. They always do.

DansYellow66

Correct - if the points are in good shape and adjusted properly there isn 't any performance difference. The difference is in lesser maintenance. Some will say also reliability but others will have to vouch for that.

Mike Ward

No they don't. You're WRONG.

Nowhere Man

when Frank reads this thread then it will end like that

Frankie the Fink

Not this Frank. I don't care what you run with. I like the Ignitor III mainly because of the rev limiter. As far as performance....I noted better, smoother idling by changing spark plug brands more so than when I eliminate points...

If one follows instructions and uses an MSD Blaster II coil and is even marginally careful with wiring - they are bulletproof. Its nothing but a glorified Hall cell - the same thing in about 4 places in your modern car including the ABS system most probably.

Anyway - its Thanksgiving so I'm trying hard to be "...a thousand points of light" today...

65GGvert

Am not!

MikeM

65GGvert

We don't have three choices here. How do you rig a vote between two choices?

Mike Ward

I vote for pizza as being the third choice.

plaidside

I use points in four of my cars and have zero issues.
The points in my white 61 has been in there since 2001 and I haven't taken the shielding off since.
My feeling is if I have to replace the points every 10,000 miles and if I drive my cars 1,000 miles a year, which I don't, and the points/condenser cost about $20.00, that is $20.00 every 10 years.
If I switch to electronic the cost is approx. $80.00-$100.00, so I would break even in 40-50 years!
Now multiply that by four cars and now that I am 64 I will keep the points.
Joe

Bluestripe67

May of '90 I rebuilt my distributor and I put a Mallory Unilite in my '67 SB @ 126,271 miles. Today @ 218,152 miles I have done nothing except two distributor caps and two sets of plugs, and second set of wires. It's your car, time and money. Enjoy the drive! Dennis

histoy

Frankie the Fink... I noted better, smoother idling by changing spark plug brands more so than when I eliminate points...

Please share with us the brand of plugs you prefer to use. Thanks!

SI67

One minor note: Any breakerless ignition you install, even one including a new distributor will still use a ROTOR. You will eliminate only the breaker points and the condenser. And maybe the ballast resistor, depending on what resistance the particular system you choose requires. In fact, as you may have noticed, they are sometimes called "points eliminators" in catalogs.

Do not expect a noticeable improvement over points that are in good condition and properly adjusted. I've had the entry-level Pertronix Ignitor breakerless conversion in my '67 327/300 for ten years or so. It did not transform the performance of the car, nor did I expect it to. It has worked exactly as expected. I have never experienced a problem with it, but I never had a problem with points, either. Some folks will report that they have had early failures of the electronic conversions and have gone back to points. Most have had zero trouble with them, some with experience of 20 years or more.

Frankie the Fink

NGK-XR4

The trolls will come out but I'm telling you that my experience in both C1/C2 cars is that they idle better and burn cleaner....YMMV...

TBONE1972

I switched from points to a Pertronix II and very happy. Immediately I noticed a stronger throttle response but still had the "lean miss" that I could not seem to adjust out. I then switched to AC #7 rapid fire pug and that took care of the lean miss. I also noticed an improvement in average fuel economy and the engine just seemed to be more crisp and responsive especially under load.

You have to remember that the ignition is a system. You can install the best distributor money can buy but it is useless without the complete system. This includes plug wires. Don't skimp on the plug wires.

Point style ignition systems = 18,000 volts
HEI style ignition systems = 40,000 + volts.

Absolutely nothing wrong with a point style ignition system when all the components are happy with each other.

Happy Thanksgiving,
Tom

Donald #31176

Best bang for the buck performance wise is to optimize the ignition curve .
The engine cant run its best if the fire aint lit at the optimum moment.

toddalin

While it is true that a set of points can perform to the level of an electronic ignition, the points can and do go out of adjustment whereas the electronic ignition just goes on as if nothing is wrong.

I use a Mallory CD HyFire IV and their high voltage coil. I can run the car on the Mallory, triggered by the Accel points, or just on the points.

The points can go so far out of adjustment that the car won't even start on them, but plug in the Mallory and it starts and runs fine as if nothing is wrong.

Also the Mallory extends the dwell way beyond what the points could do by themselves, and even beyond that of a dual point distributor.

And the Mallory doesn't care where the actual dwell is set as it imposes its own.

Finally, as the points only serve as a switch for the Mallory, they don't burn and stay in adjustment longer..., not that adjustment is near as critical.

63Corvette

The points made in the posts above all relate to STREET driven Corvettes. For TRACK driven Corvettes it is important to note that ONLY Borg Warner A-112 points will allow your engine to rev to 7000 rpm without point bounce. However, the various electronic ignitions will allow your engine to use whatever rev range that you have built it to. Your choice, but there are NO points used in RACE engines, which commonly use a rev range of 7000 to 8500 rpm today.