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Posted by: level914 Jan 22 2004, 07:50 PM

Is a pointless ignition a good idea for a fuel injected car? Does it make a difference that it's fuel injected? Or does it throw off all of the variables? I'm uneducated.

Sorry if this has come up in otrher threads.

I hear this is the way to go.

Is there a specific brand/type that you all recomend.

Posted by: SirAndy Jan 22 2004, 07:57 PM

pertronix is the way to go!

just got mine.
kissed my points good bye ...

clean and easy install, no wear anymore, no timing changes.
set it once and forget about it.

Andy

Posted by: level914 Jan 22 2004, 08:00 PM

Thanks Andy! That's my next purchase. Do I need a different coil, distributer cap, etc? or is it all one unit?

Posted by: SirAndy Jan 22 2004, 08:10 PM

nope, just the pertonix ...

you keep the stock cap and rotor and coil.

you trash the points and the condensor.

and here's a few helpful hints for installing (thank you Rich! )

1) throw away the spacer that comes with it
2) the (included) mounting plate (where the actual unit mounts to) needs just a little bit of grinding on one corner, otherwise it won't sit flush. the plate has a rounded edge looking like this ( where you need to file off a bit of material on the lower edge. you'll know when you see it.
3) use a little bit of locktite (sp?) on the mounting screw. don't overtighten the screw!
4) same for the 2 nuts that hold down the actual unit. don't overtighten!
5) put the magnet over the shaft
6) fiddle the wires through the whole where you removed the condesor wire. the flat rubber piece seals against the dist. housing from the inside, the round rubber piece goes on the outside and is hold in place by reusing the condensor mounting bracket.
7) use plastic gauge to set the GAP
8) tighten the unit down
9) make SURE red wire goes to + coil and black wire goes to - coil, both wires have red connectors, otherwise it's toast.


took only ten minutes ...
Andy

Posted by: tracks914 Jan 22 2004, 08:13 PM

How much was it?

Posted by: SirAndy Jan 22 2004, 08:20 PM

around $90 ducks ...

Posted by: swood Jan 22 2004, 08:40 PM

Mallory! Mallory!

Posted by: Air_Cooled_Nut Jan 22 2004, 08:43 PM

Do it! Have one on my air-cooled dub (carbed) and one on my 914 (FI) and they work beautifully. If they only made pointless valve adjusting kit that was as simple...

Posted by: Doug Leggins Jan 22 2004, 08:55 PM

I put a pertronix on my 72 driver (carbs - not FI) a few years ago - it cost about 60 bucks. Money very well spent! I was absolutely amazed at the improvement it made to my engine's smooth running and acceleration. Very easy to install. I just followed the instructions.

Posted by: eldiosyeldiablo Jan 22 2004, 09:05 PM

Where can you get the Pertonix unit? I'm looking on Pelican parts but I do not see it.

Any opions on which is better for FI '74 2.0 street car? Pertonix, Craine, etc.

If you are a dealer PM me and let me know.

Thx,
David

Posted by: Doug Leggins Jan 22 2004, 09:15 PM

Bought mine from Brad Mayeur in Peoria, IL. Another Brad that is great with 914s.

Posted by: Air_Cooled_Nut Jan 22 2004, 09:20 PM

I've used Compufire and Pertronix with equal success.

Posted by: Rouser Jan 22 2004, 09:50 PM

Can't use a Mallory on a FI car.

Posted by: SirAndy Jan 22 2004, 10:10 PM

got mine from Rich @ HPH, give him a call ...

http://www.highperformancehouse.com/

Posted by: RustyWa Jan 22 2004, 10:13 PM

Remove the dizzy. It makes installation SO much easier.

By the way...that photo is BEFORE I shipped my dizzy of to Rich at HPH for rebuilding.


Attached image(s)

Posted by: swood Jan 22 2004, 11:02 PM

Huh??!

I gotta hear this!

Posted by: nebreitling Jan 23 2004, 02:59 PM

i've got the crane xr700. works great. definitely best to pull the dizzy -- give it a good cleaning while you're at it.

i believe i paid less than $100 at summitracing.com

i heard that the pertonix will sometimes fry if you leave the ignition on, but that may be an old problem that has been resolved.

Posted by: F4i Jan 23 2004, 03:06 PM

I have had no personal experience. So take this as you will. My personal research has led me to believe
that the older pertronix were quite good but the company has been sold and the newer ones are of a
lesser quality. One of the big VW shops here recommended compufire. It only cost me $65.00 Cdn. I
will not know until spring if it was a good choice however

Posted by: SirAndy Jan 23 2004, 03:08 PM

nope, that's still the case. if you leave the ignition on without starting the car (for a extended period of time) it'll fry the pertronix ...

