^^^^THIS^^^^ If the fellow is at all reputable (and for $4800, he darned well had better be), he'll make it right.
Ignition issue
Thread Starter
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Joined: Dec 2009
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From: Flakewood Wrench, FL
Ignition issue
After having the distributor and carb rebuilt, the car retuned...to the tune of $4,800, I've put on about 75 miles. Part of the work was swapping out the points/condenser with Pertronix module and coil. I took the wife out for a Sunday cruise. A mile from home the engine back fired, became unresponsive to the throttle, then died. I knew something was wrong prior when there was an unreliable idle- ok at times at 550 rpm on the dash, other times it would stall. Running thru the gears at higher rpms, it ran well. At stop lights, it would exhibit the erratic idle I mentioned. But it finally just stopped running and we had to push it off the road and call for assistance. It cranks over strong, gets fuel to the carb. It looks like an ignition issue. Back in my garage I I tested the battery at 12.7 V. I pulled #1 plug and got spark but it appeared more yellow than purple. I tested voltage to the coil at 10.7V. That's as far as I've gotten with testing as I'm not sure where to look next. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thanks.
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From: Flakewood Wrench, FL
I called him first thing this AM and left a message with his office guy. Still waiting for a response. I thought Pertronix was the way to go over P/C.
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From: Wesley Chapel, FL Las Vegas, NV
Drifting
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From: CT
Please tell me that the 4800 was for more than a carb rebuild and a distributor rebuild, I installed a pertronix 3 with the matching coil, 8 years ago and have not had an issue, that’s not to say I will never have one, points and condenser work well, it’s your choice, check to see if he installed the Petronix with the ballast resistor intact ,
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Joined: Dec 2009
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From: Flakewood Wrench, FL
Please tell me that the 4800 was for more than a carb rebuild and a distributor rebuild, I installed a pertronix 3 with the matching coil, 8 years ago and have not had an issue, that’s not to say I will never have one, points and condenser work well, it’s your choice, check to see if he installed the Petronix with the ballast resistor intact ,
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I read a few times that the Pertronix coils fail often. Do you have the original point coil handy, maybe put that in to see if it starts. No need to put it in the bracket, it does not need to be grounded.
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From: Flakewood Wrench, FL
Drifting
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From: CT
I could see spending up to a grand on an original carb rebuild with it being colorized, and you could have bought an MSD tach drive full electronic small cap distributor for 500.00 it fits under the shielding. Add in installation and your no where near 4800 , what is his shop hourly e
rate 500 an hour?
rate 500 an hour?
Thread Starter
Pro
Joined: Dec 2009
Posts: 635
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From: Flakewood Wrench, FL
I could see spending up to a grand on an original carb rebuild with it being colorized, and you could have bought an MSD tach drive full electronic small cap distributor for 500.00 it fits under the shielding. Add in installation and your no where near 4800 , what is his shop hourly e
rate 500 an hour?
rate 500 an hour?
Drifting
Joined: Sep 2017
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From: CT
I could go on about this guy, and I might in the proper venue, but I was between a rock and a hard place and he knew it. I had been unable to get the car running on my own due to a bunch of things not the least of which was some serious surgery I was scheduled for. I've owned this car for 35 years and always wrenched on it myself. But age catches up and things change. I had to get it running in the just in case it needed to be sold. I was over a barrel without vaseline. To his credit he got it running...for about 75 miles. The purpose of this thread is not about venting my spleen. I won't put the car back there again. I've no confidence in his business model. If he wants to come to my house and look at it himself, I'd welcome that. As yet there's been no offer. I'm looking for troubleshooting tips so I can get this running. To an earlier suggestion: I thought I had a spare coil. Turns out I don't. How can I test the Pertronix coil in there for functionality? As I said in my first post, there's about a 2V difference from battery reading and coil. I'm not sure what that may indicate. Thanks.
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From: Wesley Chapel, FL Las Vegas, NV
I could go on about this guy, and I might in the proper venue, but I was between a rock and a hard place and he knew it. I had been unable to get the car running on my own due to a bunch of things not the least of which was some serious surgery I was scheduled for. I've owned this car for 35 years and always wrenched on it myself. But age catches up and things change. I had to get it running in the just in case it needed to be sold. I was over a barrel without vaseline. To his credit he got it running...for about 75 miles. The purpose of this thread is not about venting my spleen. I won't put the car back there again. I've no confidence in his business model. If he wants to come to my house and look at it himself, I'd welcome that. As yet there's been no offer. I'm looking for troubleshooting tips so I can get this running. To an earlier suggestion: I thought I had a spare coil. Turns out I don't. How can I test the Pertronix coil in there for functionality? As I said in my first post, there's about a 2V difference from battery reading and coil. I'm not sure what that may indicate. Thanks.
Simple tests - This will get you started
1st as I mentioned make sure the distributor is not loose. Make sure the wire from the Distributor to the Coil - is tight.
2nd The Pertronix is installed without the ignition wire going through the ballast resistor. Easy to see. If the red ignition wire is hooked to one end of the BR and the coil is hooked to the other end power to the coil is going through the BR. Coil+ should be full battery power.
3rd Test the coil with a multimeter
Last edited by Vega$Vette; Feb 7, 2023 at 03:14 PM.