Pertronix, points, whats your pleasure?

[Scott Mckenzie]

I`m wondering if Pertronix ignition  module is a good upgrade for  my `64  425?  What have those of you who have changed over found out?  I have read about the failures of the units and hate the idea of not being able to get home. School a young 60 yr old  please

[telriv]

I ONLY SELL & install the one wire units. Haven't had a failure in 14 yrs.

 

Tom T.

[rapom]

I bought my 64 Rivieria with a pertronix already installed in it in 2014.  10,000 miles later it is still going strong.

[Seafoam65]

I have Pertronix in all my old cars. One of them has had the same unit for over twenty three years, another for twenty, another for seven

never had a problem. I've installed about twenty of them in customer's cars.....never had a comeback ever. I've seen points and condensor

fail that were only one week old......had to sleep in my car overnight on a deserted highway in my GTO over that and hike 5 miles to get to a phone.....

no points and condensor for me ever again.

[johnrex]

Seventeen years for mine in my 1964.

[NC1968Riviera]

My mechanic installed a Pertronix kit under my stock 68 Riviera 430 distributor cap. He mounted the module under the upper AC compressor bracket so it is out of sight. The car runs a lot smoother now.

[bodayguy]

I've had a Pertronix on my 64 425 for about 2 years. Works really well. Thumbs up.

[Scott Mckenzie]

5 hours ago, telriv said:

I ONLY SELL & install the one wire units. Haven't had a failure in 14 yrs.

 

Tom T.

Ok, what model do I ask for?  ( `1964 425 single carb } Wish you were closer, I think I`d have to hook up the dog sled. 

[first64riv]

3 hours ago, Scott Mckenzie said:

Ok, what model do I ask for?  ( `1964 425 single carb } Wish you were closer, I think I`d have to hook up the dog sled. 

I've had PN 1181 in my 64 for about a year now.  No problems except for operator error.  I left the ignition on and it burned out.  I also had one in my 66 Impala with no issues.

 

Chris

[NC1968Riviera]

51 minutes ago, first64riv said:

I left the ignition on and it burned out. 

Good point. My mechanic did mention to not leave the ignition in the On position if the car wasn't running. That it could burn out the Pertronix. 

[arnulfo de l.a.]

Got Dave at DAVES HEI setting up an extra oem distributor i have for hei. Want to try and keep original look under hood. Will let you know how it works out after install.

[telriv]

The one I sell & install AUTOMATICALLY turns itself OFF if the ignition is left on so as NOT to damage the electronic unit or OVERHEAT & burn up the ignition coil.

 

Tom T.

[PWB]

1 hour ago, telriv said:

The one I sell & install AUTOMATICALLY turns itself OFF if the ignition is left on so as NOT to damage the electronic unit or OVERHEAT & burn up the ignition coil.

 

Tom T.

Mr. Tom please pm me a price for a ‘73 Chevy V8

 

Thank you

 

[KongaMan]

I put a Pertronix in the 64 years ago.  It starts with a pop of the switch and runs flawlessly.  I left the 63 with points.  It starts with a pop of the switch and runs flawlessly.

 

Bottom line: won't hurt, but it might not help.  If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[68RIVGS]

I've  had a Pertronics #1181 for GM 57- 74, 8 cyl.  in my tool box for just over 12 years,  since June 2006 and it has never failed !

. . . judging from all the positive responses here, maybe I should attempt to install it in my car ? ?

[fraso]

A GM HEI conversion would be a better ignition upgrade for your Buick.  DAVE's small-body HEI's converts points distributors to electronic ignition distributors.  Dave recommends using the original points coil but I think its better to use a low primary resistance (0.5-0.7 ohms) coil instead.

 

I just did the HEI Ignition Upgrade of my Barracuda and it works great.  See HEI Ignition Upgrade.

[dr914]

I have pertronix, it is great no problems we do however experience problems when we install on the air cooled cars as they run much hotter than the 180 degree regulated water cooled cars

[johnrex]

The real question to ask if you keep the original points and condenser is where will you find quality replacement parts when you need them? I don't know of any good source.

[John]

17 hours ago, johnrex said:

The real question to ask if you keep the original points and condenser is where will you find quality replacement parts when you need them? I don't know of any good source.

 

There's plenty of NOS ignition parts to be had, Delco and other brands.  Don't wait until you need them---carry spare's in the glove box.

 

One of my 3 oldies has Petronix because a prior owner installed it.   Yes, it's "better" than a breaker point system, but not enough to make me want to change over the other 2. 

 

[rodneybeauchamp]

3 minutes ago, John said:

  Yes, it's "better" than a breaker point system, but not enough to make me want to change over the other 2. 

 

 

Hi John, when you say it’s better, can you clarify what you perceive as “better”.

 

I have two Buicks, 1963 and 1938, both with points, so I’m interested but the benefits need to outweigh the costs. Besides! My nice Dwell/Tach/voltmeter/timing light will be superfluous ????

