Saw the earlier post,wanted to throw another option in. I have all three . Would really like to run the vertex. I only used it in my old rail.I do not know if it would be dependable on the road.The old points dist. looks cool, changing points and condenser not a big deal but it does not seem to make the same power as a fugley HEI.So theres were I am at would appreiciate any suggestions. Thanks Walt
Very little experience with a Vertex - I ran one on a dual quad tunnel ram with alot of pump shot - made it finicky for starting. Once started though it was tough to beat. HEI - they're dependable as hell but as you know quite UGLY IF you use a "normal" one. I sorta built my own by using a TI Corvette dizzy (looks just like a point dizzy - but with "HEI-like" internals) - I hooked it up to a GM HEI module (mounted remotely on a hunk of aluminum heat sink) and ran it off a Accel Super coil - worked FLAWLESSY for years on my daily driver SBC Ranger pickup. Points - tough to beat - lack romance - easy to service ANYWHERE. easily "hot rodded via a MSD. Personally I love the look of the Vertex - but holy **** the replacement parts are outta this world - you gotta be "Diamond Jim" just to repalce the cap and rotor.
Magnetos were used in LOTS of fighter planes where the pilot's life depended on reliability. So, i don't think a mag would scare me.
If you run the Vertex, use a starter ****on and a separate ignition switch. Get the motor spinning first then throw the switch - helps the starting. A mag is good for looks, but if you're carrying a battery anyway a good point ignition should give you plenty of fire.
Plug gaps are important with a mag unless your push starting (sprint car) .023 seemed to work the best on a vertex using a starter . they came 2 ways with and without advance .on the street you'll want the one with advance, Joe Hunt converted one for me i think is was around $80. for parts and labor
I think an HEI looks pretty good with an Accel coil on top. That may or may not be pretty to others, but I like the look. If you use it, they ask if you want the white-wire coil or the yellow-wire coil. That is an internal wire - it doesn't show unles you use one of the clear-caps available. A clear cap looks great until it gets dirty. I always get the yellow-wire coil since that one has a higher step-up ratio in the transformer coil windings, and will fire up easier if your battery is low, or the battery cable is long, or if the starter drains the power heavily when cranking. Here is the Accel coil on an HEI I built for someone's Rambler 327 That's pretty enough for me. Oh, and by the way, I have used HEI modules for controlling other ignitions too. I did a few antique boats with outboards that had igns you couldn't get parts for. It was easy to use a small trigger from a Mopar dist, carve it a little, slip it on over the old points-cam, or instead of the cam, and hide an HEI module somewhere to run it. With a little creative thinking, you can put them on almost anything. Start an old tractor.. Fire a potato cannon... You will want to bench test first. Some distributor triggers will not fire an HEI, but most do. It must put out a small magnetic pulse for it to trigger an HEI module. A few are benign, but most will put out a pulse for the module to use.
Mags eat hp to make the spark, much more than a hei, They only make a hot spark at hi rpm so ya gotta run a tiny plug gap to start the motor, hence being stuck with a tiny gap. Totally cool for a vintage show deal (period model a , g***er, etc.) but otherwise not worth added expense and h***le.
I ran a Joe Hunt mag for years on my dailey and it was kick start. A vertex mag with an electric starter would have been a dream come true. An HEI is a joke wrapped in a riddle. If you want to go electronic there are so many better options that it will make your head swim. Why are you stuck on smogger ignition anyway?
You could use the points distributor with a Pertronix or Ford Thick Film module for looks and have modern electronic ignition. The mag would work but not as well as electronic ignition. That's why cars don't use them anymore.
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