3 words.. Don't Do It.... :grin: Spend the money with Dave on a properly worked over and setup distrib. www.davessmallbodyheis.com Cheaper and far superior in the end.. :TU:
3 OTHER words: GO FOR IT! I have 3 Ignitor systems on 3 of my vehicles, for these reasons: EFFICIENCY of HEI (NEVER REPLACE POINTS AGAIN!:bglasses: ) COST (About $100 for Conversion kit AND Coil! Compared to "$239" for HEI Distributor. Less than 1/2 the cost, to do the SAME thing, with LESS MAINTENANCE than an HEI!) APPEARANCE (I've had 5 Guys, upon raising the hood of my "new" Nova, TELL ME "The FIRST thing you NEED to do is CHANGE THAT JUNK DISTRIBUTOR TO HEI!". My response: "IT ALREADY IS!":bglasses: :TU: "HEI" distributors can also cause Air Cleaner Clearance problems on "some" cars, due to the Coil in the Cap!) Unlike HEI, with the Ignitor, you'll never have to replace an ignition module, which can frequently go bad, either! I've changed MANY "modules" in my "newer" vehicles with HEI, and I've NEVER changed one in my Ignitor systems! Find out for yourself! It's WORTH IT!:Smarty: :bglasses: :TU:
May I point you to Daves website... He uses your dist and converts it. No large cap pos, no Pertronix bs, just straight stock looking, because it is your original distrib, full fledged hei or trigger device. Pertronix kits cost more then $100, and cost even more in the longterm. Spend the money wisely as our hobby is costly enough as it is.. Efficiency, better then any of the other choices. Cost, far less then a new hei dist, maybe more then pertronix but far superior. Appearance, looks factory because it's your own distrib. nuff said
Buicks do not need to run over 5500 RPM and points do that nicely. I would rather run the points ,and use them to trigger an MSD . I really think you get more bang for the buck, and you can always make points work enough to get you home.
Sounds good.....I think Sounds like an argument could be made for the pertronix gadget, an hei conversion like Dave's, and the old standby sticking with the stock points. I like the idea of hei conversion using the stock cap etc. I understand you get what you pay for so I surmise that the pertronix gadget might be prone to failure. Is that correct? Will it blow out at the wrong place and time? I am in AZ where wires and circuitry takes a serious beating by the dry heat so whatever I do I got to keep that in mind.......points are working good for now. I would like to know if anybody on this board has used the pertronix gadget and had problems though. I know a ford guy who swears by them but he is a race car guy who seems to be looking for economy on everything. thanks!!! Chris
ignition Chris - do a search under pertronix and you will find a wealth of information and some strong opinons on V8Buick. We had a major heated debate on the board a short while ago on this subject! :eek2: - Bill
Re: Sounds good.....I think Doesn't everything? I have a pertronix system, it took about 3 weeks of messing around to finally get it running properly, but it makes a noticable difference in easy of starting and overall throttle responce The conversion the other members are talking about also gets rave reviews and seems like an excellent product. I guess it all comes down to how much you want to spend.
Pertronix Ignition Kit (Buick/All GM/ V8) = "64.95"- O'Reilly Auto Parts Pertronix "Flamethrower" Coil = "$27.95" Original Parts Group Total for these 2 components = "$92.95" + shipping/handling Might be a LITTLE over $100. Ok, so let's get technical. Points are NOT a choice (because NOW we have TECHNOLOGY! Points are a thing of the PAST! Leave them that way!) :Smarty: The Ignitor I system WORKS! PERIOD! UNLESS you don't know what you're doing, to MAKE it work, then it WON'T!:TU: The Pertronix conversion "IS" an "HEI" KIT! THAT'S WHAT "HEI" IS: HIGH ENERGY IGNITION! If you don't know how an ignition system works, the Points open and close to make a "contact" to allow the spark energy to pass through. If "too much" passes, for any reason, the points will "burn up", and will need to be replaced. With an HEI, the spark Jumps a Gap between the Magnetic Wheel and Pickup (just like a Spark Plug does), as the Distributor/Rotor spins, but there is NO CONTACT MADE (nothing will ever "burn up"), so there is NOTHING TO REPLACE, EVER (unless it's Defective, or Improperly used/maintained!) AGAIN, the Pertronix Ignitor IS an HEI Conversion! The Pertronix (Ignitor) should be used with a 40,000V coil for the "HOT" spark. That's where the "High Energy" comes in! Not ONLY in the Distributor, itself, but COMBINED with the COIL, is exactly what makes it a "Cheap" (affordable, but EFFECTIVE) HEI system! No argument is necessary. The guys who USE it, swear BY it! The guys who DON'T use it, swear AT it! :Smarty: :laugh: Something else, too, is that it DEPENDS on your Application. If you're just going to put it in your Daily Driver or Street/Strip car, then DEFINITELY DO THE IGNITOR!:bglasses: :TU: If you have a RACE ONLY car, then DON'T! Spend the $500+ on a REAL HEI system, like it was meant to be!:Smarty: :TU: The choice is just YOURS!o No:
