Electronic ignition for an original 914/6, Electronic ignition query Options

[stuartgto]

I would like to know if anyone has tried to install an electronic ignition for a 1970 914/6? Such as Pertronix? I or II? Or what else is out there? I want to keep it looking original, but have heard the reliability of the Pertronix can be an issue. Is it worth getting a new coil as well? Any thoughts and/or experiences are appreciated.

Also I am looking for a "readable" 1970 914/6 electrical schematic. Any hints?

Thanks

[Dave_Darling]

The Six already has a CDI, which is the same as an MSD except for the multiple-spark thing. Unfortunately, the points do wear mechanically--just not nearly as quickly as ones that carry lots of current.

Even more unfortunately, most or all of the original Sixes used the Marelli distributor. There is no points-conversion available for that unit that I know of. Crane did make a prototype for it, but they concluded that there wasn't enough market and never produced them. Someone around here did get ahold of the prototype, and said that it worked well. But I don't know what the differences are from a more standard Crane unit.

You might be able to talk someone into making bits to adapt a Pertronix II or Compufire or Crane optical gizmo into your distributor. If they do, they'll probably be able to sell a few of them. But it'll be pretty much custom work, so it won't be cheap. If you're willing to hand your distributor over to someone for a while, it might be worthwhile.

Marelli points were NLA new for a good while; not sure if they are now or not. If they are still NLA, then the market for a points-replacement gets a bit bigger...

--DD