t coil

With a properly rebuilt magneto and an anderson timer and properly rebuilt and adjusted coils (4 of them) the original set up is the best and most reliable in my opinion. I rebuild all my own coils and have very little trouble, except when I was caught in a torrential down pour, but with the plastic coil box kits, even that problem has become a none issue. If you needs some rebuilt, I rebuild for hire, as do others.
 
I think the system that is most likely to get you home is the original one, properly maintained & set up. Most other offerings can leave you on the side of the road with an attack of electronic gremlins or some broken, unobtainable piece necessary to their operation.
 
I agree that a properly maintained original Tiger or Anderson timer and buzz coils are reasonably reliable, however they are susceptible to moisture penetration under rainy conditions.

Although there are many purists who would disagree with me, a more reliable ignition system on a Model T is the conversion to a 6 volt Autolite IAY4001 distributor and points in conjunction with a more modern cylindrical coil. This system was original to a 1956 Willy's Jeep CJ-5, and its covered distributor cap virtually eliminates the water issue. Accordingly, although this opinion is sacriledge to most Model T purists, because it eliminates the weakest component of the original buzz coil and timer system, it is arguably more reliable if you are going to drive your Model T any distance under various climactic conditions.

My apologies in advance to the purists out there, I understand that 18 Million Model T ignition systems were produced by the finest engineers of the day, but a minor operational upgrade (available on Dodge Brothers cars of the era) can't be discounted.
 
Flathead, here's the bottom line: both original coil and era correct distributor systems work well. If you're asking because you have one or the other on your car my advice would be to stick with what you have. Both are acceptable and both give the same performance when properly set up. Farmall mentions new capacitors in your coils I add to that having them set up with a hand cranked tester (HCCT)or a Strobospark tester. You cannot believe how much better the eng. will run with properly set up coils. The point I'm trying to make here is that if you have coils or a distributor system on you car spend your money on making that existing system work correctly as opposed to dropping dough on another complete system. The True Fire unit eliminates the coils and the E-Timer (electronic timer) automaticly adjusts timing but both are in the hundreds of dollars apiece and aren't necessary for a good running engine. "Run what you brung".
 
Having been a former Model T owner, I agree with Farmallcub49 and Jack that the original ignition system is the best. When your IAY4001 distributor craps out while on a tour, who's are you going to borrow to get back home? An oldtimer once told me (with an all stock system), it might have been running crappy, but it always got me home!...LouB.
 
Thank you all for great replies .Very informative ! .I am doing this for a elderly gentleman ,He was going to get the plastic box ones in from Snyder's .Since I am down under I thought I would melt the tar out and refill it to get the moister out .Heres a shot of the car .Ted
 

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Don't buy the plastic box coils. The plastic box kit they are talking about are the ones for the coil box housing from "FunProjects, Inc.". This replaces the wood side and bottom on the coil box housing that can get wet and cause problems. Use the individual wood coils inside the housing not the plastic ones.
 
I agree with everyone. Coils really aren't a bad way to go. I used to coat mine with old fashioned shellac and the moisture problem was no more. I had a T that had a distributor and it ran great but the thing was some unknown unit from god knows when so basically no points available as well as never finding a cap or rotor for it. Breaking down on tour with ancient mongrel parts is not fun and I only drove that car locally. The one exception to finding a good alternate ignition is the Bosch kit that uses a VW bug distributor. These are a slick setup and work just great and you can get parts for them in any podunk town in the world.
 
There's nothing particularly reliable about a point system ignition whether it is stock Model T or distributor. The advantage of the Model T system is that there are four points and four coils (one for each cylinder). Loss of one may slow you down but isn't likely to leave parked on the side of the road. You can't say that for distributor points and a single coil. Nor is electronic ignition any better. It's like a light bulb. It's going to go out. The question is when. I would rather keep a spare Model T coil under the seat that I can swap out in a few minutes than carry a spare distributor setup or other $350+ electronic gizmo.
 
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