1955 Buick special conversion to electronic Ignition system

[Bluebeard & Rainbow Brite]

Hello my fellow enthusiasts.  My Buick is coming along great.  It was recommended to change to an electronic ignition system.  Any leads on the parts I would need for this.  I am doing research but always appreciate the help from this knowledgeable group. it's a 1955 Buick Special

Edited February 8 by Bluebeard & Rainbow Brite
missing info (see edit history)

[GARY F]

There is nothing wrong with keeping it original.

[Specalist John]

Go Pertronix Ignition and you will keep the same OEM Distributor and Cap..I WAKE THAT BUICK UP!!!

39 minutes ago, GARY F said:

There is nothing wrong with keeping it original.

 

[alsancle]

Bad idea. We have a million threads on this.  Who recommended it?

[avgwarhawk]

Some use Pertronix with good success.  I still use points with good success.  At the end of the day it is up to you.  However, as little I drive my Buicks my points should last to 2035. Maybe beyond.  

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

1 hour ago, alsancle said:

Bad idea. We have a million threads on this.  Who recommended it?

A J ,  do you have first hand knowledge of this?

 

  Ben

[Wayne R]

Pertronix  is  ok as long as you use there latest version,   for memory   think its pertronix 11,, years ago 

they started with   pertronix 1, and the problem they had, if you ever worked on your ignition with key on  for longer than 4---5 minutes

it would burn  the  pertronix out.

Now if you decide to   use points buy a reputable good quality  points and condensor  set , dont but cheap  sets.

i used pertronix in about 3 of my Buicks while CA 30 years ago, and i was let down ones on my 65 Riv, messing around 

with my ignition to long,    if you go with pertronix,   keep points in your trunk.

[alsancle]

1 hour ago, Ben Bruce aka First Born said:

A J ,  do you have first hand knowledge of this?

 

  Ben

Yes. I have seen conversions go to crap. But the biggest reason not to do it is that some poor slob in 25 years will be pulling his hair out trying to figure out how the ignition works. Anytime you modify the car you lower the chances of that car being a driver down the road. I’m sure guys in the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s could’ve been making modifications that were the latest and greatest at that point in time would make the car useless now. Keeping your car as close to original spec as possible gives it the best chance of surviving. 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Me oh my!   I for one , am not concerned with 25 years down the road!   You have seen!  Ever do one?

 I did mine in 2012.  Not one moments trouble.  Got rid of the carburetor as well. You never hear me complaining about the gas, or  "vapor lock " do you. 

 

  To each his own, I guess.  

 

  Ben

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

7 hours ago, Bluebeard & Rainbow Brite said:

Hello my fellow enthusiasts.  My Buick is coming along great.  It was recommended to change to an electronic ignition system.  Any leads on the parts I would need for this.  I am doing research but always appreciate the help from this knowledgeable group. it's a 1955 Buick Special

 

 Bluebird, these   "conversions " get people's knickers in a twist. I have done it on my straight eight. Most happy. I will be glad to talk with you off thread if you desire.  Just send a personal message.

 

  Ben

[old-tank]

LINK

[NTX5467]

In the 1990s, I started hearing about ignition points needing replacement every 8K miles or so.  I found that strange as we used to easily get 15K miles out of them.  I wondered what had changed?  I still had a points car or two back then, so I went to the main auto supplies to look for new points.  THEN I realized what was going on.  None of the new, name brand point sets had the little vial of "breaker cam grease" in them any more.  Used to be that every set of new points had that little red vial in it, to put on the breaker cam contact on the points to slow the wear on the points rubbing block.  

 

Another evening after work, I went on a hunt for such grease.  At the first big-box parts store, the counter guy got interrupted from making time with his girl.  He had no knowledge of what I was looking for.  Finally said they didn't have any and went back to this girl friend.  Went to another regional parts place.  The 40-something man knew what I was talking about and I had remembered seeing it on an end cap display, but we could not find it.  Went to another local parts store and the young guy walked me over to their chassis lube section.  I smiled and said, "Wrong kind of grease."  He went back to check and came back saying they didn't have any.  A few days later, went to Super Shops and bought a large tube of Mallory Point Grease they had hanging on the wall.  Super lifetime supply.  I ended up giving it to a friend who needed it as I had converted that car to the OEM electronic ignition system.

 

First time I heard of Pertronix, was about 30 years ago in these forums.  Back when all they had was what later became their base system.  Everybody who had it raved about how much better it was.  Later, the "II" system was introduced.  It had some initial issues, so everybody said to stay with the "I" system.  Then came the "III" system and more things it had.  Cycle repeat.  Some had differing ways to install the system and which coil to use, as I recall.  Then, a few years later, I saw people recommending the "III" system as they had one and it worked well.

