points to electronic ignition

[tpodwdog]

good evening gentlemen

i am giving some serious thought to changing my 70 runner to electronic ignition. just how involved is this process?. for those that have done this , i would love some info...like...what i need besides the obvious.

thanx Dave!

 

[kb67mopar]

I also am in the same boat. I aquired an electronic distributor this evening but also need to know what else I need.

I know we need the control box, a resistor, and some wiring, but can anybody give some specifics.

 

[67 B-body]

Easy to do..... I made up my own harnes and converted the dist from point to electronic. I bought a module from the local parts store and hooked everything up. If your not into doing it all yourself, you can simply buy the MP kit for a few more bucks and plug it all together.

 

[67 B-body]

BTW,,, I did this years ago on my 69RR not my current hot rod... I'm using Mallory dist now.

 

[tpodwdog]

is there a site or can one of you guyz throw down a link where i can buy the complete kit? i had a 70 RR when i was 19 and broke...now i am doing a bit better( LMAO).. and i just bought another one ( SEE PIC TO LEFT)... and i remember the points just constantly needing adjustment and/ or replaced. im getting too freekin old for this mechanic stuff anymore...i just wanna drive it !

thanx gentlemen

 

[omegamonk]

I did one on my bb challenger yrs ago used the mopar performance kit i think it took about an hour Had no problems with it the car ran better and tossed them points in the trash heres the install instructions ......http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/elecignconv.pdf

 

[moperformance]

This may sound stupid unless this has happened to you. keep the points and coil in the trunk because if the thing dies in the middle of nowhere you can always put the points back in and hot wire the coil to get home. They don't take up much room inside a tool box.

 

[rlsbee]

There are options to make this conversion. The simplest is to install a Pertronix conversion in your points distributor. There are several plug-n-play distributors that have everything contained under the distributor cap. Personally, I run a Pertronix plug-n-play billet distributor and I like it. MSD and Accel make similar units. They are a simple two wire hook up. Just make sure you have a compatible coil. If you have an electronic distributor already, here's a link to a set of instructions for the conversion that might help.

http://www.mymopar.com/downloads/elecignconv.pdf

 

[684door]

If you are replaceing whole distributor, you can buy a conversion kit, swap out distributor, mount control module, wire it up, plug in distributor, hit the key, its fast and easy, did it to my 440, and 383 i can have it up and running in about 15 to 20 minutes, pull out old distributor, mark where it was before pulling, drop the other in exactly where the old one was, mount the box, plug it in one wire runs to hot on the ballast, and one to the neg on coil done

 

[MoparBill]

Year one sells new engine harnesses already set up for electronic ignition and the newer (2 field terminals) alternator and voltage regulator. I know you can wire it yourself, but this way is a no brainer, all plug and play.

 

[Cranky]

If you had to constantly adjust the points, there was something wrong. Is this going to be a daily driver? How many miles. My point tuneups would last a good year or more on my daily drivers all the way up until about 12 years ago when I tore my car down for a rebuild then life happened and the car still sits in the shop. Most never thought about putting some lube on the distributor cam to keep the rubbing block on the points from wearing out quickly and that was usually the problem. Set the points a bit wide and the plugs a bit close and let it 'drive into the tune' and it will also last longer that way. Also, use good replacement parts. Blue Streak was my choice for tuneup parts. Also, I've had way more electronic ignition failures than point system failures....and moperformance knows what he's talking about! I always carried a spare module, ballast resistor, pickup coil for the dizzy for my electronic equipped cars and never carried any extra parts for my points cars....

 

[Budnicks]

If your at all mechanically inclined try these guys www.manciniracing.com they have a simple conversion kit...

 

[Satellite65]

I just purchased an MSD ready to run distributor and a coil. No ballast resistor, no control box, just a 12V hot line from the ignition switch to the positive side of the coil and plug in the distributor. It's a real nice distributor too. Advance mechanism's right on top and easy to adjust. Has a vacuuum advance as well.

 

[Sonny Black]

mancini, is where my "kit" came from......

 

[rich418]

I just installed my new FBO kit and so far I am very pleased. I am waiting on their new control box with a built in rev limiter. But I installed the new custom curved distributor and coil with my existing orange box and ballast resistor.

I had the MP Electronic kit but the distributor was not curved to meet my engine specifications rather than send it to Oregon and back to NJ, I decided to get a new one.

With my old set up I could only run 10 initial timing and my total was 38 all in before 2000 rpms and the vacuum advance could not be used. It had a less than perfect idle, slight off idle hesitation and if I would floor it in 4th gear at 50 mph without downshifting into 3rd it would rattle the headers (ping/detonate).

My new distributor is set at 18 degrees initial without vacuum. When I plug the vacuum in it goes to 30 degrees. My total mechanical timing is 34 degrees all now by 3200 rpms.

The result is a much smoother idle, better drive-ability no more hesitation and no more detention.





http://www.4secondsflat.com/a688specs.html

 

[pistol_grip_polara]

I ran points for awhile, and then converted it over to the mopar electronic ignition kit. Worked great. also did it in my buddies 65 rat rod d100.

I purchased a pertronix unit for my jet boat to see how i liked em... works awesome.

when i did the motor swap in my polara i went and bought a complete petronix distributor. However i did notice that to put that in a small block there might be clearance issues on the late 60's mopars.

I like the pertronix kits, just about anyone with a little mechanical knowledge can do it, you can also purchase a black coil with the right ohms and everything will appear to be as stock as points othere then you have a red and a black wire instead of a single wire. Also i ran the orange box and sometimes tryin to find a place to mount it is kind of a pain, and running all the extra wiring.

THe pertronix units are good for 9000, while the orange box is only good good 6000 rpms.

Just my 2 cents, but any other projects that I build, are getting a complete pertronix dist... one piece billit shaft, all brand new interenals, cap and rotor, slip it in, hook it up, and done. Also you can buy them with male or female ends for you wires, and can step up and buy the msd cap, and it will appear to be a ready to run msd without the price.. best $249.00 i spent and hasn't had any issues. you can get the kit for a points style dist. for about $80.. will need to purchase a better coil tho... many options there..

 

[tpodwdog]

thanx so much for the info guys...i think when the sun starts shining in a few months i will switch it..!!