Electronic Ignition Conversion - Pertronix, Mallory, Accel Or Not At All?
 

Trying to gather info and insight from any board members on doing the conversion to electronic ignition eliminating the original points system in older cars. Obviously the pros sound great but I've heard about premature failures with some systems, Pertronix in particular. I remember years ago the hearing the Crane system was good but they're long gone. Checking Summit and Jegs shows there are multiple companies making these conversion kits.

Looking to see if anyone has any info about if they have converted and if so which system they went with. The Pertronix III sounds nice and the built in rev limiter is a nice feature.
Thanks.

Maybe add this one:
https://www.breakerless.com/default
https://www.breakerless.com/feature-comparison
to the list for feedback.

Wow. Looks like a real nice system with many advantages. Have you used it before?

No, but curious to hear from anyone who has.
Looks like a nice setup, especially if you want to be fully hidden in appearance. A bit pricey but it says USA made.

Buy a good perf HEI Distributor. Davis comes to mind, i use one. The HEI was a great design and trouble free issues.

Agree heard Pertronix had some issues.

This ^^^^^^^^^^^^^

I've used Breakerless SE on several cars and never had an issue. I ran one car at the Pure Stock Drags all weekend without a hitch as well. Lectric Limited and American Autowire sell the kit.

Wow that price on the Breakerless SE really shot up.
I paid $40 before the Pandemic.
It is a great product,never any issues.

I have Pertronix in 4 cars, 2 conversions and 2 complete original look alike replacements. The only trouble I had was ordering the wrong coil to go with the III when they first came out several years ago and the pickup unit failed. Replaced it and got the correct coil and it's still in there 6 years later.
You'll like an electronic conversion. They provided a hotter spark during the start cycle and all my engines fire off very quickly. Smoother idle and overall better performance too.

My Pertronix has been spot on for 30+ years. I converted because my 68 does not have an adjustment window. Factory points do more than enough to get the job done, and I would not go down the road of “A solution looking for a problem.”

Unless this is going into a car that you plan on driving a LOT, I see no point (pun intended) in switching to an electronic system. I put over 5000 miles on my black Chevelle SS396 convertible over 19 years and the points & condenser that I put in it right after I bought it were still working fine when I sold the car.

I run points on everything after having tried Pertronix, Unilite and M&H. The M&H was the only one that never gave me any issue.

Some people complain about the "Wait to Start" Requirement on some conversion kits

"Some electronic ignition systems, like those using a lobe sensor, need a few seconds to power up after the ignition is turned on. During this time, the module is warming up and getting ready to fire the coil. If you try to start the engine immediately after turning on the key, it might not start because the electronic module isn't ready yet."

Interesting, in 53 years, I've never read or heard about a system like that. I have a Mallory Unilite conversion from 1976 that was in both my LS5 and 6 and it doesn't require any wait time.
Curious what brand of conversion is it you refer too ?

Running a Breakerless unit in my L78. Works great

I had only one Pertronix fail, which I installed in 1997 and failed 2021. I've been running them in my other cars for years. I do have spare units in each glove box jic (very easy to install). But overall trouble free and better ignition than points IMHO.

A buddy has Pertronix in his car & he had the coil with in & it basically exploded, then learned to use the epoxy coil & hasn’t had any further problems…

Switched from an oil coil to epoxy..,

my Pertronix in my Judge has been flawless for 10+ years

I like points. Had a couple bad experiences with Pertronix.

I have one Pertronix kit that’s over 25 with no issues and a complete replacement that’s about 8-9 years old with no issues.

X2 here

Tim you should convert all of your TI ignition Corvettes to points!:burnout:

----More than one of Tim's cars has GM Transistor Ignition. Tim's Corvettes with TI would loose points with points,,,LOL! Those units, even if updated are very good. Nascar used them for years!....Bill S