Ditched my Petronix
 

I had an igniter III conversion in my original 68 points distributor . Since I finished the car , I’ve always had quirky idle rpm , inconsistent timing and restarts . The engine ran fine other wise . Then it started feeling flat in the midrange . I found the timing was only showing about 24* at 3k . After much guidance from Bob aka Suntu ed , the consensus was to ditch the Petronix . I used a nos set of accel points and AC condenser , wired in a ballast resistor and wham ! Runs excellent , strong midrange ! Easy starts . This is the first set of points I’ve ever owned or installed and I’m impressed . The ballast I used was an AC F1104 , it’s rather small , dropped the voltage to the coil to about 8.9 . Much thanks again to Suntuned !

What many of us have said for years. Nothing wrong with a good set of points.

Glad it worked out. Should provide you years and years of trouble free service.

Yep, my 67 still runs points. Remember to check dwell once in a while to keep them in the 28-32 range as they wear.

Pertronix left me stranded twice

Dumped the Pertronix the PO put in my 61 several years back due to several little problems I could find no other explanation for. Starts right up, idles smooth, no flat spots. and no unexplained shut offs. Life is good.

Don't put a lot of miles on it and sometime if it doesn't run like this I will know it's time to change points, May even put in some of the NOS plugs I'm saving and do what we used to call a tune up. Points will usually give warning long before the crap out completely and you get months to figure out where to find a mechanic who can do more than plug on the scan and scratch his (??).

I had 2 Pertronix go out on me. Points ever since, no problem.

Ditched the idea of ever buying one before I wasted my money. ;)

I liked the idea of the built in rev limiter and at the time , it was a well thought of upgrade - just like hydraulic rollers lol ! . I grew up with H.E.I. , and just figured it would be a no hassle improvement . It randomly just shut off once and then I was afraid of it . No stumble , sputter , just like ur turned the key off . Fired right back up , I could only assume it was the Petronix . I really didn’t want to mount a ballast resistor , but it’s small and the air cleaner hides it . The car sounds smooth , I think it’s quieter - is that possible ?

Coil
 

Hey can I ask what coil are you using.
Have been thinking about going back to
Points at some point down the road.
Thanks
Gerry

Yes. Gases yearn to do their thing. When the burn
happens inside a large hunk of cast iron, it's quieter.
Late burns move the noise downstream.

Shoulda got a DUI... :burnout:

Hey can I ask what coil are you using.
Have been thinking about going back to
Points at some point down the road.
Thanks
Gerry
- it’s a master pro 2-5195 from o’reiley . After some internet research , it’s apparently the same unit sold by Napa but I can’t confirm that , that’s info I came across on other forums . It does how ever fit into my stock coil bracket better than the Petronix coil .

If you are really bothered by the ceramic ballast resistor, you can buy resistance wire, just like GM used from the factory. You can run a new resistance wire from "run" on the ignition switch to the coil. Takes some time to install, but not a big deal.
As far as Petronix goes, I may be one of the few who has never had a complete failure of one in use. But I have had a Petronix III on a SBF on the engine dyno that would not let the engine run past 3500 RPM's. We went through the rev limiter re-set procedure and it cleaned that up. Personally, I am just not comfortable running cheap Chinese garbage in such a critical application as the ignition system. As Cliff so aptly puts it, "all that electronic junk fails eventually". (paraphrase). I recently did have a brand new Petronix distributor that had a totally defective vacuum advance unit. It held vacuum but did not move the control rod. That would cause all kinds of issues on a street engine.

I felt confident in the the Petronix III as it was and still is according to summit USA made . The longer I’ve owned this car , the more I appreciate its factory parts . I have some aftermarket odds & ends - mostly suspension and a cup holder .

I put the M&H point replacement system in my 67 GTO about 15 years ago and it is still running strong. I used the stock coil. And, to convert back to points all I have to do is pull it out and put the stock points back in.

I installed the first gen Borg Warner electronic ignition in my Firebird in 1975. It was infrared triggered. The dwell was a constant 30 degrees. It still worked fine after 25 years when the engine was yanked for my replacement body. Hooked up to a Mallory coil, I ran HEI plugs gapped to .045 for a wide flame front. Never had any trouble feeding the tachometer like I do with an MSD distibuter.

I only use the original Petronix 1,still made in the USA.I always have them installed by a pro.Suntuned and Ignition engineering have done all of mine.Although I have been doing this Pontiac deal since 1962 I have never messed with dizzys or carbs.I can afford to have a pro work on them.FWIW,Tom

I’ve never used the pertronix conversion kit, but the complete igniter III pertronix distributor I ran for a few years never gave me any problem. It’s still going in the car that I sold.

Cliff has a very notorious hill behind the shop that he directs folks to throw their XE cams down into the dumpster so that they make that characteristic “tink “ when they land in it…..

I guess I need to find a place here for everyone to throw their old broken Pertronix into so we can listen to the sound of the offshore plastic as it bounces off the trash can sides.

Glad you got it worked out. Thanks for the update and the kind words, glad to help.

Ditto
I also have the original unit in my ‘65 since the mid ‘90’s now I guess with the same coil and a ballast resistor.

I sent the distributor to Sun Tuned also in the mid 2000’s sometime after joining this site.
He did his thing, I dropped it in and it’s been there untouched since.





Mike