keep the points...go to pertronix...do the HEI with gear drive?

thoughts?

 

If you don't mind a little maintenance on the distributor every few months....and you buy good quality points, rotor, cap and condensers...the points system will do everything a "high energy" system will do if you don't rev over about 6500 rpm. If you have a very high revving engine or one that you have sunk lots of money in for very high performance reasons, go with an HEI system of a quality aftermarket spark box system (which also will have a built-in rev limiter). There is no real advantage to a Pertronix system over a well maintenanced points system.

 

I have a 1971 coupe , I went with HEI from Star Performance w/ mechanical tach drive , works well now .

 

Either soloution is better than points. Unless you like constant maintenance.

 

my '65 has points. The distributor was rebuilt and runs perfectly.
I tend to change out the points once a years every spring when I pull the car out from winter storage during the "Spring tune up".
Takes about 10 minutes to change the points, another 10 minutes to set dwell and adjust timing, and she is good for another year. No big deal time wise (and I actually enjoy doing it).
with the limited milage the '65 get I could easily go a number of years without replacing the points but i'm ****.

In my opinion forget the Pertronix, it's no upgrade - no performance advantage at all and overall the points are more reliable.
To upgrade, leave the points and add a good upgraded coil or ignition box or go the HEI route.

 

I you want to keep your origanal distributor you can use crane xr1 solld trough summit it just replaces the points and has a built in rev limiter in it works great I used one before no problems at all I have it still If interested in it PM me

 

Yes, I agree. That once a year 1/8 turn of the adjusting screw is a real maintenance nightmare.

 

Points work just fine as they have for many years. But you do have to adjust them now and then but it is not like it is a huge deal or something hard to get to. Plus it also makes you think of the ignition system so when you do adjust the points you can check the wires and plugs and cap and rotor to keep your ignition up to par. What I like about points is the fact that they go bad slow so you have time to fix them. And even if you are out someplace and there seems to be a problem all you need is a finger nail file to clean up the gap of the points and if you do not have a gaper you can use a paper clip or a match book cover which is roughly the right size for the job. You can also add an electronic box to a point distributor such as the MSD or Crane box. And there are points that you can purchase that will let you turn above 6500RPM if you are so inclined. As people for many years were turning far above 6500 RPM and all we had were points lol.

Electronic is nice as at times you can increase the plug gap for cleaner burning. It if set up correctly will have greater spark energy which you do need for things like N20 Nitrous or high compression applications. And yes they are pretty much trouble free but ah ha here is where the problem can come in. An electronic set up gives 0 warning before it goes not a sputter or a whimper. It runs and then it doesn't lol. So unless you have the part you need or somewhere that you can get the part you are stuck. And to this end if you choose electronic then the HEI would be the way to go since you can get the parts for those pretty easy where as the aftermarket stuff is not something that will generally be carried by auto part store chains.

 

 

yep, I've had my '65 with points with the tach buried (meaning AT LEAST 7500rpm) and she was still pulling hard with no missing or rough running from points float

 

I don't like cable drive tachs....no matter who says what....

trade off your old dizzy and tach for a 75-77 electronic tach, and then put in a HEI, and have done with it.....cheeeepest way out, and most long term reliable...

 

I'd suggest the electric tach also...and then get whatever modern distributor you like.

 

So why are you no longer using it?

 

If you buy a good set of Accel points...they will go a long time. I literally ran a set in mine for over 7 years and they never even needed the occasional tweek. They just stayed rock steady. I made over 800HP with them on the dyno. They were starting to bounce at 6900 rpm after 7 years. A new set would be right back over 7500 in a few minutes.

That said, the Pertronix has a good reputation and they seem to work well. I tried the Crane setup once. The ignition part worked well..the rev limiter was a POS. It moved around and you never knew what it was going to do.

Basic modern simplicity points to the HEI. They will run great and can be fixed if needed. I ran a junkyard one in my Camaro with 2 stages of nitrous for years with no issues. They run better than people like to talk about.

JIM

 

I bought the crane for a new engine because of the rev limiter. It took me forever to figure out why I couldn’t get the engine to fire right.(bad out of the box) I went and bought an HEI and she fired right up. My vote is for the HEI and change over to electronic tach you’ll save money in the long run. EDIT >>>>unless you stay with the points then your out nothing.

 

i always wanted to upgrade my ignition but keeping the original tach drive. So I went for the petronix ignitor 2. I did the installation and fired rigth out. Though I had to visit the mechanic to set the timing with the light. Yesterday finally I´d installed the msd 6al box, I really felt it more responsive.

 

Very well stated !

 

I ran Accel points for many years with no problems. About 10 years ago I installed the Pertronix conversion along with their coil and it has performed flawlessly. Last summer I installed a new Accel rotor and cap because I thought it was time, but after inspecting the old ones, I really could have run them for a few more years. Points never were a real problem for me, I was just looking for something that was maintenance free.

 

Here is my All Ignition Dragon fire Hei tach drive. The difference is obvious!!.......And the shield went back on!

 

How is that distributor working out? It's hard to beat the warranty, especially at that price !!

Any one else have one of these?