Points vs Electronic ?

C

Catbob

Junior Member
I'm restoring a 49 F1. It's intended to be a daily driver with the original flathead v8. Just finished rebuild ( 60 over ) old distributor was froze up. Thinking electronic dist. May be more dependable. Advise and or opinion would be greatly appreciated......... Thanks Bob
 
I tried a Pertronix conversion in my 47 59ab with original 6 volt positive ground system.

It started readily and ran great but then one day after a few weeks of use the module failed. It was replaced free of charge, but after that I didn't trust it. So I'm back to using a stock distributor with points.

Some years later I read that the 6 volt Pertronix modules were not robust enough to handle surges in a vehicle with a generator. Don't know if that was why it failed for me, nor do I know if Pertronix has changed their design to make it more robust.

The distributor with the Pertronix conversion is sitting on my shelf unused. One thing about it is that it won't degrade sitting on the shelf like points do.


Tom
 
Good point Tom. I didn't mention that it's gonna be a 12 v , negative ground system. I just drive approx. a hundred miles a day round trip , so I'm shooting for dependability combined with original as close as possible.
 
You can almost always fix a points job on the side of the road,cant do that with an electronics one. OMO ken ct.
 
Ken ct.

Am I missing some thing On the GM style when they fail isn't it 99.9% of the time just the module that fails?
And if that is the case that is easier to change then points.
 
A converted SBC distributor with the right advance curve, both machanical and vacuum will give plenty of power and economy. No need to convert to electronic for your stock or mild mons. Change points every 20-30K miles. Bubba and Charlie NY make them.
 
I have been told that if you go to the electronic ignition over the points ignition, that the generator will cause problems for the module. Changing to the alternator will keep that from occurring. Bubba can probably verify that if it is true. Don't the modern vehicles run electronic ignitions????
 
I guess since most modern cars have electronic ignition it "seems" like a good thing to do/have on our old Ford early V-8's....BUT, someone was offering this years ago for the early helmet style distributors and went out of business. Was there a reliability problem with 6 volts?
Driving across the USA this past summer in my '35 Fordor was nearly trouble free except for a distributor problem that shut me down on a lonely road in Nebraska. I rebuilt a stock '35 distributor with new points, rotor, and condensor and swapped the troublesome distributor with the rebuilt one. Since then I have put ~ 8,000 trouble free miles on this car. If these old distributors are built and setup correctly with quality parts, they run a good long time. I don't feel the need for using electronic distributors on my early Fords.
 
Catbob,
For every one sbc /8ba dist I build Jim 'Bubba" Lindner builds 20. In my neck
of the woods guys throw the fancy smanchey billet look alikes away and run my
converted distributors. 6v, 12v pos or neg ground and points all the way. These
babies spin up to 6 grand no sweat (one set of points). All this and infinately
tunable without removal from the motor. My guys call them "distributors for dummys".
Effective, bullet proof and CHEAP.
Charlie ny
 
I can honestly say that I have never had a problem with an electronic ignition, be it Pertronix or a stock GM/Ford unit..
I do know that 6v systems present special problems.. The Pertronix tech told me many years ago that 6v systems have higher resistance than 12v systems, therefore, a high output 12v coil similar to Pertronics Flame Thrower should be used with no ballast resistor.. This application applies to systems that are pos or neg ground..
I have always known that if you leave the ignition switch on, without the engine running you will burn the points up. Until recently I did not know that the same is true of electronic ignitions..
The upholstery shop recently burnt up the module in one of my cars, left the ignition switch on in the run position so they could operate the power windows..
After over two hours of knee jerk attempted fix's, I found out about the problem. I called my tuneup man, he went over to the shop, installed a new module.. He said this is a very common event with body/upholstery shops..
My big concern with points type ignitions is that there are so few of them around, it really limits the quality of the parts that are available...
 
I am also a HUGE believer in the Pertronix modules. I converted a helmet style distributor more than 22 years ago. It has never failed and runs great. It is a 12 volt model.
BTW, Pertronix says the new modules (certain models) will not fail if the ignition switch is left on.
 
12 years ago I got electronic helmet distributors from a man on the west coast that drilled an extra hole in the coil for a wire, and you could not separate the coil from the helmet distributor once he converted them. I don't know enough about them to tell you how they worked, but I ran then for thousands of miles with NO problems. The last one I sent him he told me that he was retiring and would not be doing any more conversions. I have sold all the vehicles I had with the conversions installed on them and can not show you one. I don't know what system he used, BUT THEY WORKED GREAT WITH NO PROBLEMS!!!!
 
I have been doing these single point conversions for years now ,but I still like the double points .I don't think you will burn up points if you leave the ING on ,Coils yes, with Fords stock resister then less of a chance .If you want a reliable stock system go for Napa points and a skip coil .I worked on a Failed 9N tractor with someone's Pertronix 6V conversion .They need a special coil .
 
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A mechanic friend of mine told me that the only problem with electronic stuff is that either it works or it doesn't.They may leave you stranded.The original points will at least give you some fore warning before everything stops.This was from 18 years ago, so maybe the reliability has improved since then.I left mine stock.
 
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