petronix or points, what does the brain trust say Options

[pacman]

Points! Had Petronix fail on mine and havent had a problem since switching back to points..

[914_teener]

Ich war ein europäisch bis zum vergangenen Freitag!

How is your status in the EU relevant?

And why make the statement in German?

914 teeners talking about our recent EU vote. I don't think any off us know the status right now Joe.
Until Article 50 is exercised the UK break from the EU isn't "formalized" and many negotiations are yet to be made.
The Brexit camp are hailing it a victory and June 24th as our new July 4th. But now they realize what they've got to deal with Boris Johnson (who was a key leader in the campaign to leave and we all thought would take over, has walked away from the mess)
The Remain camp are obviously in turmoil as they make up most of our current Parliament who don't agree with the result of the vote hence our Prime Ministers resignation.
Labour, the opposition are in mutiny and divided. Most want the leader Corbyn out of the leadership, but he won't let go.

It's a right Royal Mess. Those citizens who voted out of the EU that didn't really know what that would mean, now want a re-vote to change their minds.
Scotland wants full independence from UK now so that they can remain in the EU but only just voted to remain in UK before the referendum.

God knows how it'll all sort itself out.

Life goes on day to day and nothing tangible has changed just yet.

My German is just a joke for 914 teener.....me pretending to still be European

I got it Darren.

Chin up...hang in there.

Heading over to EU in August and I.ll be in London for a couple of days.

I have points BTW and have no problems.

I carry a spare set and haven't had an inkling to go with Pertronix yet.

If it isn't broken don't fix it.

[Darren C]

Thanks 914 teener.

I currently have Petronix, and points in the glovebox. (but don't take that as a definitive)
During my 914 build I tried and tested both with my analytical approach (much like the EFI fueling graph debate on here previously) to see what the differences/advantages were. With the car wired up to various monitoring devices I tested and measured all things.

It's an OCD thing, once I get my teeth into a project I tear it apart to scrutinize in minute detail so I know it better than it knows itself.

I'm not going to start another Merry-go-round debate based on data streams, to show which is best.
Both methods have good and bad.

Go with what you prefer. They both work.

[JamesM]

All I know is what I have experienced. In almost 20 years and many 914s I have never had a Pertronix (or any magnetic pickup fail) and I have never had a set of points that didnt eventually fail.

Generally i swap every motor I get over to mag pickup as soon as I put it in car as they have always been bullet-proof and maintenance free, in my most recent case I had a recently rebuilt motor with a brand new set of points that was running beautifully so i figured I would leave well enough alone despite already having purchased a hotspark (figured i would try the cheaper option for once) that was just sitting on my shelf. Long story short I dont think I had 1000 miles on the points before I was left stranded. Next time even if the points are running great, im still swapping them out.

[Frankvw]

I personally never had points fail on me before. This is a pic of points from my friends car. Although they were new and Bosch, they failed within 100 miles.
No spare points, so stranded. Easy fix, but was about the last part to check, never expected it to fail. He is running a new set of points, but his failure and this points made me think about pertronix or similair setups....

[veekry9]

The single failure I've had with electronic Hall triggered ignition was a worn insulator.
The 22ga wire had been abraded by the movement of the dizzie's advance plate.
Caused a short to gnd,repaired with a razorblade found on the sidewalk!
'80s,about 45mins to restart,I got lucky,actually feeling the wire,the damage on it's bottom.
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)
/

[somd914]

Obtain a large enough population of data and you will see successes and failures with any component. As I mentioned earlier, I've had good luck with Pertronix as have others. I've had some bad luck with points, such as a new set out of the box that had its contacts plated with a non-conductive plating that had to be filed off in order to work... But I also understand others have had issues with Pertronix, and the earlier production units reportedly had more frequent failures.

Perhaps you want to approach the issue as to whether or not you want to adjust points, and how often will you need to it based on how much you drive. For some adjustment is not an issue, but others would rather not mess with it.

[Porschef]

Just looking at this picture should be enough to understand that points, while a long time in use historically, are just another moving mechanical part that will wear, need adjustment, or eventually fail as demonstrated here. I switched to a Pertronix setup 3 years ago, and will need, at some point, to pull the distributor cap off to change the rotor... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/dry.gif)

But that's it. And should I have the need to leave the key on for ANY length of time, I simply pull the red lead from the coil. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Mark Henry]

I've had to replace points, but I've also had to replace both a pertronix and a compufire.

Never had a problem with my bug...but then it doesn't even have a distributor. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[BeatNavy]

Ok, this thread has convinced me to go the Pertronix route soon.

But if I don't have to check the dwell every now and then, I won't get to reference this classic post every time to make sure I'm doing it right: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?s=&...st&p=931289 (IMG:style_emoticons/default/idea.gif)

But that's it. And should I have the need to leave the key on for ANY length of time, I simply pull the red lead from the coil. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

That's not an issue anymore with the Ignitor II, correct?

