Mallory distributor.

[alfourfire]

I have a Mallory dual point distributor in my 390 Ford. I want tom change the points and cap as part of a tune-up. (running rough). Would a change to electronic ign. be an improvement or should I stay with the points?

Thanks, Rick

[PONTIAC1953]

hi, electronic ignition are pretty much install and forget about it, untill it fails, points, single or dual, require periodical cleaning and or adjustment, carrying a spare set of points is always a good idea. the pertronic igniter electronic ignition fits inside the stock distributor. it's a personal choice, my choice was to install in my pontiac 287 V8 stock distributor with a dual points breaker plate, cheap, reliable, makes a hotter spark than single points, charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

[Rusty_OToole]

There is a simple low cost way to change to electronic ignition without changing your distributor.

The Ford Thick Film ignition module, used on millions of Fords in the 80s and 90s, will work with a points distributor.

It has the advantage of giving a very hot spark if you use the accompanying Ford coil. The points will last almost forever, 50,000 miles or more, because they only act as a switch and carry very low current.

I did this on a 1975 Porsche 911. The Ford ignition is about 10 times as good as the OEM Bosch, at 1/10th of the cost.

[alfourfire]

The Ford thick film is a new one on me. How expensive are they and is it complicated? The Pertronics igniter with coil is about $115 and seems plug and play. Could I carry the old dual points after changing to Pertronics in a pinch? Rick.

[PONTIAC1953]

hi rick, changing a distributor over to dual points from electronics or single points is best done on a workbench, i know ford was smart to place the distributor up front and level. but yes you could make the change on the vehicle if needed. charles coker, 1953 pontiac tech advisor.

[Rusty_OToole]

Mine cost $20 for ignition module, finned aluminum heat sink, wiring harness and coil at my favorite junkyard. I also bought a brand new module and heat sink at a flea market for $5 in case I want to do another car.

How much they cost new I do not know.

By the way I am trying to post the wiring diagram but can't find it, maybe later.

[NTX5467]

The advantage to points is that there is NO minimum voltage requirement to fire the plug . . . as in firing the plugs with a weak battery. Most of the electronic control boxes have a minimum battery voltage they'll work with. Probably the highest requirement is for the Chrysler Orange box and about 11volts. I'm not sure what the min is for the Pertronix, though or the OEM-replacement boxes.

Back in the earlier 1960s, in the new "transistor age", there were several different electronic ignition conversion kits. Some had the points carrying current and a box to control the firing and dwell whereas others just used the points as a low-current switch (which resulted in much longer point life). Some kits worked well with some brands of vehicles better than with other brands, so knowing which one worked best with your vehicle was necessary. Some had high-power coils, too.

The whole reason for dual points was the longer dwell time than with a single-point system, for a hotter spark and higher rpm capabilities. In those times, dual points were a mark of high performance, but were "different" to get the point gaps set right.

Still, though the wear on the cam lobes is an issue that we didn't worry about back then. At one time, I had a Chrysler dual point distributor in my '67 Chrysler. It was used, but I never really could get the points and dwell to correspond as I thought they should. One night, I pulled the distributor out and got my dial indicator to set the point gaps with. That's when I discovered the reason for the dwell reading being what it was . . . cam lobe wear -- some wore more than others, so the gap would depend upon which cam lobe you set the point gap on. In reality, this will be an issue on ANY point distributor with any amount of miles on it, especially if the distributor point grease is "gone" or dried-out OR a prior tune-up tech didn't know it was supposed to be greased AND the particular point set didn't come with it. To me, this is a more compelling reason for an electronic ignition upgrade than anything else as the wear on the cam lobes will always be there and can very possibly get worse with more miles.

In the middle 1970s, Mallory came out with their UniLite electronic ignition conversion kit, using an led and a shutter wheel to trigger the ignition box to fire the plugs. It seemed to be overshadowed by other electronic ignition conversions of that time, like Accel's, for example . . . or the new factory parts which could be retrofitted to earlier vehicles (as Chrysler's Direct Connection/Mopar Perf kits).

Many people use the Pertronix kits and like them. I'd be interested in seeing the Ford adaptations, though, for general principles.

Just some thoughts,

NTX5467

[Guest mortsciguy]

I have used the Pertronix Ignitors on a 911s Porsche, 1957 Cadillac, 1977 MGB, and a 1964 Olds Starfire, with flawless results on all. Set em', and forget em". Works for my applications as advertised.

Kelly

[Rusty_OToole]

Here is the diagram for the Ford ignition module.