BUT, that's not a good idea anyways, regardless of your ignition system,
Andy

Posted by: Rouser Jan 23 2004, 04:16 PM

Maybe I wasn't clear ... you can't use a Mallory on a D-Jet-equipped FI engine (no internal FI trigger points).

I'm not sure about an L-Jet-equipped engine, though.

Posted by: need4speed Jan 23 2004, 04:31 PM

But if you take away my valve adjusting, what fun is there in owning one of these cars?

Posted by: McMark Jan 23 2004, 04:32 PM

They make a Pertronix Ignitor II* that doesn't burn out if you leave the key on.
http://www.pertronix.com

The pointless ignition is called Ignitor.

Posted by: Rgreen914 Jan 23 2004, 06:50 PM

About a year ago I installed a Compufire in our 1.7 without much trouble. I fired it up and the car ran fine but the distributor cap was "dancing" as the rotor spun. Seems that the stock rotor was too tall with the Compufire module; had to file down the base of the rotor to make it spin inside the cap without making the cap "dance'. When I e-mailed Compufire's tech line, found out other people had experienced the same problem; otherwise. runs fine.

Posted by: swood Jan 23 2004, 11:35 PM

Maybe I wasn't clear ... you can't use a Mallory on a D-Jet-equipped FI engine (no internal FI trigger points).

I'm not sure about an L-Jet-equipped engine, though. [/QUOTE]
Thanks for the buzzkill last night.

As you can see on my avatar it's mocked up almost ready to fire up. No trigger points on the Ljet. I've not heard it's not compatible.

You scared me.

Posted by: 0396 Jan 24 2004, 07:47 AM

To all,

I have a STOCK 74 1.8 So can I also upgrade to the Pertronix too?
I'm new to this car, so forgive my silly question.

Posted by: seanery Jan 24 2004, 08:33 AM

0396,

yup, you can.

Posted by: steve@ottosvenice.com Jan 24 2004, 08:50 AM

I used to use them but I now just use points. Remember to carry a set of points and condensr with screws so you can put the points back in, and you will have too. As they like to fail 250 miles from home on a sunday night. Steve

Posted by: 0396 Jan 24 2004, 08:58 AM

seanery,
Thanks for the response..


Steve,

are you saying that it's best to stay 'stock' and leave the possible upgrades alone?


Sorry, I'm a little confused.

Posted by: seanery Jan 24 2004, 09:23 AM

petronix fail from time to time, but usually that failure occurs right away. Both of my teeners have petronix.
My recomendation is to get another one and keep it in the glove box. You don't have to do it right away, but when you can afford a second one just get it and put it in the gb.

that's just my opinion. I know some folks carry points, rotor, etc..but I'd rather carry the petronix.

Posted by: garyh Jan 24 2004, 11:40 AM

Does what's-his-name have stock on the Ignitor-II?

I would concider upgrading if a group buy got the price low enough. (Need to re-curve the dizzy anyway...)

Posted by: 0396 Jan 24 2004, 03:14 PM

Group buy?

If so, and the price is right- I'll simply buy two.

Posted by: anthony Jan 25 2004, 12:44 AM

I got mine for $60 from a dealer off ebay.

Posted by: eldiosyeldiablo Jan 25 2004, 12:08 PM

So who was the dealer off Ebay?

Posted by: anthony Jan 25 2004, 12:49 PM

I don't remember because it was over a year ago but a quick scan of ebay finds several dealers with similar prices. Here's one for $66 with free shipping:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=33691&item=2455780252

Posted by: garyh Jan 25 2004, 12:52 PM

Not to rain on your parade, but that's an Ignitor-I. Already got one installed.

I'm interested in getting an Ignitor-II; these engines are sensitive to dwell adjustments, and the Ignitor-II supposedly fixes that.

G.

Posted by: anthony Jan 25 2004, 12:56 PM

Who's having a parade? I was answering eldiosyeldiablo's question.

BTW, if you look at Pertronix's application guide you'll see that there is no Ignitor II for our distributors.

Posted by: 914ghost Jan 25 2004, 01:28 PM

Don't know anything about a parade, BUT you guys you know EMPI makes a pointless Ignition kit right?
My local auto foreign parts guys says he thinks pertronix or compufire makes them, they're $40.
I'll be buying it soon and give it a try.



Robert O

Posted by: garyh Jan 25 2004, 02:19 PM

Yup. BTDT. It's one of the reasons I like the Pertronix.

Posted by: F4i Jan 25 2004, 02:30 PM

My sources tell me the Empi ones are made by compufire.

Posted by: Rouser Jan 25 2004, 08:41 PM

Goin' on 3+ years and a buncha-thousand miles, haven't had to even look at my Ignitor, short of inspecting the cap & rotor.

It's all on how it's installed, and what additional loads you might possibly have connected to the coil that the company didn't anticipate during testing ...