I sell the HELL out of replacement Unilite (#605) modules. Scary amounts of them. Mallory claims improper installation or failure to use a resistor. There is also some sore to filter, I believe, that Mallory sells. A distributor guy I talk to says he has zero failures when that is used. Pertronix seems to be very reliable. Very few warranty returns through me. We sell about 15-20 Chevy units a week. If you have to go with a conversion, my numbers say Pertronix.
My Pertronics took a dump driving down the road at 75. No more for me. My points worked fine, I was fixing what wasn't broke.
Mark It works for me too. I've been running them as long as they have been around. it seems to me I did change a mod once. Took less time than changing a set of points. I have run a petronix unit and still have the distributer in the closet. I have another petronix uiit on an old Mallory Distributer that Bubba set up for me. I haven't tried it yet. The petronix units are easier to wire if that counts for anything.
I'm partial to the Crane Cams unit myself. 5 years with never an issue and who knows how much longer for the PO.
I bought a no name HEI from " skipwhite " off of the internet auction place. 45.00 shipped for SBC. I did this at the urging of a friend who had luck with the same place. It works like a champ. 2 wire setup. Just in case your looking to save money.
I run Pertronics in my Mallory dual point dizzys. Both of them are over 10years old and working fine. Do not use the new style Pertronics as it is junk. Use the old style.
I had a mallory dual point in a 340 Dodge many years ago and installed Mallorys Unilite conversion. It worked awesome. Never had any trouble with it for years. As far as the billet MSD distributor goes, you can take one apart and attack the billet body with a needle scaler, and then give it a nice coat of crinkle black paint or whatever you like and it will never look out of place. All it takes is a little effort.
What is Dave's small body HEI? Is it converting an existing dizzy, or is it a whole unit? Googled it and found nothing except references to message boards. No retail hits...
I'm laughing at post #30 from 2003. Since then, I could write a novel about the frustration, expense, & bs that friggen UniLite cost me. MSD is the way to go.
Would you care to elaborate on this ridiculous statement? What exactly in our newer technology is "Junk" in your learned opinion? The newer Ignitor II and Ignitor III both benefit from improved electronics technology and offer features that make them a stronger ignition with great reliability. Don from PerTronix
My dad has a Pertronix kit in his 59 T-bird 430c.i. Been in there at least 5 years I'd say. No problems at all!
Hi Don This statement comes from helping my buddy who installed the new type, The disk that bolts to the bottom of the advance plate. , it would not run period!!!. Went back to the older style that had the pickup mounted to the plate and all worked well.
If you mean the magnet ring that bolts to the bottom of the advance pate on a GM style distributor, we have been using that for many years and it is used on both Ignitor I and Ignitor II models. On all of them, the pickup is mounted to the base plate that mounts inside the distributor and this is true whether it is a lobe sensor style or a magnet ring style. It sounds like you either had an installation error or possibly a faulty unit, it can happen, but to make a comment condemning a product as "JUNK" based on what appears to be an isolated incident is really somewhat unconscionable.
It's weird to hear about problems running Pertronix. I've run 'em in every car I've had, Ford & Chevy motors, and can't ever remember having a problem with 'em - they've always been bulletproof for me, knock wood.
I use crane ignition on all my racecars. I race against a lot of guys who use Pertronix stuff. In the past 15 years or more one of my crane units failed and it was 10 years old. My compe***ors are always being pulled in with broken pertronix stuff...they alway have a couple of spares in the trailer. If you go with Pertronix make sure and carry a couple of spares...one to get you there and one ta get ya back.
We sell 4-5 Pertronix kits or distributors a week. Everyone loves them. Cars start, run, idle better than they ever could with points.
Bought my first Pertronix about 9 - 10 months ago and I love it !! Quicker starts, steadier idle, maybe even a tiny bit more power. So far, so good !!
The majority of failed units are due to either voltage or ground problems, and those are especially true with old British cars.
I have a Pertronics in my 39 Ford with a helmet type distributor. It's been flawless for more than 21 years. It's so old the name was Perlux, before the company became Pertronics. Installed right, they are bullet proof. I just bought another one for my 32. Jim
That is an old one. Per Lux was the parent company (they made Stainless Steel Fog Lights for Semi's). When the company was sold to Grote Lighting in 1990 the Ignition company was not part of the deal and it became known as PerTronix. The Ignitors have been around since the early 1970's. I know, what was I thinking? Long live the Prince of Darkness
I ran a Pertronic in a Mallory duel point dist (427FE motor) for a good five/six years without a problem. I did keep my duel points with me all the time however. I have seen these things just **** out at any time.
Don Maybe you missed the part of my post where it says i run them in my cars. The one that was messed up was the 2nd one my friend had tried in that dizzy. Both were inop. 1 maybe an isolated incident 2 acts like maybe a bad batch. I like them and besides when I say the new ones are junk that is my 'OPINION' But over all I still like your product.
I have a pertronix in my Chevy for over 4 years and no problems..I put the new pertronix III with the rev limiter along with the matching coil in a 455 Pontiac about 6 months ago and so far no problems...So far I have nothing bad to say about pertronix...hope that does not change...Miller
I put Pertronics in my 57 chevy and was happy so I put Pertronics in my sons 59 Ford and it worked well for a couple of years then left him stranded one dark night. I kept the faith and put one in my 31 Ford and it has been ok but the failure in the 59 Ford still hurts and worries me that my 31 Ford may leave me stranded far from home. I drive all my old cars thru 4 states and take pride that they get me home. I dont like the feeling that my Pertronics may fail and I am not rich enough to spend over $100 PER CAR to carry a spare Pertronics.
I saw that and appreciate that you have had good performance from yours, it was just the way you condemned the "new" which wasn't really anything new at all, as being "Junk" when that style has been used for MANY years with great results. You didn't say that your friend had two that didn't work, and my guess is that something was being done wrong in the installation. Like any company, we have had defective units (that's why companies have warranties) but to my knowledge we have NEVER had a bad batch so I think there was something else causing the problem. Unfortunately we'll never know what the cause was now. Although I hope you never have a problem (but anything can happen) I would suggest you just throw your old points and condenser in the trunk as a back up should you ever need it. I did that with my 66 Mustang in the early 80's, long before I worked for PerTronix, and that car is still on the road 30 years later and so far has not missed a beat. (Hope I didn't just jinx it )
When I went to dual carbs I bought a modern Mallory dual point unit. I'm still on 6V system. The original points and condenser ended up in the trash because they were flimsy and wouldn't align properly. I replaced them with Eichlin #2300 points which are a lot better and a NOS 6V condenser. After messing with the dwell a few too many times, I opted for a Pertronix (1 not 2 or 3) for 6v Pos Gnd that inserted right in the Mallory core. I love it, but I keep the old point plate with pre-gapped points in the trunk just for safe measure.
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