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pointless ignition XR700 vs. Allison

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jvandyke

jvandyke

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On my recently deceased Opel GT, I had a Crane Cams XR700. In my '63 Midget (owned for 9 days) there is an Allison one of some sort. It is not hooked up to anything, just bolted in the engine bay.
Looking for thoughts/advice on which one if either is best to put on. I have not even begun to address tuning this Midget yet as I have bigger fish to fry (gearbox swap).
Don't know if the XR700 would require a different part for the rotor (probably) or what is then missing from the Allison.
Either way I'm sure I'd need to hunt down tidbits to get it up to par, but probably worth the effort to not have points, no?
Probably jumping the gun a bit as I don't know anything about how the ignition is set up on this puppy.

I know Allison was bought by Crane so maybe apples and apples then? Maybe I'm lucky and the pickup sensor/braket and shutter will fit? Opels used Bosch dizzies.
 

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My recall is a little shaky at times,but I think Crane and Allison joined together.
I replaced the Allison model with the Crane XR700 without any problems.

Stuart. :cheers:
 
While you were posting I was editing my post to the effect that Crane and Allison are the same.
 
Crane bought out Allison ignitions. The lifetime warranty became a one year warranty.
 
If you contact Crane, you might be able to get the shutter for a spridget distributor. The rest should be the same for any car.

Having suggested that, I should admit that I didn't like the Crane shutter; it didn't fit cleanly. In the end, I made my own. On the other hand, I was afraid of the stories about the Pertronix frying itself if left on too long, so it wasn't attractive. These probably aren't the only options, but they're the most common ones.
 
In the Opel world, Pertronix is very common and pretty reliable. Crane too though. Thanks.
 
Finally finished with ground conversion and everything else. Went to see how the XR700 shutter and sensor would fit in the 25D dizzy. My shutter won't work so I'll need to make one (how did you make yours Steve?) or hunt down the right one.....
 
I like my XR700. Easy to install, fault-free once it was up & running, and I have found the LED indicator to be useful on a couple of occasions, when timing etc.
 
Send me your shutter? Or at least a picture of it.....?
 
Think about the kit Peter C is offering as well. He's got a buddy who has built a solid state triggering system to fix an issue on Kohler Tractor Engines that while it retains the points drops the voltage through the points down to a 12VDC level. Points still make and break but with only 12 VDC instead of 20,000+ volts going through them last forever and do not wear out. Peter has been running this in his Mini for several years now. $50.00 including S & H. All he needs to know is + or - ground. An elegant simple solution that is not being talked about. Looks like it fits under the cap and plugs right in to a Lucas distributor.
 
Since I already have 2 XR700 in hand I'd rather use one, but the shutter kits cost $40 or so IF you can find someone who still has one (I haven't yet) and even then I won't pay $40 for a plastic ring. I'll try to make one first. If I can't then down the road, the Pete C solution sound good.
 
You can find the story of my XR700 conversion at https://www.nonlintec.com/sprite/ignition/. I have a small lathe, and the new shutter was a fun machine-shop project. I used the standard shutter for a while, and it seemed OK, but it just didn't fit really well. I still worry that you could get cylinder #1 timed right but the rest would be off--it's all explained in my article.

Except for that dilemma, I do think it's a good unit. I like using an optical sensor instead of a magnetic one, because it's likely to be more precise. Some people worry about it getting contaminated with dust, but the inside of a distributor is pretty well isolated from any dust sources. After all, you don't see a lot of dust when you pop the distributor cap.
 
Super, thanks I'll go read that. I don't have a lathe (unless you count the one my 1948 Shopsmith supposedly converts into). I was going to try to convert the current shutter (shaft opening is too small for the 25D shaft) and then when I destroy it, I'll make one from scratch from bits and pieces of whatever is at arms length on the work bench, always seems to work in the end. (I'll keep the points handy!)

Great write up! Thanks.
Do you happen to have your old shutter still?
 
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