electronic ignition - 64/327

[Robert V.]

Has anyone changed over to the electronic system? And what were the results? Am considering installing in my 327. I have seen the set-ups from Lectric Limited and Ecklers. Is there any other sources, I want to keep my orginal distributor with the tach drive. Thanks.

[Joe Pennington]

Re: electronic ignition - 64/327

Bob, I have the Pertronix Ignitor 1181LSC in my 64 300hp. Installs entirely within the stock dist. and takes about 20-30 minutes to install. You don't have to remove the dist., just check/set the timing after the install. I have one of the new versions on the way, the Ignitor II, but not sure when I'll install it. I'm very happy with the performance of the Pertronix, and you only end up with one extra wire, which is easy to hide, that goes to the ignition switch side of the ballast to get the required 12 volts needed for the unit.
Joe

[Craig S.]

Re: electronic ignition - 64/327

Bob - Dave Fiedler at TI specialty has the single wire product that looks identical to the points distributor. I saw it at Bloomington this year, he sold out at the show it was so popular. See link below...Craig


Single wire electronic conversion - TI Specialty

[Verle R.]

Re: electronic ignition - 64/327

I installed a Mallory in my 65 L79 about fifteen years ago and love it. No points to fool with/burn, plugs last longer, starts better.

I have heard people express concern about failure of the electronic module. Just keep a set of points and condensor in your car.

Verle

[Michael W.]

Keep in mind that

these products are not true 'electronic' ignition systems. They still depend on the stock coil, so performance improvements are nil. A better name for them would be 'breakerless' ignition as mentioned on Feidler's site.

[Steve Westphal]

Re: Keep in mind that

Pertronix has done well for me.

[Michael W.]

Not to mention that

the reason most people install the Pertronix (or similar) unit is because the stock ignition system is no longer performing adequately. The restoration of original operational characteristics by adding breakerless ignition (which also could have been achieved by fixing the problem using stock components) is then deemed to be an 'upgrade'.

Has anyone ever done a back-to-back blind test, by first testing a stock system in 100% perfect order, then removing it an substituting a Pertronix unit and testing again?

No? Didn't think so.

[Roger Legge]

Re: Not to mention that

I didn't do any sort of a formal test, but I can say I did not notice any difference when I put a Pertronix in my '68 L79.

Roger

[John H.]

Re: Not to mention that

I've used the Pertronix unit in several previous cars, and they work fine; however, I decided to keep my '69 Z/28 totally original, and rebuilt the distributor exactly to specs, with a stock coil and new stock plug wires. My only deviation was higher spring-tension points (28-32 oz. vs. the stock 19-23 oz.), and it will wind to 6500+ all day long with nary a miss. The original distributor in my '67 327/300 will get the same treatment this winter; the stock system works great IF IT GETS MAINTENANCE - but the distributor sits back there in the dark, hidden under the shielding, forlorn and ignored, and gets blamed for all manner of problems. They worked fine when they were new, and they will today, if you take care of them - and they're stone simple.

[Eric H.]

Re: electronic ignition - 64/327

Check out Dave's Small Body HEI. It will apparently fit in a stock GM distributor. Huh??

Ric

http://www.davessmallbodyheis.com/

[Christopher R.]

Comparison Test

Yes. This test has been done by all the owners of cars produced by the major OEMs for about the past 20 years. What's that? Couple hundred million cars? Nobody does points anymore. Much better ways to make and break electrical circuits than doing it mechanically.

Sure. Points'll work fine. Won't need much maintenance given the small amount of running time these cars get. And with the maintenance lavished on these cars, they shouldn't ever get out of spec. You're right. Electronic ignition is not a performance upgrade. It is a maintenance upgrade. Properly adjusted points and a Pertronix should have the same outputs.

Owning a C1, I'm clearly appreciative and respectful of old technology. But I'd still rather email this than send a first class letter.

[Michael W.]

Not true-

GM switched in 1975 (on Corvette anyways) from points and coil to a full HEI system. They never used a half and half (breakerless + coil) system, so the hundreds of millions of cars you quote don't exist.

There is no argument on my side that an HEI system offers greater potential for a 'hotter' spark and all the performance improvements that such a system may provide, and that there is an accompanying decrease in maintenance.

I'm not being argumentative here, just trying to compare apples with apples. Pertronix is not an HEI system nor is it an 'electronic' system in the true sense of the word. Many purchasers are not aware of the fundamental differences and believe they have bought 'electronic ignition' when they merely have converted to 'breakerless'.

We could have another debate about reliabilty and durabilty of the breakerless units, but that's already beaten to death in the archives.

Ummm, should I write an FAQ on this?

[Christopher R.]

You're Right

Proper term is "breakerless." I was using "electronic" in a generic sense to mean electronically making and breaking the circuit as opposed to mechanically doing the same thing with points.

But we agree that the Pertronix and other systems like it are not performance upgrades over the otherwise perfectly adequate coil system.