I won't rant and agrue here.. I'll just sit and hope 'someone' jumps in and learns your somethin... Pertronix systems are 'not' HEI conversions.. They're originally made for Farm and Industrial equipment. Point & Condenser may be by today's standards "old technology", however, anyone, anywhere can carry a spare dist with point installed and be back on the road in 10min if the dist dies.. Old, perhaps, but sometimes old technology is also stable technology. Now, to rebutt your statement regarding those who've used it swear by it and those who haven't swear at it.. I've used it, I've purchased and used BOTH Ignitor systems (I & II) and after wasting that money I wised up, saw the light and went to 'the man'.. Are the Pertronix hard to install? NO.. They're marketed as "Easy conversion of your old points....".. It's not rocket science people.. Your 8yr old could install the LSC unit in 15min tops. (not saying anything bad towards young kids, just pointing out the fact it doesn't take a high school education) Yet again, this topic and arguement has come up on many occasion and some ppl refuse to admit pertronix is junk 'because they use it and it works fine'...
i still stand by my original statement! If you spend $100 for a Pertronix unit and $129 for an MSD box, you will derive more from the MSD and points than you will from a Pertronix:Brow: :Brow: PS I had a Pertronix ,and gave it to my son, and he had problems . One of the magnets fell out, and it took him awhile to find the miss. ou:
Scott, I have to disagree with a few things you said. The Pertronix is not an HEI. An HEI will fire plug gaps up to .080. I'd like to see a Pertronix do that. The HEI has a magnetic pickup consisting of a timer core (with exterior teeth) and a pickup coil. As the distributor rotates a small amount of voltage is induced in the pickup coil. This signals the module to open the the primary circuit. There is no spark energy that jumps between the magnetic wheel and pickup. If that were the case, it wouldn't last long. Points operate at about 6 volts and as long as the condenser is in good shape, they will last a long time, but their performance degrades from the time you install them. I'm not trying to say that you should not use the Pertronix if it works for you. I have seen too many people that I know personally and people on this BB that have had alot of problems with Pertronix units. The one thing I have seen is the magnets seem to come loose. Maybe the design is OK and it is a quality control problem. That might explain why some people have problems and others like yourself swear by them. In any case use what works for you.
Same function, different name. Like I said, I'm not getting "Technical" (some guys here can't even spell HEI), and I don't really care WHO uses WHAT. o No: CHRIS ASKED "Anybody used a Pertronix kit?" I was trying to answer HIS question! :Smarty: POINTS are JUNK! HEI's are OVERPRICED! Only one solution left, until you can AFFORD a "real" HEI, but you have to have a "real" car, FIRST! By that, I only mean that unless you have a "High Performance" engine and driveline, THEN you should be concerned with an HEI with ALL the "extras"! Otherwise it's NOT NECESSARY!o No: If you're just driving it ON THE STREET, WHY do you need it?o No: Oh, never mind.ou: I just gave myself a lecture (Why do "I" need a motorcycle, my Ninja ZX12R, that will do 200+ mph, ON THE STREET?!):bglasses: (The other question that I ask myself is, "With the Fastest Bike on the street, WHY do I even OWN a Buick anymore?"o No: The answer I keep coming up with is, "Just like the bike, it's DIFFERENT than everyone else's!":bglasses: Disregard anything that I've said, as I've now realized and totally understand what you're trying to do. :bglasses:
dang..... but thanks! This is what makes this such a great board! I can ask an idiot question and get a whole wealth of info from those a lot more informed than I. I really appreciate the thoughtful and interesting responses to my question concerning the advantages/disadvantages of the pertronix gadget! I won't add any fuel to the fire by throwing in my two-bit opinion on the debate.....but it is tempting heh heh.... Thanks again! Chris
