Has anyone converted their car from breaker points to electronic ignition? I have a 6 volt positive ground electrical system. I have heard there are conversion kits out there and was wondering if it is worth checking into.
I was told that the car gets a stronger spark and it makes the car easier to start.
what system do you wish to install...there are a few options...and remember the spark is the function of the secondary side of the igntion coil, if you change to just the breakerless trigger and still firing the original coil, you have not increased your spark
I really don't know much about this. This is why I am asking if anyone has converted their care over to pointless ignition. If it made a difference? Where can I get a kit to change it over.
Thanks for any suggestions in advance.
Not supposed to talk about that kind of stuff here. It might cause health problems among the members. it would be a non factory modification.
Don't tell anyone you heard this hear. Go to the Pertronix catalog, the agricultural listing, and order up a unit for a Massey Harris chrysler powered (not slant 6) combine. Make sure you include the suffix for 6 V pos grnd from the foot notes.
If you ask them they will tell you thsy do not have an appliation for your car. They are wrong.
If you plan to pervert your car to 12 V at some time the electronic ignition from a later /6 can be adapted. Some modification of the /6 distributor is necessary, to adapt the L6 dizzy drive specifically. but if you can do that, is doable.
3 years ago I got a pertronix 6 V , my dealer had to order it in US because I have minus GND. Plus GND was in stock.
Works perfectly, easy to install, only one small wire to detect the changement. If You take the points rivets out carefully,
You can ever go back to points withjust two small skrews.
Greetings Go
Well, my own opinion, for whatever its worth, is that the electronic ignition systems are a sort of needless 'widgetty-gadgetty' toy, for cars/rucks in ordinary road service.
For high-performance applications, they do offer advantages in providing reliable spark up at the high engine speeds at which 'point bounce' and 'coil saturation time' are factors.
This is meaningful on modern short-stroke V8 engines, but pretty useless on the old long-stroke sixes.
These systems do by electronic means, what the old Mallory dual point and dual coil winding systems did, years ago.
The catch is that this is hot-rodders technology, for those who must see high rpms, and are willing to accept short bearing life, and occasional piston or rod failure, as the trade-off.
For cars and trucks in common road service, the original points system is perfectly adequate, if set up and maintained properly.That 'maintained properly' is the 'catch'.
It would appear that the appeal of the electronic systems lies in an appearance of a technological 'quick fix', when the real underlying problem issues are neglected.
Many of the older cars/trucks which are still in service will be found to have deteriorated wiring, corroded wiring terminals, and other resistances in the system, leading to low voltage under load. at the coil.
Likewise, distributors can be founds with worn shafts/bearings, loose point plates, stuck or sticky advance weights, worn cams, and other wear/deterioration problems from age and normal service wear. Correctly rebuilding a distributor, and setting up its advance characteristics relative to the particular engine for which its to be used is simple, straight-forward operation, which is quite likely to be needed on a unit which has been in service for half a century or more. Adding a high-voltage electronic system is unlikely to compensate for a non-optimal advance-curve.
Adding an electronic system as a 'cover-up' for failing to properly restore the original electricals may indeed seem to be a 'free lunch' for awhile, but I personally don't think it good practice.
The original points system on the old Chryco sixes will spark reliably at the reasonable engine speeds used on the road. The engine speeds at which the points bounce are about the same as those at which the lower end will begin to self-destruct.
'theres no free lunch'.
cheers
Carla
At the risk of stepping on toes here. I have run a HEI system from Langdon's Stovebolt for about 35,000 miles in my P23 that is converted to 12 volts. Never, ever, have problems starting the car. The initial settings Tom prescribes are a little off I believe, but they are pretty reliable.
I started converting all of my point ignition systems to electronic units the minute I discovered Pertronix... I have used them in both 12v systems and 6v systems with great results.
I switched to the Pertronix module because good points are very hard to buy, hardly any vehicles have used them since the mid 70's.
I have found from experience that you can't trust the parts counterman to get the right Pertronix module for you... they look in the book and think one size fits all...
My ski boat has a F--- 460 V8, I wanted to convert it to electronic so I went to my favorite parts store, told the counterman I needed a Pertronix for a '77 Ford 460 in a boat. We installed the module and the boat would not run.... Parts man said I must of hooked it up wrong.
I called Pertronix Tech line, told them my problem and was promptly told that my boat had a MARINE IGNITION, MOST LIKEY A PEARLESS. Pertronix gave me the number for the module I needed.... I had the parts man order that module, followed the written directions and low and behold the engine fired right up.
I had almost the same experience with a '53 Pontiac 8 cyln, 6v... The parts man did not stock modules for Pontiacs, but he could get them.... Before I had him order a module I called Pertronix... The info the parts man gave me was wrong... Pertronix gave me the correct part number for a Pontiac inline 8 cyln and told me that I would need to use their 12v Flame Thrower coil..... I questioned the 12v coil and was told that 6v systems have higher resistance, therefore a 12 v coil is needed.. The Pertronix worked great for the two years I had the car.
The moral of all this..... Call Pertronix before you buy a module, they wont sell you the module but they will give you the proper part number and application for your car...Wm.