Pertronics vs Electronic Distributor

[Alex_McMillin]

Hello,

I am considering one of the two upgrades. What's the general concensus out there? What experiences do folks have with either?

........Cheers, Alex

 

[Geo Hahn]

Some would say the Pertronix is a change, not an upgrade. Okay, I would say that.

 

[TR3driver]

What about a Pertronix electronic distributor ???

PS, I had one of their point-replacement conversions installed for awhile. Took it back off when I realized it was causing more problems than it prevented!

 

[DNK]

Remember,IIRC, if you go to one of these new dizzys.
You have to add the drive dog.
At least in the Mallory I had and have been trying to sell.

 

[TR4nut]

I substituted my points and condensor for a pertronix unit on my TR4 about 4 years ago - no problems at all. Main issue I heard about is the unit could burn out if the ignition were left on after the engine was stopped. But I've had zero complaints so far. One advantage is if you have a tired distributor that it can give a better, more consistent spark - shaft wobble with the points setup might lead to inconsistent firing. Other than money, its a reversible, tidy add on.

 

[Darrell_Walker]

I ran a Luminition on my 4A for quite a while, and was happy with it. It isn't as "stealth" as a Pertronix, as there is a extra box you need to mount.

I do wonder about these "generic" drop in dizzies, what curve do they have, and does it match the original. Of course, I have no idea if the original curve is correct for what we have for gas these days!

I've heard lots of good things about Advance Distributors, I'm planning on having them rebuild the dizzy on my 8:

https://www.advanceddistributors.com/index.htm

It needs a new vacuum diaphragm, anyway.

 

[DNK]

Better call him first on that

 

[Darrell_Walker]

Better call him first on that

He says he can. He can't get seals for the retard side, but the FI doesn't have that, anyway.

 

[DNK]

Good deal.
When I talked last I know he said there was something he couldn't do

 

[Brosky]

I have the Pertronix on one of my Advanced rebuilt distributors and it works just fine.

 

[DNK]

Thought you went back to points on that last rebuild??

 

[hondo402000]

Jeff rebuilt my distributor and I have the pertronix for 5 years and no problems either,

Hondo

 

[Gliderman8]

I'm in agreement.... Jeff did mine and I have the Pertronix and have not have any problems with it at all.

 

[dklawson]

I'v had Pertronix on two LBCs so far without issue. It's an improvement if not an upgrade, but I always carry points and a condenser in the boot... just in case.

 

[Brosky]

Don, I have three distributors that I swap around when I'm bored. All are rebuilt by Jeff, two have points and they have three slightly different curves. The best match up for my new engine seems to be the Pertronix, but that curve is almost identical to the last points distributor that Jeff did for me.

I sent the details of the engine build to Jeff along with the distributor and he matched it up to that and installed the Pertronix at the same time. I have a breaker plate ready to drop in that has a set of points/condenser on it, all set to go, should there be a problem. Jeff set this up when he did the Pert distributor as a back up.

 

[Alex_McMillin]

Thanks for the replies. I have heard that folks using a Pertronics always keep a set of points in the car for emergencies. But, it sounds like most here haven't had many issues. I think I'll give it a go. Seeing my TR4 is +ve ground, I think I'll convert it to -ve first. I believe Pertronics makes them in both -ve and +ve ground versions for our cars. Any one have a model number for their Pertronics?

.......Alex

 

[TR4nut]

Don't have it handy, but a decent site is BPNorthwest - I think they have both models, and you should be able to get the model number there as well.

 

[TR3driver]

Pertronix shows LU-142A for all Lucas 25D4 distributors, negative ground. For positive ground, LU-142AP12. Amazon has both types listed for pretty good prices ($78 & $100).

 

[donbmw]

I have had the Pertronics 2 times and I am going to stay with points.

 

[racingenglishcars]

My 63 Land Rover has always been hard to start. I had for more than 30 years been forced to use the hand crank to start it. And sometimes it's been a real bast*d, with me worn out from cranking it over more than 50 times by hand. (The starter has always turned the engine over very slowly because I'm still using the manual push contact for the starter and the starter itself is original).
One day I came across the two Luminitions I had laying in a parts box. Just for fun I decided to install one. The engine started first time... Really. I have not had to hand crank it for two years now. Even though the engine cranks over really-really slowly with the starter, it still has good enough spark to start up.
I happy as can be with the electronic ignition.