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Petronix Electronic Ignition positive ground

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AUSMHLY

AUSMHLY

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My mechanic recommends a Petronix Electronic Ignition.

He told me my distributor has some play. He said that affects the points. It seems my points were in need of adjusting. That was the reason my carbs were backfiring. He adjusted the points and that seemed to fix the problem.

He told me that installing the Petronix would fix that problem of having to adjust points because of the play in the distributor. He also told me that he may have to replace the spark plugs because of some problem Petronix has with certain spark plugs. Currently have N12YC plugs.

Anyone shed some light on the Petronix and spark plug compatibility?

Cheers, Roger
 
Hi Roger,
If the play is in the dizzy shaft, you may want to get it rebuilt. The pertronix may mask the problem for a while… Like putting A-1 steak sauce on bad meat.
 
Rebuilding may be in order as GregW said but it all depends on that vague thing "how bad". Because the Pertronix doesn't exert any forces on the cam in the distributor... you can tolerate more play/wear. This is only true up to a point though. At some point the rotor will eventually be running out far enough to damage itself and the cap.

I'm not aware of anything about a Pertronix unit that would dictate a change in plug type. I know that some people will open up their plug gaps a bit when they run Pertronix but I've not heard of someone going to a hotter or colder plug.
 
Mechanic is just about right. Even a rebuilt Lucas dizzy will not compete With the benefits of the Pertronix unit.

---Similarly, throw those N12YC sparking plugs in the bin with the High button shoes and Install a Set of Bosch WR7DP or NGK BPR6ES spark Plugs.--Fwiw--Keoke
 
GregW said:
Hi Roger,
If the play is in the dizzy shaft, you may want to get it rebuilt. The pertronix may mask the problem for a while… Like putting A-1 steak sauce on bad meat.
Click to expand...


Yeah!! but it sure make it taste good HUH!---Keoke-- /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/laugh.gif
 
Re-build is cheep and so are plugs. I re-built my distributor but a guy in Minn. who really knows what he is doing does them for $69 and his turn around is a week.
 
I agree with the comments above. A Pertronix to mask/alleviate the problems of a faulty distributor makes little sense, to me anyway. Assuming the distributor continues to deteriorate at some point the investment in improved or stabilized performance will be lost. The rebuilder fellow I assume others reference above is Jeff at Advanced Distributors (e.g. he's in Minnesota), he has a site on the web. A real speacialist with Lucas distributors and very helpful, also quite reasonable on the price in my opinion. I've not heard of altering plugs based on a Pertronix (I have one now, fwiw...) but I have heard of widening the gap for a higher output coil. Supposed to aid in better combustion but I can't say I've seen anything remarkable (I have a Lucas Sports coil). Good luck!
 
Roger,
Go with the Petronix ignitor, a 40 KV coil, Bosch platinum plugs gapped to .035 ". You won't turn back ! After the upgrade, if your distributor ever wears out to the point that it doesn't run well after another 40 or 50 years or so, then you can have it rebuilt when it really needs it. If you start picking up noise in your music system after this upgrade, also install Magnacor ignition wires.
Ed
 
Well lets look at why the dizzy is worn in the first place. Generally it is because the recommended lubrication of the unit had been neglected.Further, it is automatically assumed that the problem is shaft wear, it very well may be but cam wear is also a problem in these distributors. When DIY's rebuild their dizzy do they replace the cam if worn? Do they remove that old sintered steel bearing and replace it with a bronze oilite one? Do they hard chrome the shaft and them turn it back to specifications and lap it to fit the new bearing and the cam's bushing. Do they re bore the elongated holes in the counter weights and then machine bushings to fit the pins? I did this years ago in a friend of mines experimental machine shop. It took about five hours of machining and two full days to complete. Labor and Materials on the cheap ran $200.00.

It does not take much wear in the dizzy to cause engine problems. If the require lubrication schedule is maintained additional wear should be virtually eliminated. However, Removing the points significantly reduces the wear load on the bearing and the cam. Consequently, an electronic system such as the Pertronix does not contribute to the old point loaded cam/bearing wear problem.

Whether you replace the coil with one of the high output units or retain your original one. You will see the benefit of a higher secondary voltage at the spark plug using the Pertronix, simply because electronic switching time is so much faster than that of a set of points and there will be no bounce.---Fwiw--Keoke
 
Hi ED, did you use the "R" version of the Bosch plug and include a toroidal or RF Choke type filter in the main power lead to the music system ?.--Keoke
 
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