Points to Electronic

[tonytony9]

I have a stock 302 (might be pulling this and swapping an explorer roller later this year, would keep it carbureted), with what appears to be a very old coil and no clue brand distributed, with oem style points/condenser.

I have loved learning old school timing with the points, and enjoy the simplicity, but they have just become too unreliable.

I need reliability, and thinking of upgrading. Should I buy the Pertronix Points converter & coil? Or go with a new Pertonix distributor + coil. Honestly not sure how many miles are on my current distributor.

My current distributor has a dual port vacuum advance which I’ve also been told would be a great time to ditch with an electronic controlled system with a new distributor?

Best,
Tony

 

[ntsqd]

IME Pertronix doesn't equal reliability. I'm sure that some have had no problems, but those that I was exposed to failed often enough that their owners carried points and a condenser just in case.

I would consider going with the OEM Dura-Spark II "Blue Strain relief module and system. Lot of posts on that topic, shouldn't be too hard to find one that explains it.

 

[serial car restorer]

I would consider going with the OEM Dura-Spark II "Blue Strain relief module and system.

That's what I'm doing on my 289.

 

[BOBS 2 68S]

I have had no problems with Pertronix ignition on 2 different Broncos. 20+ years on the daily driver.

 

[Broncobowsher]

Many Pertronix (not all) owners learned a long time ago to keep the original points in the glove box.

What isn't reliable with the stock setup? If you are chasing a worn out distributor than going electronic won't fix worn parts. If the vehicle wiring is bad, electronic ignition won't fix that either. So need to know what problem you really are having.

Duraspark is good. I like the distributors. The ignition box leaves a bit to be desired. Personally I like the GM HEI module on a nice big heat sink off to the side of the engine bay.

If you really are thinking that an Explorer motor is coming soon, another twist. Getting the right distributor drive gear. The original engine and the Explorer engine require different gears. And they can be fussy to swap out. One of my least liked jobs that I can never get as good as it should be. Pressed gear, at the right height that isn't easy to measure, with a roll pin that has to align.

 

[ntsqd]

There's always someone, and maybe more than one someone, who's led a charmed life with suspect parts. If it works, it works, but the evidence suggests that the norm for almost all of them isn't a very long life. There's been more than a few failures reported here over the decades.

Agree that a good HEI module driven system is a very good system and very likely is a better IGN control module than the D-S II module, was trying not to overwhelm.

If the wear is in the breaker point cam, then I know of no fix for that which isn't to go to some other system.

The way that I see it there are three phases to doing an electronic conversion:

1. Select and install the distributor. IMO the D-S II distributor is the best choice for this. It uses repair/replacement parts available most anywhere. Do NOT need to go to the large cap and rotor if you prefer the small cap. The drive gear issue mentioned is crucial, getting it wrong can easily cost you the engine. Getting it right isn't too difficult, but actually installing the correct one, as mentioned above, can be a pain.
2. Select the control module. The three obvious choices are the D-S II module, an HEI module (of which there are at least 3 different types, but all will work), and something aftermarket. I strongly advise against anything aftermarket as they are not built with the kind of long term reliability in mind that the OEM parts are built for.
3. The wiring of the system. What this looks like largely depends on which module was chosen.

I'd leave what needs to happen with a Explorer 5.0 until that actually happens. Assuming that the existing engine has a hydraulic, flat tappet cam shaft I'd find a distributor. My own preference is to go to a junkyard for this. Anything new will be made of chinesium and is automatically suspect. When you find a distributor it is likely that the rest of the system is there too. Grab the dist., the module, the wiring between the module and the dist., and the connector off the vehicle's loom that the module is plugged into.

 

[SteveL]

My 66 came with a pertronix conversion in it. Ran like crap in heavy traffic. I bought a 72 suburban with a new flamethrower dizzy. It never ran right between the Holley efi and that dizzy . Swapped in a performer carb and stock summit hei dizzy and all was good. I currently run the DUI hei dizzys in the broncos. I've had to replace one module in 20 years.