My pertronix died on Sunday after 2 years of troublefree operation :) which provided a convenient opportunity to switch back to points. I picked up an Echlin points set and condensor from Napa, per Lars' recommendation. It sure is easier to go in there with a part number, rather than starting with..... "what year is it?" ... Napa also sells stuff online, but I like my local shop especially when I "need it now!!". Next I picked up a Mr Gasket distributor recurve kit, which turned out to be an expensive set of light springs, because that was all I used from the kit.

Installed everything, set the dwell and timing, and off I go. Then I pulled out Lars' paper on how to set timing, and much to my surprise, when I removed the springs I had almost exactly 36 degrees advance that seems to come in by 2500. so I didnt need to adjust timing. This worked out to be about 13 or 14 innitial at idle. (I am by myself and the dwell tach only goes up to 1600). Had to judge it by sound.. :) vroooooom= 2500 rpm :)

Bottom line? Car seems to run great, but I cant swear there is a performance gain. Fortunately, I should have a chance to go to the track this weekend and test. But one thing is for sure: With the pertronix it did not require excessive cranking, but I had to crank a little bit before starting. Now, it is almost "instant on". This is great! :) Car starts with like 1/4 second cranking. verrrrrry nice! :) MJ

p.s. Thanks Lars!! :cheers:




[Modified by MNJack, 4:18 PM 6/27/2002]

 

I am running Points after that P> O S> pertronix unit failed on me after 2 months of use...I am running a Mallory Dual Point distributor and it Cranks instantly and pulls effortlessly past the 6k mark....Good for you...

 

My pertronix 2 took a dump 3 months after I bought it. I saw a flaw in the design for the pert. 2. The have the pickup riveted to the base. The rivets wore loose on mine and took the unit way out of spec. I put the points back in and had no problems until the motor broke. I had missed the easy start ups, but with the HEI and zz4 I got that back.

Mark B.

 

Mark, welcome back from the Dark Side :) I've never really understood why everyone likes them so much. I had one for about a week, but it caused misfiring and startup delays. Who has to adjust their points that often? I've been running the same points for two years, and the dwell still reads 32 every time I check it. Go figure...

-Joe

 

My Pertronix only lasted about 6 months before crapping out. I have the points triggering the Crane HI6 now and it runs fine. Some have had good luck others have not. It sounds kind of like the MSD units and Crane HI6 units. If you get a good one they last, if not they crap out

 

That's what I like..... "reverse engineering"!!

I'm still running points in mine for good conversation topics.

Electronic stuff is great, wouldn't have anything else on my daily driver.But this stuff works fine with old tech. My set of Accells have been in there 4+ years and have pulled well past 7000 rpm many a time without a skip.

A good set will never move.


Jim

 

Had a Mallory Unilite conversion in my stock dist. for years. When I switched manifolds a while back I decided to change to a Accel dual point I had stored away. I swear the thing starts quicker and idles better and will spin to 6000 without a hickup :smash:
Add me to the list of the pointed :cheers:

 

Hmmm...I have the Unilite conversion too. Car starts and pulls great, but has a slight miss at steady cruise. I may try putting the points back in and see if that clears up.

 

I'm very happy w/unilight and Mallory coils. Can't complain.

 

cya there! :seeya

 

I know that my 78 came stock with electronics but, are all you trying to say that a point setup (dual or not) is better than an electronic setup?

 

The stock HEI is not being discussed here. It's a great system. Pertronix ain't no HEI :lol:

 

Okay, thanks! Forgive my ignorance but, what’s the deference between this Pertronix and HEI?

 

I had points, which worked ok. Tried the pertronix, which worked like crap on my setup. I then bought MSD's pro billet tach drive distributor and 6 al box and have never looked back. It is far superior to points or HEI, plus it features adjustability to get your timing curve perfect. I am 100% happy with it.

 

MSD's tach drive dist. will be my next ign. upgrade (if there is one) no more electronic "conversions" :cheers:

 

i have had no problems so far in about 2 months...when i was asking about them i mentioned how everyone seems to have problems with them. i was told that depending on the dist. being the original one or after market, there are two different types and if you install the wrong one for the type of dist. you will have problems like everyone is describing...anyone else hear this too or maybe B.S.....

 

 

Two years on my Mallory Unilite and no problems. Is there a possiblity some of these failures are attributed to not removing the ballast resistor as the Unilite instructions stated. I have not read the Petronix but I would guess it would need the full 12v instead of the 7-8volts.

 

I had a Mallory unilite conversion. It worked pretty well. For other reasons, I installed a brand new GM HEI. I can't believe how much better the car runs with it. Bought a used 75-77 tach with my 69 tach face, and Lectric Limited makes a harness to use the electronic tach with 69-74 cars. It comes with factory tach and distributor connectors (20 bucks or so for the harness). Looks like a factory harness. :cheers:

AC

 

i've experience the untimely death of a Pertronix I and II, so i am allowed to say they suck! and yes, i did rewire for 12v to coil all the time.

:smash: :smash:
pertronix