Hot Rods What's the point? Pertronix ignition...

After some anxiety about the replacing the old dual points in the DeSoto Hemi distributor, I took the plunge and ordered a Pertronix unit from Summit. Of course we've all heard horror stories about the things failing and leaving one stranded by the side of the road, and I've gotten my car trailer and hauled another guys hot rod back here when his failed, but I wanted to do it.
I tried initially to install it with the dizzy in the engine. After struggling for over and hour, I took the clamp off and pulled it out. (Why do I make every job harder than it has to be?) Clamping in the vise on the bench made the job so simple I couldn't believe it. In less than half an hour I had the points plate out, new unit in, distributor back in the engine and running (for the first time in probably 20 years). It was ridiculously easy.
I'll get another one to have, just in case, but seriously, it runs SO good with this one change, I'm not going back. No feeler gauges, dwell meter, or a business car to set fussy points. Call me lazy, but this makes me happy.

 

And that, folks, is why so many people use this stuff

 

I put one in a 54 Buick I used to own, and in my 52 Willys Jeep. Both vehicles started faster, idled smoother and ran better. Never had an issue with the unit failing. I believe the trick is to use the Pertronics coil recommended for the unit you are using.

 

I can't recall spending an hour and a half getting points working on any car....but hey, if that's your idea of lazy, then enjoy!

 

And property maintained points is a bit of a misnomer.

On all my points cars I used good parts , my Lincoln I got points snd condenser right from ford , the Buick and Chrysler got nos stuff off of here or flea bay .

my maintenance consisted of setting them up correctly , and every spring take the cap off and look at them . If everything was clean I would drive on .

never an issue .


Electronic ignition is easy peasy as well , as far as I’m concerned the same maintenance as points , keep your ignition clean and dry with good parts and it will always serve you well .

nice your driving and having fun .

 

Well, that's coming out of the Pertronix closet in a big way! Gonna run the decal?

 

I agree with running Pertronix. In motor in my '63 Nova. About to replace older coil with their Flame Thrower.

 

I've never had a problem with the few I used. I also used their coil, sized (ohms) correctly.

 

Either one can let you down any time any where. When it comes to spares and driving the car to the event, I'm a belt and suspenders guy

 

The first time I ran a Pertronix distributor was on my '32 Ford pickup and over the 8 years owning the truck I never experienced a ignition problem so when I built the '54 Ranch Wagon I knew I was going to use the Pertronix ignition on that car.

It worked flawless for thousands of miles and 14 states, but it chose to die not 10 miles from home in 5 PM traffic in the turn lane,

I called the tow truck and got the car home, knowing we were leaving the next day for Virginia I dug around in my shop and found a old points distributor and within a couple of hours the car was running again.

From what I have learned I used the wrong wires (Taylor spark plug wires)) and the coil wire burnt up and shorted the ignition, something about 8mm wires instead of solid core wires, we live and we learn.

I ordered a new electronic pickup to replace the damaged one and it''s ready to reinstall but I haven't done it yet, but I do intend to use it again.

My only suggestion is to use the correct wires and possibly by a extra module and keep it in the car, like a extra set of points, hopefully your never need them. HRP

 

I’m not adverse to electronic ignition, my Fargo has the Chrysler electronic in it, the convertible has points. I typically use what I have handy!

 

My advise -- make sure your Auto Club membership is paid up.

 

Happy with a brand new Pertronix, huh? Well, I was really happy when I picked up my new Chevy LUV truck in 1978.When I sold it (after 4 years an 41,000 miles), I will say it was by far the worst vehicle I have ever owned. And that includes the '55 Dodge I bought for $10 in 1964 and the '60 Dodge I bought for $15 in 1966.

 

Welcome to the '70s...

 

Well, Brian DID say in his other thread that he was gonna trailer it anyway, so he's good-to-go if the Pertronix ****s out

 

I use points on an engne that used them originally....
I sure don't carry a spare ignition for my 15 year old fuel injected work truck, so why the need it a vintage car....

 

I put a Pertronix kit in my OT Camaro back in the late 70's, and when I sold the car in 2014 it was still working great. Have a second kit I put in the SBC in my g***er back in 2010, and it too has never given me any trouble. I used to carry points and condenser to install if they ****ped out, but I put them away as I got over wondering if it would happen.

