I'm in the process of getting an old Vertex magneto from Hairy Canary on this board. The only thing is, I've got some questions that I would like some answers to, and nobody I know has really ever messed around with a magneto before. I know that a magneto generates its own spark, and that you have to use solid core wires, and that the spark is super hot, but what about hooking up a tachometer? I've seen some magnetos for sale that advertise they have a "tach drive" on them...do i need one of these to hook a tach up on my car? If so, can vertex add that to the already existing magneto? What's the story with the points in a mag...are they the same as some common car distributor applications, or are they all by themselves? And how tricky is it to set the dwell or the timing on a car with a magneto? I don't suspect that you can do the "advance it till it pings and then back it off a hair" thing with a spinning magneto, can you? If anybody on here knows anything about these things, please fill me in if you could....I'd be forever greatfull......
A magneto is all self contained. You do have to run solid core wires and you can't run a resistored plug. If you run a tach it will either have to be a mechanical tach drive or buy a convertor box from autometer. They run about 50-60 bux. You'll hafta call them, Summit or Jeg's just doesn't get it. All you need is a ground wire to kill the fire, like a lawnmower.
one other thing..........make sure that when you put the cap on the wick is up inside. If you crank it over it will cut the wick off and then you hafta buy a new coil. OUCH! Timing is locked most of the time. They make a "buzz box" but you can make one out of a flash light. It just tells you when the points are open and closed. Basic electricity.
And timing should be a cinch, as it is all self contained and very little adjustment room. I'd like to runa mag on all my old bikes if I could afford it.
I've run 'em on race cars for over 40 years. I wouldn't recommend one for street use. A mag is like an old generator....makes its best spark at high rpm's but not a lot at low rpm's. If you decide to use one do NOT run any electrical power to it. It generates its own. The post on the side is for a ground....it's what shuts the engine off. Some mags have an advance curve built in and some do not. For street use, one with a curve will be best.
make sure it's a good one before you install it! stick the cap on,lay the cap in your right hand,and spin the drive gear kinda' fast with your left,and listen for any noises.
Great! Thanks for the info guys...Thanks for the advice SJFast...yeah, I kinda figured that about the spark at different RPM's...kinda funny cuz I'm running a generator (for the lights) too...So you don't set the timing for the motor like a traditional distributor? And how often do the points wear out? I've read the installation procedures for one of these on the Vertex/Taylor website and it answered alot of my initial questions, but i still have these remaining few....Thanks again guys...
Don't tell me you found a Caddy mag?!?!? Let me know what you got, ever hear any more on the Mallory's??? Oh yeah, don't plan on ever listening to the radio in your car again. A mag will make all the radios around you buzz, the energy they produce and omit interferes with the radio waves. Brock
Well here here we go . I have a Vertex on a 383 Chevy in a Deuce 3 window hiboy and it has about 40,000 miles on it. It has a mechanical advance and if I remember its about 28 degrees. I set the timing a 10 degrees. I run Taylor spiral pro wires 8mm. On the long push thru the mag cap it can be difficult to get the wire in. I may have even cut back the outer jacket to get in the wire. I run AC r45s plugs and change them about every 10,000 miles They are not wore out but I'm running a little oil thru them due to valve guides. I have a nice stereo system and no interfearence. I run Classic gauges with a tach filter from classic and I have han no problems. A friend that runs everywhere with me runs the same setup on a 283 with no problem. This may go against what all you have heard but that what I do. The points arn't cheap I think around 75.00 each at Speedway and Ronco/Vertex can make your mag into a mechanical advance if it is a fixed unit. I love my mag the look the performance but I do carry a dist/ciol backup with me. On a Sundat afternoon 400 miles from home if it stops You will not find parts just anywhere.
Hey there Brock...well, I didn't exactly find a Caddy mag...I got a good price on a Chevy mag from Hairy Canary, and I talked to one of the nice guys at Vetex about converting it over to the old Cadillac....he said that they'll have to make a new base for the mag cuz they're not interchangeable...the base includes the new shaft...about $250 for this...then he said that they can either do a base change which runs $49.50, or they can totally disassemble the whole thing and give it a once over for about $90, which i belive includes re-magnetizing the magnets and re-setting the internal timing...I'm gonna opt for the 90 dollar treatment...he also said that I'll have to send him a distibutor gear for it, as they don't have one of those, and I'm sure I'll have to replace the cap on it too, cuz Chevy spins clockwise and the Caddy spins counter-clockwise(and i guess on a magneto, this is a big deal with the cap), but other than that, I'm in business, and he said that htey have a turn-around time right now of about 3 days... As far as the Mallory's go, I haven't been able to talk to my buddy recently...I'm stone cold sure that he's still got 'em, cuz I'm about the only one that knows he's got them...he's just hard to get ahold of sometimes, which is part of the pain in the ass of dealing with him...I'll keep you posted...
Thanks for the info Falmedcoupe! I kinda hope my mag does make all the radios buzz....I'm not putting a radio in the coupe, and I want to make all the import car radios buzz when i pull up next to 'em! Anybody driving a dance club down the street deserves it....
The replacement points and condensor for the Vertex are $95 shipped from Speedway Motors, I just replaced the ones in my mag. I love running the mag in the coupe, and I haven't had any real problems with it. The point gap closed up on the way to Bonneville this past summer, mainly because the grease on the lobes had wore off and I didn't check it. The best thing about it is that my neighbor tells me he knows when I get to the entrance of our neighborhood, which is about a block or so away. He told me it messes up his satelite TV reception, says he could tell that I had a miss in it just before I changed out a bad plug wire!!
Yeah, I think the cops appreciate the interference too. Not that I care about that, just make sure youre legal....you may have an encounter..
Abone312, that's great about the TV reception thing...LOL...so do they mess with radar guns? I'm not too worried about encounters...we'll deal with that when the time comes...hopefully it never does...I think I'm fine anyway, as i see guys running mags on bikes around here every once in a while...
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