TR6 TR6 electronic ignition

I am thinking about changing over to a electronic ignition for my 1973 TR6. What are the pros an cons about this kind of system and what is a good product for the TR, Thanks

I like the Pertronix Ignitor. The only other one I've had any experience with at all was the Crane Fireball 700 on a friends car.

Biggest thing I noticed when I put the Pertronix Igniter in my old TR6 was that the car started a bunch easier. Granted the engine was tired but it would start almost immediately whereas it required more cranking with the point ignition. The 250 still has the points ignition but a much stronger engine and it starts quickly. I have a Hall effect type ignition from England (similar to Pertronix)that I keep meaning to put in the 250 but just haven't got around to it. If you do go the pertronix route, keep your points and condensor setup in the trunk as a spare. If something goes wrong, you can just pop it back in with a couple minutes of fiddling and be on your way. I have heard stories of the Pertronix unit burning out if you leave the key on for extended periods with the engine not running.

thanks for the input

Personally I say go with a new electronic dizzy and upgrade your tach.
This is more of a Winter operation as the car will be down with out your tach unless you get a spare one of those and have that one done.

I thought about the dizzy trying to keep costs down, thanks

cheseroo said:

I have heard stories of the Pertronix unit burning out if you leave the key on for extended periods with the engine not running.

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Indeed Pertronix warns against doing that.

I had the opposite experience with my current TR3; installing a Pertronix made it harder to start. Root cause was eventually discovered to be a bad battery (letting the voltage sag while cranking), but with points the engine would start and run fine even with the bad battery. (Until it got much worse, about 6 months later.)

I have had similar experiences with the Allison unit on my Stag (similar to the Crane XR700), where sagging battery voltage (due to driving without an operational alternator) caused the engine to just stop running rather than gradually degrading as it does with points. By my way of thinking, that makes the car less reliable overall (in terms of getting home under it's own power in spite of the bad alternator, as opposed to coming home on a flatbed).

Bottom line, IMO, they are good for reducing periodic maintenance, but not especially good for overall reliability. And it just isn't that hard or expensive to throw in new points and condenser as part of a major tune-up.

Performance wise, I couldn't tell the difference switching between fresh points, Pertronix or Crane XR3000. The XR3000 (which is a capacitive discharge unit) might have been fractionally easier to start in wet weather, but we get so little of that around here (and I try to avoid driving the TR in the wet anyway) that it just isn't a consideration for me.

The MSD 6 that I ran for many years on a former TR3A did seem to improve performance slightly (especially starting), but it had its own set of problems (including burning up the center contact in the distributor cap and drawing nearly 10 amps).

I drove a TR4 for over 120,000 miles and my six for 80,000 before parking it to start a restoration.

There is nothing wrong or a problem with the original points. In my opionion there is little to be gained by going to an electonic ignition on a street car. Sure, it is less work in not having to adjust the points, but the original setup, when properly installed and adjusted, is bullet proof.

On leaving the key in to on position, it will eventually cause a coil problem with the mechanical system if when on, the points are closed as there will be a constant current through the coil.

Now after saying all this, I did consider the electronic ignition, but only for a short period of time, then used the money to take my wife to diner.

However, if you are building your engine to run at or around red line all the time, then go for it.

I had a Pertronix fail while driving at highway speed. I was lucky not to be in traffic. I'm back to points now and can't say there's any difference in performance, but this is based on very casual driving.
John
1960 TR3A

I've had a Pertronix in for four years now and it's fine, but I do NOT leave the key on a long time. I do carry a drop in breaker plate ready to go with the points pre-set. Two screws, out and it. But I also used to carry spare points and condenser when I had points, so no big deal.

Definitely staying with the points, Thanks all for the input