 

be interested in in your comments and those from others.

Rodney

[John]

If you put a lot of miles on a car the points will wear and need adjustment.  If the car sits for a long time without being started the points can oxidize.   Petronix eliminates these issues.

 

 

 

 

[Les M]

I have a 66 Skylark with a petronix ignition and  petronix 40,000 volt coil an I am trying to eliminate the resistor wire and I know  one is at the ignition switch but do not know where the other end is. I also would like to know how t by pass the resistor wire to get 12 volts to the coil. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you for your time, Les 

[Bloo]

I saw your posting the other day but didn't respond, because I thought someone else would have a better answer. What follows is generic for mid 60s GM cars.

 

The circuit runs from the ignition switch to the coil. It passes through the firewall at the bulkhead connector. What I cant remember is if the resistance wire begins or ends at the firewall. It might be under the dash or it might be under the hood, but it ends at the firewall. The color of the wire should give it away. Do you have a shop manual for your car? It should have a wiring diagram that would show you what colors the wires are.

 

There is also a wire, not a resistance wire, that comes up from a terminal on the starter and goes to the coil. Ignore that one, it isn't what you are looking for.

Edited May 7, 2020 by Bloo (see edit history)

[KongaMan]

Resistance wire is under the dash.  FWIW, I have a Pertronix system on the Riviera and never mucked with the resistance wire.  It runs fine.

 

That yellow wire from the starter is the one that provides 12V to the coil when starting.

[telriv]

You can use a relay & use the + terminal at the coil for  a trigger for the relay. You can mount the relay at the firewall close to the coil so now all you have to do is make two wires.  Simple, fast & easy.

[Seafoam65]

The pertronix is designed to work fine on 7 volts......no need to mess with the resistance wire.

[TKRIV]

I installed a solid state relay which I happen to have in my electronic box of odds and ends.

The wiring looks cleaner than an Electro-Mech relay and it has a very small LED to show me it's on.

Yes 7V will work but why not get the full benefit and run it at 12V and get a bigger bang at the plugs.

I think the reason they designed points to run at a lower voltage is to save the points contact face for longer life.

Tom K

[KongaMan]

If you don't want to muck around under the dash or with a relay, I think you could safely tap the #4 (brown) wire from the VR.  It puts out 12V when the engine is running.

[Bloo]

If you use a relay for the ignition, and the car has an idiot light for the charging system, the engine will not shut off.

 

You can fix it by powering the idiot light from the relay, but then you are still running a wire from under the dash.

 

While it is true that the ballast resistor does prevent point burning, particularly when the ignition gets left on and the points happen to be closed, that is not the main reason for it's existence. The coil is designed to run on less voltage, probably 8 or 9 volts. System voltage on a running 12V car is at least 14.2 volts and probably more like 14.7 volts on any GM car that had it's voltage regulator replaced in the last 40 years. While the starter is cranking the battery voltage will pull down to maybe 10.5 volts if the battery has a good charge, and probably a lot lower if the battery is low and the starter barely cranks.

 

The wire coming up from the starter bypasses the resistor while cranking and puts all available voltage on the coil. Remember normal voltage for the coil is about 8 or 9 volts. On that bad day that your battery is almost dead, and you are only going to get a chug or two out of the starter before it is all over, you will have full normal voltage (or more) on the coil. Eliminating that feature is a downgrade, no matter what someone selling fancy ignition parts may tell you.

[crowvet]

I have had the one wire unit in my Corvette for 14 years now. No fuss, no muss.

[1965rivgs]

  Personally, I would not add another switch or related connections between the ignition switch and coil because doing so adds multiple points of potential failure. Any switches or connections in any electrical circuit are much more likely to fail and do. An ignition failure is a breakdown scenario and will disable the vehicle. If the load on the ignition switch is acceptable why add a relay?? I would just run a new wire from the ignition switch to coil as a replacement for the resistant wire.

Tom Mooney

[arnulfo de l.a.]

What Tom states  is true. I switched to a hei distributor done  by DAVES HEI. And in all honesty ,I see no real difference in start up, idle or overall performance from points ignition. The car started ,idled and performed as expected from a happy ,healthy engine with points so really not much room for improvement by just upgrading the ignition system.  I do like the fact that there is no wear so no need to readjust gap and timing. That alone makes the change over worth it to me. Did the same to my 2 panhead Harley's (63 Frankenstein, factory 65 flh) so all I have to do is set em and forget em. So far no problems with the bikes or riviera.

[TKRIV]

Top advice Tom,. I will remove the relay and tap terminal 4 (brown wire) of the regulator as it's hooked up to the Ign Sw.

Bingo, Got the 12V with no fancy wiring or relays.

Learning all the time.

 

BTW

I do get better performance from my 425  2x4 Quad with 12V at the coil, confirmed by dyno.

Cheers

Tom K