 

8 years ago I changed mine after 3 condenser failures. Lucky to get home all 3 times. I used their coil and kept the stock ballast resister. I check the inside of the cap every year when I check valve lash. Nothing is perfect in this world and anything electronic or mechanical can fail and usually does at an time you don’t want it to.

 

If you have problems, it will likely be a bad ground or a "dirty" alternator. When the diodes in the alternator start leaking AC, it will kill one. I chased my tail with my 57 Chevy for a while before I changed alternators. Havent had a problem since. That will kill HEI modules, too.

 

Most of the time when you hear about a "failure", it's due to not following the directions, wrong wires or coil etc.

 

I used it in my recent flathead build. Working flawlessly so far.

 

My issue is simply that you cannot go to the nearest parts house and get a replacement part.
Mopar and GM modules/ECU are available everywhere. My only failure on a Mopar system has been the ballast resistor.
...you pay your money and take your choice...

 

I'm having to believe that half of the failures we see on here are because the person who installed the Pertronix unit decided to cut a corner somewhere rather than install the whole kit and kaboodle that Pertronix said you should install.

I'm pretty sure that the ignition on the 350 in my Bayliner is Pertronix. The point plate for the distributor was on a shelf inside the boat when I bought it and it has a pretty familiar setup in the distributor. I do have towing insurance.

Its a do***ented fact that points start to degrade the first time you fire an engine up with new points. Some don't go down hill as fast others but they still wear and if the condenser isn't just right they tend to arc and pit. That is just the hazards of running them and what made for a good paying job for a lot of tune up spe******ts in the 50's 60's and early 70's when you saw that same car every ten thousand miles to do a tune up on it.

Back in 1998 on a road trip to Texas to take the kids back to their mom when she was living in Texas I was driving my 51 Merc and pulling a trailer and we pulled int what Wyoming calls a rest area about 10 miles west of Little America. There was a young couple there in a 60 someting Dodge pickup who were stalled. Them, their baby and the gals girlfriend along for the ride as they were moving a few hundred miles. The truck had quit and that was as far as they got. A couple of tests showed No spark, a look in the distributor showed that the points were pretty crusty along with being closed up. Borrowed an emery board from the side kick gal, buffed up the points, got the rubbing block up on the tip of the cam and set the points with a match book because I didn't pack a feeler gauge. We jumped the truck off the Merc and followed them to Little America to make sure that they made it. I'd rather run electronic but that always sticks in my mind 34 years later. If they had had a module ****ped out we wouldn't have been able to get them going and with what little I had a long I couldn't have done any real trouble shooting.

 

Been running one for over 20 yrs. In a 356 Outlaw, been Coast/Coast twice!
Had two condensers fail in my life time..
Two side's to everything..

 

I'd say that any time someone takes a home built hot rod and expects to drive it long distances, its wise to carry some tools and and some spares no matter what type of ignition or fuel system they use. I imagine that many of the "points & condenser" guys carry spares, and I would think having a spare Pertronix is wise. Its not like you can find these things immediately and close by these days.

 

One fine day my wife calls out to me that my 66 vette is on fire as smoke is coming out of the engine. I had it parked outside & left the engine running & thought I had turned it off. I ran outside & opened the hood to use the fire extinguisher to put the fire out but there was none. I started to investigate only to find out the smoke was coming from the distributer. I had left the engine running & it died unbeknownst to me & the Pertronix little black box was burning up. No flames just nasty smoke. No more Pertronix for me as it could have burned the vette up. Pertronix techs said I had an old system & sent me a new one after I returned the burnt one. I never installed it, just kept the points.

 

Send it to me, I'll try it out!

 

Pertronix best drop in conversion on the market with outstanding support. If a failure occurs its usually due to not reading the instructions. Typical failures are caused by leaving the ignition key on without firing up the engine, some type of ground, incorrect coil ohms, and the wrong spark plug wires.
My Pertronix experience has been thousands of trouble free miles as well a number of very fast records at Bonneville running our vintage engines all over 200MPH. No need for the added expense of an Auto club membership!
Ronnieroadster