 

At this time, Pertronix has conversion kids for many older vehicles.  I suspect that ALL of the aftermarket, drop-in kits on the market today are re-packaged Pertronix kits.  Just my suspicion.

 

Some posters in the Riviera Forum have used the OEM Ford TFI modules (added-on) with points as the trigger.

 

Davis Unified Ignition (a.k.a. "DUI") has HEI distributors which he has adapted to various engines.  Using, of course, a better-than-GM module to run them.  In some earlier non-GM distributors, he had the module mounted outside of the smaller-cap distributor cap.  I'm not sure what his Buick offerings might be, or if the guts can be installed into an older Delco distributor.

 

In another forum, recent mention of "Progression Ignition" was mentioned.  They have a quite nice website.  Fully-electronic "guts" and fully-computer programmable as to "mechanical advance" and "vacuum advance".  Input the advance values and related rpm levels (mech and vac), plus the desired hot base idle speed, and it spits out an advance map it will run off of.  Don't like it?  Program another one!  Pretty slick with a small-cap distributor.  Pricey??  YES.  BUT . . . stable sparks past 8500rpm.  Capability to deactivate (for theft prevention purposes) with the controller or your app-enabled phone.  It will vary the base timing as a means of idle speed control.  A neat distributor!  Looks like the circuit board could drop into an old Delco points distributor, from looking at the videos.

 

Personally, I like electronic ignition systems.  The closer they are to an OEM system, the better, to me.  BUT many aftermarket systems can be good, too.

 

The ONE real drawback to electronic ignition is that it takes a certain level of battery charge to fire the plugs.  The OEM GM system is about 5 volts, for example.  With points, all that has to happen is for the battery to be strong enough to make a spark between the point contacts and then a spark at the spark plug.

 

The SIDE ISSUE of using points relates to breaker cam lobe wear.  Try to set the points using a dial indicator and that wear suddenly sticks out greatly.  Significance?  If you choose a random lobe to set the points with, with the points rubbing block on the peak of the lobe, that's the reference point.  Then check the other lobes and you'll discover they are not all the same.  Which means that others will have a different point gap AND related dwell on that particular cylinder.  Dwell angle affects distributor timing of the spark for that cylinder.  So one cyl can fire a few degrees sooner or later than the reference cylinder.  Which effectively means that some cyl might fire at 5 degrees BTDC, another at 3 degrees BTDC, and another at 7 degrees BTDC.  By modern standards, where emissions and fuel economy are more important, a bit sloppy, but works.  In an electronic system, every cyl will fire at the same timing setting.  At this point in time, I highly suspect that every distributor breaker cam has such wear on it.  No new breaker cams, just used ones, from what I understand.  BTAIM

 

I believe that ACDelco still sells tubes of breaker cam grease.  Possibly Holley/Mallory too?  Do NOT count of buying the ACDelco items at a GM dealer, but it should be available online in single tubes, as the Mallory lube is.

 

ONE kit which might be considered is what used to be the old Mallory Uni-Light electronic ignition kit.  It uses a shutter wheel and a red LED as the switching mechanism.  Seems like Holley is now selling something like this?

 

Many decisions and "value judgments" to make.

 

Enjoy!

NTX5467

[NTX5467]

A possible "complicating factor" can be  . . . that when each system was first introduced, each of the electronic ignition conversion kit companies were still owned by themselves.  Mallory was still Mallory, just as Pertronix was still Pertronix, etc.  In the times since then, those companies have become a part of larger parts groups.  Of course, they claim that they are still selling the same products, or better ones, but who knows where things are really built?  For some people, that can be a really BIG deal!

 

I remember, from back in the earlier 1960s, everything was manufactured and assembled in the USA.  Even then, there were brands which were "premium" as there were also other brands which were good, but a little bit less expensive, and then there was the "3rd-line" brands that were good to a point.  Plus the OEM-affiliated/owned aftermarket brands.  

 

At THIS point in time, any of those three levels of car parts can be built "anywhere".  "Asia" can be the low-cost producer of parts, BUT they obviously can build OEM-level parts, too.  Just depends on what the BUYER of the products specifies, so they can hit a price point, give the customer a reasonable product for the price.  Some buyers buy "cheap" as others do not.  Parts have always been built in Mexico, too.  In the 1980s, I had a friend who worked for a chain import car parts store.  He noted that in VW parts, you could buy OEM and pay for it.  You could buy "Asian" and pay less but get less.  Or you could buy "Mexico" and get better quality at a good price, less than OEM.  In many cases, that is still true today.

 

FWIW,

NTX5467