History Transistorized Ignition

When did Transistorized Ignition Boxes first appear as an aftermarket upgrade? Were the first ones "magic" or did they really work?

 

There were a few aftermarket units starting in the early 1960s. Heathkit( the hobby electronics people) sold kits but probably MOPAR can claim the first m*** produced. The early stuff was just using a P-N-P transistor as a replacement for contact points to control the current flow to the coil.

 

I have a book from the mid 60s that is just about installing aftermarket transistorized ignition systems. Vettes got them as OEM in 1963.

 

Ahh! Heathkit! There is a blast from the past! As a kid I always drooled over that catalog. I joined the Navy as an ET and made a living from my electronics background but never built a Heathkit.

Must admit I never noticed auto related Heathkits.

 

I have a working Heathkit battery charger that we built in the 70s. And a color TV we built in the early 70s (I was 12) that needs some work with the vertical amp....but it worked in 2008.

I never bought any "hot rod" stuff from Heathkit, though.

 

There have been many types of solid state ignition systems since the early 60's. CDI (capacitive discharge ignition), SCR (silicon controlled rectifier), Transistor ***isted (taking the load off your points), or Transistorized , where you have all the switching and sensing done electronically, and probably a few others as well.

 

In '67 I had a unit from Nuclear Electronics Laboratory Inc. out of Walnut Creek, CA in my '57 Ford : it was transistorized but retained the points as a micro-voltage switch. Worked well for nearly 4 yrs, but when it burned out was easily turned back to conventional points/condensor. When I got to Walnut Creek, CA in '71, the address listed on the unit never heard of the company.

 

The 427 version of my 66 Fairlane had transistorized ignition from memory

 

My 1963 motors manual shows a section on Ford transistorized ignition. But I don't remember seeing one that early.

 

Remember the "chicken switch"? The early "transistor" systems usually had a chicken switch so you could revert back to points when the electronics ****ped out. That's when electronics were less reliable than mechanical systems. There were a zillion diagrams so you could make your own ingition box using Radio Shack parts. Some worked, some didnt. I will bet that a few of the current ignition leaders got their start doing a homemade ignition.

 

I have seen one with the switch. Wasn't sure what year or "period" was correct. Thought it would be cool on a 60's era build (even if it was truly wired).

Hmmm? I suppose I could make my own with a diagram........

 

quick Google......
http://www.electronickits.com/kit/complete/complete.htm

Easy and cheap enough but those transistors aren't the cool old school big ones.

 

Hays Stinger ignition was out there by itself since mid '60's.

 

Hays Stinger Ignition, according to Bill Hays, didn't come out until 1971

 

just grabbed this one on ebay.
Thought it looked cool

 

neat, that's an early one. date codes on the transistors are 1965!

 

Thanks
Even better!

 

That would look so cool on an open car firewall!!

Cosmo

 

In '70 I pulled an RCA unit out of a '61 caddy and made it work on a 283 in our daily '62 Belaire. it was an ad on to the original ignition and still used the ignition points as a make or break controller. The unit had been in the caddy for quite a while as the Caddy had been in the wrecking yard since about '65 or '66. I can't show you a magazine ad saying that this is the first year but I can say for sure that at least by the mid '60s aftermarket units were available.

 

Ford had transitorized ignition available in 1963 on the 427. It was a bakelite type brown box on the left inner fender. They used a single set of points in the distributor to trigger it. As stated earlier they were available into 1966 and 1967 427 Fairlane/Comets. We have a '67 427 Comet with the set up. In those the box is under the dash.

 

the book I have from 1965 lists 44 different manufactures of Transistor Ignition units!!!

 

had a couple of the wico kits that i used and had no trouble with them. can't believe some of the asking prices for some of them now.

 

First production car with transistor ignition was Studebaker Avanti with optional R3 or R4 engine, in 1963. It was optional on other models.

Transistors only became commonly available about 1954, so the first home made or aftermarket jobs probably date to the late 50s.

I have a couple of old Mark 10 ignition modules from the sixties. They worked with the original points distributor, but supposedly gave a hotter, more reliable spark while extending the life of the points to 50,000 miles or more. The points act only as a switch and carry very little current.

 

Hi , I know this is an old thread but rather than start a fresh one , I thought I’d open this back up.
I’m after some circuit diagrams for Ford 1965/66 transistorized ignition amp modules, to help identify the values of the components used in the Ford GT40 module as no information is held on yen Ford archives.
Any help would be much appreciated.

 

Radio shack, Archer CD ignition, 1963 I think...

My 64 Grand Prix 421 had a factory transistor ignition.. It was a lot of trouble. I pulled it and put a iron single points in with a resister and never turned back...

 

This is on my 57. Anyone know anything about it. I am really considering running it. Used a stock points distributor and a big accel coil.

 

Thats a Tiger CD box. They worked really well with a stock points distributor. You would want to get it tested. If it takes the SCR I would replace it.. There on e-Bay all the time and go for $50 and up.. I would use a stock coil with it and gap the plugs at 35. No sense opening the plug gap up and making everything work harder.. I've used them with both solid and carbon core wires. The carbon core wires are what's recommended..

 

I use a Boyer Bransen on everything - from Citroen 2CV to my 347 Pontiac powered 27T

Sent from my moto g(8) using The H.A.M.B. mobile app

 

Don't try to run vintage electronics without updating the power supply, lest ye roast unobtanium gerrmanium diodes or proprietary transistors. Just a few dollars worth of capacitors and some quality time with a soldering iron and Bob's Yer Uncle.

 

Elcohaulic What is a SRC? You lost me there. Is that the Resistor block that we always had to run with certain coils?