[Mark Henry]

Personally I won't use a pertronix on my car, to me it's funny to hear peeps tout something as modern, then put it on a dizzy that is 100+ year old tech.
I realize the d-jet guys don't have a choice.

I would install a megajolt/e, even though it's more money and work. The programmable box is $150 to $215 depending on options and you will need a trigger wheel, sensor and the ford module and coil. If you're thrifty you can get most of those things from a scrapyard.

That said, on my new six will be running a twin plug dizzy (the Patrick unit) that I got for a song.
I believe it has a MSD pickup.

[iankarr]

I think pertronix is hedging their bet on that one. When I installed a pII in my mustang 6 years ago, IIRC the instructions said not to leave the ignition on without the engine running for more than 30 seconds. Now, the faq on their website says "can" and "may"..

Q. What happens if you leave the ignition switch on when the engine is not running? A. This can cause your coil to overheat, which may cause permanent damage to the coil and the ignitor.

Regarding the points vs electronic debate, it's like comparing battery powered watches to wind-ups. Both work...it's a matter of personal preference. But the facts are clear. Points have more failure...er...points because there are moving parts and wear combines with manufacturing quality and mechanical adjustment to determine longevity. Electronic auto-adjusts and has fewer failure points, but when they go, they go digitally...as in one minute they work perfectly, the next they're totally dead.

I run the accel unit in my unilite and it works great. About half the price of the pertronix so you can get two and keep a spare in your glove box.

[colingreene]

It appears that only one responder likes points. Hmmm (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) . Or as Vulgaris points out, maybe he didn't read the instructions! Anyway +1 on Petronics. Ran them in 3 vehicles w/o a hitch. 9 yr's in one car. I would like to ask those that carry a set of points & condenser if they also carry a timing light & dwell meter to set them with. Didn't think so, except maybe Brandt who carries spare engines with him (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) . It's easier & smarter to carry an extra Petronics unit with ya.

You know weirdly I can actually read.
Again with on two seperate cars.
And Ill further elaborate, both failures i had were straight out of the box, both were sent back to the manufacture and tested "good" according to them.
So tell me again how i did not read the instructions.

[StratPlayer]

I just picked up my car with the new 123 distributor in it and the tangerine racing shift kit installed. The engine is a 2056, org. cylinders bored out to 96mm, Keith Black pistons, Hastings rings. Before the new distributor was installed, the car would hunt at idle, couldn't find any vac. leaks any where. The engine would have a hesitation in it once in a while. Hard to adjust the idle. New distributor installed, no more hunting at idle, no more hesitation what so ever, idle stays exactly where you set it. Great product for the D jet folks that are using a 40 year old distributor. NO trigger points..........

The car was getting very sloppy shifting, that's over.. Car shifts better than new, no more hunting for gears....

I'm very happy with these upgrades, especially the 123 distributor.

Eric Shea from PMB will be doing a write up with pics on the distributor install.

I'm a happy camper. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/piratenanner.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/driving.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smilie_pokal.gif)

[6freak]

It appears that only one responder likes points. Hmmm (IMG:style_emoticons/default/shades.gif) . Or as Vulgaris points out, maybe he didn't read the instructions! Anyway +1 on Petronics. Ran them in 3 vehicles w/o a hitch. 9 yr's in one car. I would like to ask those that carry a set of points & condenser if they also carry a timing light & dwell meter to set them with. Didn't think so, except maybe Brandt who carries spare engines with him (IMG:style_emoticons/default/lol-2.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/av-943.gif) . It's easier & smarter to carry an extra Petronics unit with ya.

You know weirdly I can actually read.
Again with on two seperate cars.
And Ill further elaborate, both failures i had were straight out of the box, both were sent back to the manufacture and tested "good" according to them.
So tell me again how i did not read the instructions.

i read the instructions as well and was told .. i tryed not to leave it to long but was a one man band in the shop that day and was back and forth trying to figure some wires and didnt think i left it on over 30 seconds! Maybe off and right back on is not good either? the car did start it just didnt run worth a beans, after turning it off it wouldnt start again, the cars all wired for it so maybe ill try it again just for kicks
(IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

[Drums66]

I personally never had points fail on me before. This is a pic of points from my friends car. Although they were new and Bosch, they failed within 100 miles.
No spare points, so stranded. Easy fix, but was about the last part to check, never expected it to fail. He is running a new set of points, but his failure and this points made me think about pertronix or similair setups....

.....Play the Lotto!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/bye1.gif)

[Cuda911]

Well, I went and had Pertronix installed today.

Warren, I will mail you back the distributor I borrowed in Flagstaff. Thanks again!

[76-914]

Any noticeable difference in starting or idle? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/biggrin.gif)

[Cuda911]

Starts the same. Idle is smooth, have set it at about 1,200. So far I've only drive the car about 5 miles since the install.