Has anyone upgraded their 265 Chrysler Spitfire engine to electronic ignition? I think I am going to try, but need to know if I should replace the whole distributer or just the drop in kit? There does not seem to be any wabble in the old distributer. Anyone have any experience with this?
a few ways to do this, if you are stock 6 volt pos grnd, you can convert your stock dizzy with a kit from Pertronix. Next Langdons sells a drop in electronic ignition distributor, not sure if he offers it in 6 volt though. And my way, convert a slant 6 distributor, with a flathead 6 dizzy, use the module or even a GM HEI, but this is strictly 12 volts only.
If you are on 12v get a Ford thick film module with finned heat sink and wire it to the stock points distributor. The points never wear out because they are only switching the module. Maybe lubricate them and check dwell once a year.
Rusty for curiosity sake, have you ever tried this? Ford TFI are supposedly known for failure, in this application too, any ideas or experience on this mod? This idea did get my attention, but do not know 1 person who has done this with a Chrysler flathead 6 ignition, do you? Does this work only with 12 volts , of course?
Ford made a different version in the 90s on trucks that mounted in the fenderwell that might be the one mentioned.
It only works on 12v - ground systems. I have done this on a 1974 Porsche and was impressed by how much better the Ford was than anything Porsche had, no kidding. The Porsche came factory with points distributor and electronic ignition. I don't know what a genuine Bosch module cost, but an aftermarket copy cost $400. Instead I used a junkyard Ford module and coil which was far superior. Some Fords had the module on the distributor and those were prone to failure when they overheated. Others had it mounted remotely, beside the rad, in an area of cooling air, on a finned aluminum heat sink. I got mine off a Probe but some Aerostars, Tbirds and Cougars had them. I tried an MSD box but it was too big to fit in the Porsche engine compartment. The Ford box fit in place of the Bosch box and looks at home. All I did was cabbage the module, wiring harness and coil off the Ford and splice the wiring into the Porsche. Some of the wiring was shielded with tinfoil so I left that on. It is possible to do the same trick with a Chrysler or GM module but I like the Ford. It comes with its own heat sink and makes a neat installation. I bench tested it and got sparks 3 inches long, the stock ignition would hardly make a 1/4 inch. Module with heat sink The big advantage of doing this is that you don't screw up your stock distributor. You can go back to original any time. Like most electronics the enemy is HEAT. If you mount the module in a cool place where it gets lots of air, like ahead of the rad or on the rad support, and on a heat sink it will last longer than on a hot distributor buried in the guts of the engine. This is what Ford did on some models. You can do the same trick with the old Chrysler 1971 - 80s orange box, gold box or chrome box. It is probably more rugged and durable but rather old fashioned, basically 60s technology. Or use a GM module, but it is meant to go inside the distributor and you should make a heat sink/box for it. They are the smallest and cheapest. All these have the advantage that you can buy replacements anywhere.
My experience says if you are still on 6v leave the ignition stock. If the engine and ignition are in good shape there is little or nothing to gain by changing. Clean and adjust the points every 20000 or 30000 miles and they are pretty trouble free. This is several years use for most old cars.
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