Has anyone purchased the breakerless SE electronic ignition conversion kit from Lectric Limited? It is the one wire stock looking kit. Does it work well and is it worth it. My application is a 1965 327. Thanks for the feedback
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Re: Distributor upgrade & puns
Is it worth it? Years ago long before this was available I installed the Pertronix kit in my early C3. It was like $40 or less then. I simply couldn't wait to get rid of the points and don't miss 'em in the slightest - my kit has 2 wires but I couldn't care less about that - I no longer had to mess w/ points replacement or adjustment - plugs last much much longer, it is smooth and consistent across teh entire RPM band, no more setting points which are immediately beginning to wear. I imagine the one you are looking at is a similar kit - it either triggers by a magnet or a light beam - both are fine I think and most are designed to fit within various stock distributors and should offer similar maintenance and performance upgrades. It may have the advantage of not resulting in points (no pun intended!) deductions to boot. Unless they made some compromise to reduce it to a single wire - I'll strongly recommend pretty much any electronic ignition upgrade for any older pre '75 car hands down if you enjoy driving it and benefiting from modern developments (like radial tires?). For me stuff like this is worth it hands down points or no points (again w/ the puns! ). -
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Quick Pertronix Story
As I left Carlisle this year, my ignition (Pertronix) began to fail. I installed the system 4 years ago and had no problems to that point. I had a 400 mile trip ahead of me in a '62 Vette that was beginning to experience violent backfires approximately every 10-20 miles. The ignition would literally quit and when it "re-lit" it would light all the fuel that had just been deposited in the exhaust system. I was able to limit the backfiring by immediately depressing the clutch when I felt the ignition cut. Needless to say, it was a very long, stressful trip.
I made it to 11 miles from my home before the ignition quit completely. I called AAA at 11:00pm and had a flatbed ride for the last 11 miles. After a few quick tests recommended by Pertronix, it was determined that the trigger unit in the distributor had failed and the unit was "out of warranty". I replaced the trigger with a more advanced, less expensive unit made by Crane. The car fired up (no pun intended) immediately.
My recommendation,.... carry a spare, either a replacement electronic trigger or a trusted set of points.Comment
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That's a Good Reminder
THAT sounds miserable! THis can happen w/ various electronic ignition kits as well as GM HEI. I've had two HEIs die on me suddenly in rush hour freeway traffic w/o warning - 1st time I didn't have a clue what happened. In fact the biggest complaint about electronic ignition is that it can just suddenly 'fail' w/ no warning whatsoever. Nada. But in fairness it's generally an infrequent complaint and in the long run points still don't hold a candle - it's not just coincidence that points went away in '75 or so.
If anybody has any good information on certain brands or types of triggers that definately are better (or worse) given lots of miles, usage, heat and so on - I'd like to hear about it.
FWIW my Pertronix is maybe 8 or 10 yrs old and has plenty of miles & heat on it but it's still an electronic device.
But whehter it's a post 75 HEI or older conversion to whatever - some sort of backup like a spare module or whatever is good advice I've heard before. THanks for the sanity check Denny!Comment
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Re: That's a Good Reminder
"THis can happen w/ various electronic ignition kits as well as GM HEI. I've had two HEIs die on me suddenly in rush hour freeway traffic w/o warning - 1st time I didn't have a clue what happened. In fact the biggest complaint about electronic ignition is that it can just suddenly 'fail' w/ no warning whatsoever."
So I am on the phone with daughter #2 who is just about hysterical last summer. She is in rush hour Phoenix traffic (anyone ever been there?) and crying. She was driving my 1977 Buick Electra 225 with 52000 miles on it and virtually like new. She says "Dad, the power steering quit, the brakes failed, and the air conditioning quit, all at the same time." Can't happen, says me! "But it did." To end this story the electronic module in the HEI distributor had failed resulting in a dead engine.
How is it that a dedicated gear head who does 99% of all of his repairs has a daughter (actually two) who doesn't recognize that the engine stopped running? Unfortunately, she is a true blonde!
GaryComment
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Re: That's a Good Reminder
The only difference is that you can walk into almost any parts store and get a new module for a GM HEI.
Specialty parts may be better than factory, but not nearly as common.
Of course, a set of points you can pull out a pocket knife and scrape them until they work. They may have the timing off, they may not let you run over 2500 rpm, but you can limp home even with the contacts broken off if you have to.Comment
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You're right, Todd....I'll remove the post. *NM*
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As will I but consider this for buy/sell/trade...
There's many mild transgressions all over this board - and offering information even if it happens to point to items sold by oneself - is helpful to board participants and offered in that spirit. It's a shame we lose out on helping one another in this manner or at least have to walk on eggshells. I think it's quite possible to open up a second forum within the BBS for buy/sell/trade. And in my opinion occasional references made here like yours within this technical forum are COMPLETELY harmless and quite CONSTRUCTIVE - you just happened to leave yourself open based on another comment you made that I had read only minutes prior.
Clearly there is an illustrated need and desire for a separate buy/sell/trade forum. Further the technical forum is just fine the way it is as far as I'm concerned and I have no problem w/ the current gamut of informative threads being made here. Only the focused "I have XXX items for sale at $$$" or "I'm looking to buy a 19XXXX" belong in another forum besides this one.
Oh and BTW sorry but you are too late - I've already tucked your name and your product & ebay information away for future reference should I need itComment
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