modernize my 31 A

I have said it before and will say it again. If points, generators, up draft carbs ext. Were the best would we not still have them in to days cars.and i can only say in my a the modern stuff works a 100% better in every way. Common sence should tell us that. If they were working fine for the last 80 years , we would still have them in to days cars. It should be the choice of the owner what he does to his a. Just saying.
 
Jerry i agree JAN.:):):) only because my middle name is Jerry. no its up to the owner, after all he or she has to drive it and enjoy it. which ever way it is JAN.
 
Whatever makes you happy. My thought is that computer controled electronic ignition is best for modern cars. Model A's don't have computers and were made simple for the common man to be able to repair, not so with electronic. I don't work on the modern vehicles. I have been working with original type distributors for over 50 years and know how to fix them. Modern cars are mostly throw aways when they wear out. Model A's if properly maintained have lasted over 80 years. I like to keep it simple so that I can fix it on the spot ,when needed. There are easier and less expensive ways to get hotter spark, that is more user frendly.
 
with electronic you don't have points and condencer, or the spark advance rod to play with. but if you turn your key on without the motor running, for more than 45 seconds, you will burn out the module. keep that in mind if you go that way, and one day you can't start your car.:)
 
jan bogert said:
with electronic you don't have points and condencer, or the spark advance rod to play with. but if you turn your key on without the motor running, for more than 45 seconds, you will burn out the module. keep that in mind if you go that way, and one day you can't start your car.:)
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Yup, And I know everybody on that weekend tour has a spare one because you dont, while 80+ miles from home..:rolleyes:
 
Oh, ...and Frank my friend, are you sure about all of that regarding alternators and how the electronic works better?? Not so sure I can 'buy-into' those thoughts of yours. :D
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I believe the generator can produce voltage spikes that will make no difference with a conventional system. Electronics are not so tough. The electronic will give you more consistent operation over the long run and need no maintenance. There are no wear parts. The original question asked what type of electronic to install, not which is better? I am a big believer in making the stock stuff work and keeping it going. I was just pointing out what I believe to be a problem with electronics and a generator.
 
BRENT in 10-uh-C said:
Seth, please let me ask you to qualify your statement above.

I know you say there are a lot of "neysayers" here but many of us have spoken based on our personal experiences with them. Again, if you would be so kind, could/would you explain why you feel they are better?
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Brent, Your request is really valid to the point that, if Seth is occupied with other matters currently, I will try to answer with, what I feel are, the qualifications.

1. Points must be adjusted. To wide, weak spark. To close, burnt points.
2. Points are operated by a friction block that rubs on a cam.
3. New points are prone to lose adjustment until the friction block is seated.
4. Point gap varies with any play in the distributor shaft.
5. Points transfer material with operation which causes pits and peaks on the point surface and can cause difficulty in gapping.
6. Points use a condenser to control the arcing when the coil field collapses. That wad of tinfoil separated by a sheet of paper can fail and stop the car just as good as any electronic ignition failure.

Oops, I was going for three strikes and I damn near closed out the inning. Again, these are my feelings based on my electronic and mechanical training and experience, but it just ain't like Henry made it, and it never will be.
 
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Though this may not apply to aftermarket systems for the "A" I have owned many cars with electronic ignition all with over 200K miles on them and have had ONE failure and that was a pickup coil failure after over 220,000 miles and almost 19 years.

Good luck trying to get that from a mechanical ignition system. Not to mention NO HUMAN can properly control ignition advance in real time.


Both my commute as well as my wife's commute are 45 miles each way. Each of us driving 90 miles a day we must be out of our minds not to have spare ignition parts in both vehicles eh?
 
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There is nothing to be gained on a 4.2 compression engine with electronic ignition other than trouble.
My hill climb car has had the fastest time with point ignition a few times. If I'm wrong please explain why it is better and how it makes more power.
 
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I can change an electronic module just as fast as i can change points and condenser, and if you have the centrifugal advance distributor its even easier and faster. The only reason i know this is because i recently switched my car from 6 volts to 12 volts, and so i had to switch out modules/coils. It's one wire to ground, one wire to positive side of the coil, and one wire to negative side of the coil. I do carry a spare module and coil everywhere i go, but to get the spares its only like $60 extra i believe? give or take a few dollars. people easily can spend an hour on the side of the road trying to fix an original ignition system, or trying to figure out what is wrong. For electronic ignitions its quite simple, if the fuse is blown, you have a loose connection, or an exposed wire. If the positive side of the coil has no power getting to it, then it is a bad module and you switch it out. FS ignitions pretty much make their systems idiot proof, as long as you hook them up following their instructions. I know of one person who has had a module go out, and it is because they hooked it up WITHOUT the inline fuse they provided. Some people get power from alternators/generators for the electronic ignitions, which this causes voltage spikes, which will fry the module. You have to get the power supply strait from the battery.

There is no question that point systems work great, but electronic ignitions do too. Just because they are not original doesn't make them a bad product.
 
If points were so good ford would still be using them and mechanical brakes. Hell,many cars are back to 16 inch tires; what retro steps will Detroit take next;maybe 3 speed trans?
 
On a club tour with my speedster the electronic ignition ignitor failed. Of course there was nothing I could do on the road, but put in a stock distributor to run the rest of the tour. I had maybe 6,000 miles on it. I since put in a points distributor and have been running strong since. My own personal expericence was not real positive with the electronic ignition.
 
Interesting thread, the only points to electronic conversion I have done and was super pleased with was not a model A, but a petty radically built 74 Harley sportster. The crap points Harley was making, the point blocks were wearing in like 25 miles, got tired of always adjusting on the side of the road, put a Crane single fire electronic system with dual coils, best thing I ever did to that thing, never another ignition issue. With that said, I myself would never change any of my A's, but could see why some would want to.
 
I have an electronic ignition from FS and i love it. Would never go back. I drive about 10,000 miles a year in a model a, so I like reliability and performance over a stock car. I've never had a problem, and plan to keep my car the way it is.
 
Hey Steve, My first Harley was a 74 sporty, I too changed the points to an electronic unit. It worked great there. But I would not change my A.
 
Jordan said:
I have an electronic ignition from FS and i love it. Would never go back. I drive about 10,000 miles a year in a model a, so I like reliability and performance over a stock car. I've never had a problem, and plan to keep my car the way it is.
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I love the reliability and performance of the points and condenser my cars! I've never had a problem, and have never spent an hour chasing the problem. It may take me an hour to chase the problem I don't know, I've never had a problem to begin with!

Of course should there be a problem, I just carry an extra distributor that's timed and ready to go. I can't see why that would take an hour to change out.
 
Ditto what azmodela said. Either system can work fine, but there is nothing to be gained by changing. You won't gain mileage and you won't gain horsepower, so you may as well save your money for good original parts needed somewhere else on the car.
 
Think about this for a minute.
When you take someone for a ride in your A, they will surely ask "What are those levers on the steering wheel for?"
You can either say "The left one is to advance or retard the timing, and the right one is a hand throttle". They will say something like "Wow, that's neat!"
OR you can say "The right one is a hand throttle and the left one doesn't do anything anymore".
 
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