Pertronix ignitor electronic ignition

[DirtDonk]

The early systems used .035. I think you’d be safe with .040 to .045 in yours.
I believe I use .042 in mine. But if it can support .044, a little wider is usually considered a little better as long as it doesn’t misfire.

Whether you keep your system or not, comes back to the early statements about checking the condition.
There are bushings that the shaft spins in, and they do wear out. However, as often as I’ve seen the old points distributors worn out to the point of being beyond use, I have literally never personally experienced a worn out Dura Spark distributor.
Still happens though, so still check a few things out.

 

[DirtDonk]

And I can't say for sure about the rotor. Maybe I'm remembering it completely wrong and still have the old Chevy points rotors (not the big round ones though) on the brain.
Maybe look up the visible differences on RockAuto.com, but frankly if it fits inside the cap, does not hit anything and you are getting spark to all eight cylinders, then the rotor is working just fine with your cap.

Paul

 

[DirtDonk]

Here's a later style rotor. They're obviously in the same family, but this one should have a wider reach for the much wider round cap.

 

[pcf_mark]

I had a Pertronix unit that did not fail but would drop cylinders especially under hot conditions or heavy load. Ford stuff is super reliable - I use EDIS today and it is a freaking tank.

What I would say is if you used points, Pertronix, Duraspark when you open the gaps past .040-050 you can get cross fire in the cap. This can drive you nuts. Keep the gaps around .030 until you get it running solid then open them up .005 at a time until you get cross fire / miss-fire and back down or get to .060 which is the most before no more observed power gain.

Looking at that cap it has fine dirt in it and that can be a nice conductor. If you are going to open the gaps you should also phase your rotor or the spark will jump somewhere else.

 

[DirtDonk]

And speaking of cap size, using the adapter and the larger cap and rotor of the’75 and later Dura Spark should give wider safety factor for larger plug gaps.
The next issue becomes the narrower choice of air cleaners as the cap gets larger.

 

[m_m70]

cap

adapter

rotor

Note that if you want to change to the large cap (roughly 5.5" diameter) this is what I used from Napa. Note that this cap has male ends and you would also have to change out your spark plug wires to fit the male studs on the large cap.
Just an FYI this did help with the internal arcing I had with the smaller cap and larger sparkplug gaps.
Also, not sure what you're running for an air cleaner but may need to check for fitment.

 

[Oldtimer]

That rotor is for a small diameter cap.

You need this:

 

[gr8scott]

That Echlin FA134 is the same cap I use on my MSD distributor with the MSD cap-a-dapt adapter. It's quality has gone to sh!t lately. One day my Bronco starts missing and sputtering, just running like crap. I narrowed it down to the cap. The center contact has so much side-to side play in it that it ended up breaking off.
The cap on the right is the culprit, left one the new one.

Guess what? The new one did the exact same thing.

I found a much better design. No issues with this one at all.

Also comes with a rotor for those using the stock distributor.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BWDWU2/?tag=classicbroncos-20

 

[m_m70]

I found a much better design. No issues with this one at all.

Good ffind!

 

[FORD*DIEHARD]

Just pulled the distributor, how does it look? I put in an email to "Perfomance Distributors" , still waiting for a reply.

 

[DirtDonk]

Looks original. In other words, pretty rough. But for 50 years under the hood of a bronco looks pretty normal!
How is the wear pattern on the gear?
Also, how sloppy is it when you push and pull the shaft along it’s axis?
And also check shaft play at 90° to its axis.

Even when they are brand new, there is FreePlay in both dimensions.
Side to side slop is very, very minimal. Basically a few thousandths of an inch.
But up and down along the shaft travel is usually quite noticeable. Perhaps a 16th of an inch or more.
There are specifications for both however, so look those up and see if yours falls within correct parameters.

 

[FORD*DIEHARD]

Again, being that it is most likely (original) and i am here , i think this would be a good time to change /upgrade, should I just pick one up from a NAPA or other Auto part store with the pars (m_m70 and gr8scott) posted? Do I just ask for a distributor for a 302? What about the electronic components inside, would they also have those and replace the used ones?

Thank you everyone for your replies,

Sonny

 

[DirtDonk]

A new, or if they still offer them, rebuilt distributor will come with all the guts pre-installed. Basically ready to install a cap and rotor.
But as basic as they are, I question the quality of a replacement part over an original pretty much every time.

 

[gr8scott]

https://www.napaonline.com/en/p/NRD482899

Last time I bought one of these it had this on the side

So it's the real deal

 

[gnpenning]

They pretty much have no choice but to use a original housing, it's the Chinese components inside that are the problem.

I'm with Paul on the quality of new parts. I would take the 50 yr old working part over the questionable new one. Do the checks on play Paul suggested before deciding. Or spend the money and hope for the best.

 

[m_m70]

I would take the 50 yr old working part over the questionable new one

Indeed!

 

[Tonyduc]

I have the ignition plus their coil in my '66 170 six , it works fine. Did have to adjust the timing per their instructions.

 

[slem42]

I have the ignition plus their coil in my '66 170 six , it works fine. Did have to adjust the timing per their instructions.

What ignition & coil did you get? I'm looking into changing to them.

 

[DirtDonk]

Hey slem, I could be wrong, but I think they used the Ignitor conversion kit for the standard distributor.
At least that’s what I’m “assuming” for the moment, until I can get back to the application guide.
But I don’t think Pertronix makes a replacement distributor for the 170 inline 6?

Hopefully Tonyduc will pop back in and clarify.
I’m curious which coil they used also.

Personally, I’m a big fan of their epoxy filled versions. I’ve never had trouble with an oil filled coil, but there are plenty of stories of overheating and premature failure, of all brands.
The epoxy filled version is more for vibration resistance, but also protects the inner windings from heat a little better I would think.

 

[FORD*DIEHARD]

Well this story is far from over, I purchased the reman distributor from napa that (gr8scott) did along with the adapter, cap and rotor (m_m70) posted.

Well , maybe it might just be my luck but the adapter did not fit snug on the distributor but it was snug on my old distributor so as of right now I reinstalled my old distributor with the adapter and the cap but still not finished or ready to fire her up.

Again, others may have had good luck.

I will be working on her the next couple of days , I will update the thread......hopefully with good news

Sonny