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Hap, what is that thing...?

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twigworker

Jedi Trainee
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In the air filter thread below you have some pics of the engine bay of one of your race cars. In the upper left of one photo is what is obviously part of a coil-less ignition system. I'm not familiar with such a thing on a B. Could you give some more details? Thanks, Jack
 
twigworker said:
In the air filter thread below you have some pics of the engine bay of one of your race cars. In the upper left of one photo is what is obviously part of a coil-less ignition system. I'm not familiar with such a thing on a B. Could you give some more details? Thanks, Jack
Click to expand...

Me, too, Hap. Do tell us more.
 
Is this the photo?

100-0008_IMG-2.JPG
 
I noticed that myself and wondered what is was.
 
Its a crank triggered distributor-less ignition system...can't tell the brand but there are several out there...any could be retrofitted to an MGB or Midget (like the one in Hap's photo)....usually <span style="text-decoration: underline">Grassroots motorsports</span> magazine has ads from companies offering them.
 
Bugeye58 said:
That one looks like an Electromotive. Good systems.
Jeff
Click to expand...
I think you're correct - they are purple, aren't they.
Another is red but can't remember the name of it either.
 
Yep, that's a Electromotive crank fire ignition, great set -up,, shame they won't let us run them in vintage, plus now they have a tow box set up, and they are a good $1000, plus you got to make your own trigger bracket and attach the trigger wheel to your harmonic balancer, which requires some machining.
 
Pretty steep for a poor boy street car. Do you have any thoughts on their application to a street car? Jack
 
You don't necessarily need to buy aftermarket, but converting a 4 cylinder to DIS using an existing system from, say, a GM model would involve a bunch more head scratching and wiring.

I use one on my 6 cylinder MGA to avoid having to screw around with a distributor. The coil packs are those triple things (only need 2 on a 4 cylinder) closest to the camera with the orange thingy (a tach amplifier) underneath it.

enginebayj.jpg
 
Hi Bill!

I have long been a fan of your choices in restos and mods and have always been amazed at how well your work has been thought out and executed. The MGA V6 conversion photo is just another example of that. The terrific detail in thought and workmanship is obvious. Do you have more photographs and perhaps more descriptions of you stable posted anywhere?

Your humble and admiring servant, Jack
 
The neat thing about a Electromotive, is is has a set of dials you can set manaully, the first dial is intial timng, set it where it easiest for the car to crank, the second diel start feeding the additional amount of advance in you want for your total, the third dial lets you advance or retard a few degrees beyond 8000 ( a racing thing :smile:) the fourth dial is a rev limiter. Jack, I know a few guys who are running this on the street, and it is a much easier system than distributor, you can change the engine, and never set the timing, it will be just where it was before. This system by far has became the most popular ignition for SCCA racing in the Prod and GT classes, but it is a bit of overkill for the street, I will say this thog, when yu check the iming with a light it will amaze you how rock solid it is, it ever even quivers. The punch line to all this is Jeff at advanced can build you 6+ custom curved distributors for what this system would cost. Electromotive also build ECM controlled unit fr GM and other, like the one on Bill's car, in fact the coils used on his system and mine are identical, bascily the version you see above in the race is the same as Bill's, but lets you set it rather thana computer, which is a good thing, since speedracer didn't have a ECM :smile:
 
I'm planning to install a system based on a Ford EDIS4 ignition module. The module and coil pack come from an early '90s Escort.

I've also got the Escort crank pulley, with the 36-1 trigger wheel. That may no adapt too well to the MGB pulley, so I may have to get someone to machine a wheel that fits better.

A unit called a "MegaJolt Lite Jr." forms the missing link in the system. It comes from a company called Autosport Labs.

This unit measures engine load, using a manifold pressure sensor. It calculates the spark advance, based on a user-programmable table, and provides the necessary control signals to the EDIS4 module.

The EDIS4 monitors input from the crank sensor, handles precharge (dwell) and fires the coil. It also has a "limp home" function, that allows the ignition to keep working, even if the MegaJolt fails.
 
twigworker said:
Hi Bill!

I have long been a fan of your choices in restos and mods and have always been amazed at how well your work has been thought out and executed. The MGA V6 conversion photo is just another example of that. The terrific detail in thought and workmanship is obvious. Do you have more photographs and perhaps more descriptions of you stable posted anywhere?

Your humble and admiring servant, Jack
Click to expand...

Jack, I have a page of pictures (and some articles) at https://www.rhodo.citymax.com/carstuff.html that includes some of my projects, including the Jamaican, MGAs, brake issues, sway bars, TVRs, HRG heads etc. Help yourself (and thanks for the kind words!)
 
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