Topic: Pertronix for 1951 stock 8cm


Tracker    -- 03-02-2019 @ 9:34 PM
  My engine is totally stock and starts fine with std points, rotor , etc. Thinking about adding a Pertronix ...not sure about all the hype on how great it is . Has any one on the forum actually tried this unit ? If so, what are the benefits ...I see so many pros and cons on other threads don't know if I really need to do this to get improved overall performance. Any comments from experience with Pertronix very much appreciated and thanks.


TomO    -- 03-03-2019 @ 9:37 AM
  Here is my opinion:

Electronic ignitions can fail suddenly, point will allow you to do a roadside fix or limp home.

Collector cars are not driven enough to justify the expense, points will last at least 15,000 miles and current price at NAPA is less than $15. How many years will it take to pay for the Pertronix with the savings?

Ignition problems are harder to diagnose with electronic ignition.

The poor grounding conditions in the older cars compared to modern cars, leads to transient spikes that can destroy the electronic ignition in a short time.

Electronic ignition can improve spark timing and make it more consistent than mechanical timing advance.

Your Mercury distributor is easy to service, so I would stay with the stock ignition.

I experimented with a capacitive discharge ignition on my wife's 72 Olds, back in the mid 1970's. My hopes were to improve gas mileage and performance. The Olds distributor was at the back of the engine and very inconvenient to service. The mileage stayed the same and instead of changing points every 15, 00 miles, I was changing transistors every couple of months. My wife became very proficient in switching back to the stock ignition and my kids leaned some new swearwords.

Tom


Tracker    -- 03-03-2019 @ 11:41 AM
  Tom

I was waiting for your reply and it just made my decision...I'm staying with original set up...because you are right ..the car isn't driven enough to worry about it and I have 1/2 dozen ignition set ups so done deal. Thanks as always !


TomO    -- 03-04-2019 @ 6:47 AM
  As always my opinions are free and probably worth that. You are welcome to them.

Tom


37RAGTOPMAN    -- 03-05-2019 @ 8:48 AM
  bad idea
Tom o is right, stay away,
I had this garbage in my 57 CHEVY , was in when I bought it,
I did not know it at the time,
guess what,,, I almost got stuck,
once it got hot ran real bad, had a real bad miss,
like it was running out of gas,
I installed points , it starts better, see no difference in performance,
I think it runs better, with points,
just use quality parts, esp the condenser
my 2 cents 1937 RAGTOPMAN


EFV-8 Club Forum : https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum
Topic: https://www.earlyfordv8.org/forum/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=16&Topic=12722