Point vs. Electronic Ignition

[Skwerl X]

How difficult would it be to convert my '62 Impala's point ignition to electronic? Would it be worth the effort or is tuning a point ignition not that big a deal? Also, since this is an original car, would electronic ignition adversely effect the car's worth? Thanks.

[ronvb]

The advantage of the electronic ignition would be more reliable starts and a hotter spark to the plugs.I left my ignition stock on my 70 Chevelle for authenticity.I actually enjoy setting the points old fashion style and if you check them regularly with a dwell meter it runs just fine.A decent option is a company called Petronix that make an electronic upgrade that still fits under the stock cap but provides the hotter spark that people seek and eliminates the points.

ronvb

[Twitch]

And if it is important to you to use GM parts you should be able to drop in the HEI distributor with coil in cap fully self contained. I did that in an older Camaro and no worries. I had aftermarket pointless stuff in it before and 2 such systems ultimatly broke. With the HEI it's off the shelf GM parts that you can find easily.

[super_silent]

Twitch,

just curious, what were the brands you had that broke?? I'm looking into

installing one in my car and checking around to see which are the more reliable brands out there.

[Twitch]

To tell you the truth I can't remember. The last was still working OK but I decided to go HEI. The 1st one was no big name brand for sure. The Pertronix stuff available in most speed shops seem to be decent and of course MSD is great. It sure makes driving better without points and the attendant adjusting, filing, and replacing. I'd usually get a max of only 8000 miles from points.