I want to upgrade the 401 distributor to an electronic job. The first thing that comes to mind is Pertronix conversion. There are different models. Which one will work the best. What about recurving --- will I have to do that ? I don't think I want the hassle of trying to find someone here. Will I still need to run a vacuum advance with Pertronix. I've seen those HEI on Ebay but they look ugly. :blast: Advice please fellas.
I've had good luck with the pertronix ingnitor III and flamethrower coil. It does take a full 12 volts, which I ran through a 4 pin Bosch relay. I would also recurve the distributor, although it's harder to find people who can do it and do it right. Tom Telasco (Telriv) did mine, and it had immediate gains in performance (my 60 ft times went to 2.1x) You can PM Tom here on the board and see how to handle the shipping.... Sometimes the easiest thing to do is get used distributor here in the states, have it done and shipped over.
I have had good results with the recurve ''kits'' from summit or jegs .... buy the most expensive one.... this is one of the best power gain for the money items.... ditto on pertronix or maybe accel or mallory units... I like the units that are triggered by a magnet rather than a light.... but now the light used is a led.... when you up grade the ign system,,, use a good dist, cap and rotor that has brass elements rather than aluminum.... go with accel , mallory, or msd ,,, some brand like that... you will be glad you did,,,, as for as the wires,,, on a street car, the ordinary wires that you get at the auto supply , will work just fine....as long as you buy quality... no need to spend a bunch of money... the engine will not run any better.... yes , on a street car, you will need a good working vacume advance,, hooked up to direct manifold vacume... dont use the ''ported'' vacume... use the fittings where you have vacume all the time.... back in the 50's and early 60's , direct vacume was used... ''ported'' or temp controlled vacume is a pollution thing....
Had a look at Summit & Jegs website. :eek2: There's that much stuff there I got confused, couldn't find recurve stuff. What about this ----- A Pertronix 11 module running through an Accel Super coil I have on hand. New cap, vacuum and rotor. Russ Martin reckons 61-63 distributors are the best for curve. If I can get hold of one here, then maybe I can just fit the Pertronix and run as is ?
I had 2 Pertronix die on me so far, me and couple of my customers we are using Accel 2010 set and it's flawless. Here is a link for some evilbay stuff: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACCEL-Point...Parts_Accessories&hash=item2594d9c80b&vxp=mtr Peace, Kacper.
I was told this conversion would make my life better ... I am replying so I can find this thread later when it comes time to do the conversion on my 401
Hi everyone! Just had the 2nd set of points fry in my 63 Riviera yesterday. Probably don't have 3000 miles on them, brand new Car Quest parts. Not a big deal to change, but I am thinking a switch to electronic/HEI might be in order. I know the full size HEI might be a tight fit in a 1st generation Riviera with the heater hose routing and all the plumbing at the back of the engine compartment. The MSD looks smaller with a little more room and Daves might be a possibility as well. Just want to hear what you are running and how it is working out! Thanks, Tim
Guys, Thanks for your input! GS 66, I do like the size of the MSD, more in line with the original Delco distributor. Does it need an amplifier box of any type? What type of coil and plug wires are you using? Bobby Buick Have you installed the lectro unit in your car yet? Just wondering how the installation went. Their on line catalog had a lot of neat stuff for my Riviera! Thanks! Take care, Tim
I've been running a Pertronix Ignitor III for 4 years now. Its never given me a bit of trouble, and the built in rev limiter has certainly come in handy. As far as I'm concerned, its basically MSD box performance at a fraction of the price. Just my two cents! :beers2:
Andy! Good to hear from you! I have seen your car at BTT50's a couple times but you must have been out looking around! Hope all is going well with you! Pertronix and Crane both seem to have an adjustable rev limiter which is probably a good thing; I have been relying on point float to be my rev limiter up to this point! (no pun intended!) NOt sure which way I am leaning, the big old HEI is something that I can fix blind-folded but it is way huge for the area it has to occupy on a Riviera. I really don't need a racing type distributor as this is just a cruiser. Thanks for the information! Tim
Hey Tim, good to hear from you too! Yea, I tend not to hang around my car at Back To The 50's or Car Craft, there's too much too see! It sounds like either the Pertronix or Crane unit would work well. I know the Ignitor III needs at least 12V to operate effectively. I used the same method as Rhett, a Bosch 4 pin relay triggered by the original resistance wire.
All you fellas have given me some great advice ( again :TU: ) and some options. I'm still slightly confused but will persevere with reading up on all the units available. It will only be a stock engine and plenty of power on tap for me, so I don't want to over complicate matters. Mainly looking for smooth idle / running with better fuel economy.
Ken, G' day, Mate! Sorry to hijack your post but I thought that our issues very much the same! I'm not sure if there ever has been any proof that electronic ignition improves fuel economy over conventional ignition systems. I know that GM went to High Energy Ignition in the mid 1970's to provide a hotter spark to make sure that leaner mixtures would burn completely in the combustion chamber. The reason for leaner mixtures was fuel economy and lower exhaust emissions coupled with the introduction of exhaust gas recirculation that leaned out the air/fuel mixture when it operated. If you are looking for an increase in fuel economy with a Nailhead or any other engine, there are a couple of things you can do, but neither are cheap. First one would be electronic, feedback type fuel injection to make sure your engine is getting the precise amount of fuel for the driving conditions and no more. The second way to increase fuel economy would be changing gear ratios, either in the rear axle or transmission or both. Slow the engine down at highway speeds and your fuel economy will go up! Take care, Tim
With my '65 Impala when the 283 was in it I change from the factory points dis to a Mallory Unilite and the mpg went from the 15 mpg range to the 17 mpg range by only changing the dis.GL Derek
Derek, My point exactly. When you replaced the distributor, you also installed a new vacuum advance and centrifugal advance weights and springs as well. You may possibly have replaced the rotor, maybe even the cap. I think the only fair way to gauge an increase in fuel economy that would be related to points versus electronic would be to base line a points equipped vehicle with everything set to factory specs. Once that was done and a repeatable drive cycle was used for testing fuel economy, then you would switch out only the points for an electronic trigger device. Check the mileage on the same exact drive cycle as the points and see what happened to the mileage. I would wager only a very small change in fuel economy if any at all. Just my 2 cents! Tim
