I have decided its time to go back to a more street friendly distributor. I currently have a Mallory Comp 9000 (unilite) without vacuum advance. It works great, but is not ideal for street driving...have always ran hotter than I would like on the street, at least partly because of lack of vacuum advance. So I am considering this distributor https://www.summitracing.com/parts/pnx-d350711 I am also planning a future upgrade to one of the self-tuning EFI systems and want to also control the ignition through the EFI. From what I have seen, my current "Unilite" unit is not compatible with being controlled by an EFI. I also have seen that one needs an adjustable rotor and a locked-out distributor. Pertronix doesn't make their own adjustable rotor, so does anyone know if MSD's adjustable rotor will fit the Pertronix unit. They all seem to have the same design, but want to know for sure.
Ive never heard of an adjustable rotor. Im trying to picture how that would actually work. Wouldn't just adjusting the timing have the same effect?
Hey Jason I have one in my car the distributor was off it would fire the next cylinder would rip the starter out I called MSD to take back distributor and they told me they make a adj rotor it worked great https://www.msdperformance.com/products/distributors/distributor_accessories/parts/84211
Nope, adjustable rotor. My understanding is that it allows "rotor phasing" so an EFI can use the distributor as a crank position sensor. Apparently, you have to not only line-up the the rotor with the number #1 cylinder but also have the magnetic pick-up line up just right...if you want the EFI to control your ignition. Seems silly to me to convert to EFI and not have the computer control the ignition as well...like a modern car does.
Don't buy any pertronix. Have a billit dist on my boat and it sucks. Taking it out and putting the original Mercruiser Thunderbolt distributor and ignition back in. Nothing but headache and maintaince with pertronix crap. 4 dist. Caps in two years, the advance limiting setup are cheap flimsy metal pieces that flop around. Nothing about it is marine grade. Rusts up big time. Had replacement springs and weights twice so far.... STAY AWAY is my advice!
I guess maybe a better, more simple question is: Will a PerTronix distributor accept a standard rotor, or do they use a proprietary design?
Good to know, thanks for the input. I had heard of some issues with some of their stuff years ago, but thought they had sorted out the issues.
Standard Delco cap & rotor will fit, nothing special about pertronix. Copy of Delco if you ask me. Go MSD or MALLORY. Your overheating issues are not from lack of vacuum advance. I run all mechanical advance MSD on street like most others and no pinging, spark knock, or over heating issues.
Is that Petronix distributor a marine unit? Marine stuff needs proper spark arresting, but distributors need proper venting. Choose wisely! I agree about Petronix - I have had bad experiences with not only the parts but their ‘tech suppost’ too.
Yes, " their plug & play billit marine version". No venting on cap or dist. Their tech support said to drill vent in cap, but they wouldn't do it for me like I requested.(liability), Merc's caps are vented and dist has spark arrested venting also. Pertronix should not dabble in marine market at all.
