looking to add electronic ign/points conversion
Tech Contributor
Joined: Jun 2004
Posts: 20,847
Likes: 959
From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.
IIRC, the Pert III module doesn't use a ballast resistor. If the unit has the same dwell angle as a points setup (it might do more, but I don't know the details of the system) the Pertronix unit will have a higher energy dump to the plugs (if using the stock coil). And depending on the specs of the Pertronix coil the system might make more, or less, energy than the stock setup.
Without knowing the system details/specs you can't make the claim either way.
Without knowing the system details/specs you can't make the claim either way.
Last edited by 69427; Jul 7, 2013 at 09:44 PM. Reason: Tweaked for better clarity.
Le Mans Master
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 5,009
Likes: 1,116
From: North tonawanda NY
In my experience, the Pertronix unit did not work properly with the stock coil. I put their "Flamethrower" coil in after trying it with the stock unit, and the strange/ rough running issue went away. I'm no electrical engineer, and I don't really understand what the source of the issue was. Once their coil was in place, though, it worked great. The deal with the Pertronix is this- it is the cheapest, most reliable, stock-appearing electronic conversion unit out there. If you have to have 100-point concours perfection, you better stick with the stock stuff. If you want one less thing to tinker/screw around with, I happen to think it's $$$ well spent.
(Sorry I can't remember which is better but I do remember this issue from my time on the VW forum and I made sure I had the correct coil and never had an issue with my cheap empi module... my 74 vette had a very old points replacement module but I'll admit I bought one of the eBay tack drive HEI units and have the original in storage. They are $60 on eBay I have not had issues with mine yet but I havent driven the car with it yet.
Last edited by augiedoggy; Jul 7, 2013 at 08:31 PM.
