Pertronix replacement

The Pertronix is great. Replaces the points, no adjustments. And it needs the flamethrower to run its best. Keep it!

Some people swear by Pertronix, some swear at them.

The problem is that 'Pertronix' is a big tent - it includes a lot of different products.

One of those is what sounds like the part that you've got - the electronic spark module that replaces the points. This plugs into lots of distributors (like old gen-u-whine Bosch distributors, including the 009, 010, 019(?), etc.).

By most accounts, that module is OK, works well for a while, but some report it's sensitive to heat and will eventually fail, leaving you stranded on a dark and stormy night. If you have another with you, it's not so big a deal to swap it in and be on your way.

But Pertronix also markets whole distributors with that module inside. The problem is that some of those distributors are cheap, Chinese copies of the 009, and the advance mechanism in them (separate from the electronic spark module) has been compared to guano. Mostly unfavorably. Many of us have struggled with those dizzies and that has given the Pertronix name something of a bad odor in some quarters.

Pertronix also makes a line of 'billet' dizzies that look a lot like the CB Performance Magnaspark II, and those presumably have entirely different advance mechanisms and may be OK (no personal experience with them).

So, if your engine is running OK with whatever dizzy you have with the Pertronix module inside, I'd say if ain't broke, don't broke it.

But.... you might hook up a timing light and see if your timing mark moves smoothly from the idle advance to full advance as you slowly increase revs. If so, you're good. If not, that engine might be capable of running a whole lot better.

Yelling 'Pertronix' around here is a lot like yelling 'fire' in a theater. There's bound to be more response sooner than later.

I had a Pertronix billet “plug ‘n’ play” distributor that served me well for years, but on the 2017 Tour de Smo I started  having problems that I soon discovered were caused by rust inside the unit.  The centrifugal advance weights were pretty much rusted in place and one return spring had rusted into nothingness. It took a bit of work to fix during a stop on the road, but did NOT leave me stranded.  I replaced the springs and cleaned it up better when I got home.  Ran fine until the - ahem - incident.  The rust was likely due to my living in an incredibly humid environment.  In general I was quite satisfied,but I think the crank fire idea is the best way to go, but it’s more trouble to install.

The Magspark II uses the same advance as the 58-74 GM window cap distributors. The advance is easily reached by removing the rotor and it’s no sweat to change the springs

Mine has worked well for 5 years. There is no external module but you do have to use the CB dry mount coil, whatever that means.

David Stroud posted:

Lads, I've got a Pertronix Flamethrower setup in my distributor of unknown mileage but likely the same 47,000 km that is on the odometer now.

For that reason, it will get replaced this Spring along with a few other bits. I'm not familiar with the Pertronix brand so please advise if this is a good setup and I should just stay with it or is there something else on the market that may be an improvement. The car seems to run just fine...not sure of what distributor is in there. Thanks. 

PS....the weather on Friday is supposed to be sunny and 0 deg C. so I'm planning to do about 150 miles along the St. Lawrence river and try out those new Vred tires....

Just be careful running those tires when it is cold.

Note: Tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels, or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.

Robert M posted:

 

PS....the weather on Friday is supposed to be sunny and 0 deg C. so I'm planning to do about 150 miles along the St. Lawrence river and try out those new Vred tires....

Just be careful running those tires when it is cold.

Note: Tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels, or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.

Noted on the OAT, Robert. I think I'm good to go at zero deg C. I'm getting some serious cabin fever with the new to me car.

David Stroud posted:

Robert M posted:

 

PS....the weather on Friday is supposed to be sunny and 0 deg C. so I'm planning to do about 150 miles along the St. Lawrence river and try out those new Vred tires....

Just be careful running those tires when it is cold.

Note: Tires exposed to temperatures of 20 degrees F (-7 degrees C) or lower must be permitted to gradually return to temperatures of at least 40 degrees F (5 degrees C) for at least 24 hours before they are flexed in any manner, such as by adjusting inflation pressures, mounting them on wheels, or using them to support, roll or drive a vehicle.

Noted on the OAT, Robert. I think I'm good to go at zero deg C. I'm getting some serious cabin fever with the new to me car.

Just wanted to make sure you were aware of it Dave. I figured you might be seeing as how you're usually very attentive to those safety details.

If your Pertronix module is working, David, don't throw it out. Yeah, they are known to fail- some guys have trouble every so many miles and for others they've been running for years and years. I suggest what some people in the VW world do- keep a spare distributor (complete, timed with bracket attached and relevant tools) in the car so they can pull the old unit out and plunk the new one in and drive off should the electronics ever go for a dump. 

Gordon mentioned something in another thread a while ago about electronics not being up to spec to handle the heat (let's face it, these things are cheap), and I wonder if those that do have this trouble also have higher engine compartment temperatures?

Another reason to make sure there is airflow through the engine compartment, carrying away radiated heat and not re-ingesting it via the fan and carburetors... Al

Hey David, is there no salt or salt dust on your roads up there. We have so much salt on our roads in south western Ontario that you can taste it. I know these cars are fibreglass, but there's a lot of metal underneath and electrical connections that salt just loves. J. P.

ALB posted:

If your Pertronix module is working, David, don't throw it out. Yeah, they are known to fail- some guys have trouble every so many miles and for others they've been running for years and years. I suggest what some people in the VW world do- keep a spare distributor (complete, timed with bracket attached and relevant tools) in the car so they can pull the old unit out and plunk the new one in and drive off should the electronics ever go for a dump. 

Gordon mentioned something in another thread a while ago about electronics not being up to spec to handle the heat (let's face it, these things are cheap), and I wonder if those that do have this trouble also have higher engine compartment temperatures?

Another reason to make sure there is airflow through the engine compartment, carrying away radiated heat and not re-ingesting it via the fan and carburetors... Al

Giday, Al. My plan now is to identify what dizzy I have and check the timing curve performance as advised by Mitch and if all's good there, then install new Pertronix parts to clone what I have now. I'll keep the existing used parts as "good" spares in the car. 

Having said that, I'm aware about electronic ignition parts quitting suddenly and that's why we used to install two modules 180 degrees apart in one dizzy firing  two coils simultaneously that were then joined by an MSD pn 6250 ( I think it was ) back into the top of the dizzy cap thus affording automatic redundancy to some extent. 

Jesse...I live at the South end of Ottawa in a rural area and it's easy to get to the St.Lawrence parkway area without much salt harm if all is looking good. My short term plan for an excursion might be blown anyway as we may get up to 5cm of freezing rain / snow over the next 24 hours so that will bring on the salt trucks for sure. 

Good luck with the weather, we are getting freezing rain right now and it's supposed to carry on right through the night. I totally understand the itch to get your car out!