From: chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx <chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Ray Melton
Sent: Wednesday, December 1, 2021 11:44 AM
To: Dan Plotkin <dplotkin@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; 'John Nowosacki' <jsnowosacki@xxxxxxxxx>; 'Lars Kirschke' <lars.kirschke@xxxxxxxx>
Cc: '300 Club' <chrysler-300-club-international@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subject: Re: {Chrysler 300} Kit for Electronic Ignition Conversion 1961 Chrysler 300G
Hello All -
Regarding John Grady's and Dan Plotkin's experience - Like many of you, I was aware of the somewhat spotty reputation of some of the Pertronix ignition conversions, and I researched the many comments on multiple automotive boards. I spoke directly with a representative at Pertronix about my specific applications (1957 Chrysler 392 Hemi and 1967 Porsche 912). He readily acknowledged those complaints and said that the Company had made several incremental changes to improve reliability, and then (not defensively) explained what they felt was the source of most of the failures. The first was failure to supply a constant 12 volts to the Pertronix unit, instead of the reduced voltage supplied (after startup) through the ballast resistors commonly used to reduce erosion of the original points. Whatever is in the Pertronix Hall-effect magnetic sensor does NOT survive long with that reduced voltage. The other factor was that the Pertronix kit was adversely affected by the back-EMF Radio Frequency Interference inherent in early wire-core ignition cables like the ubiquitous Packard 440, and therefore RFI- suppressed resistor wires were required. He acknowledged that the instructions included with each kit did NOT adequately emphasize those requirements for 12v supply and resistor ignition wires (including coil), and agreed that he would transmit those recommendations to his upper management for clarification in future instruction sheets. He said that the Pertronix units would sometimes fail within six to 24 months if the correct voltage and ignition wires were not supplied; it was literally running on borrowed time from the outset.
The rep also pointed out that some older coils may have experienced degradation (often through heat and vibration) that caused their resistance to exceed the specification range required by the Pertronix sensor. That is especially true with their newer Ignitor II kits, which require a coil with very low resistance, approximately 0.6 ohms, compared to the typical 3 ohms with most older coils. He also recommended the epoxy-filled versions of their coils for improved tolerance to heat and vibration.
I suspect that if many of the previous complaints about failures were fully researched, we would find that the (admittedly poorly disclosed) operational parameters of the Pertronix kit were not met, either initially or during subsequent operation.
Call Pertronix directly
at
(909) 493-5467 if you have questions; I found their representative to be quite knowledgeable, patient and genuinely interested in providing the best product for your application. (NO affiliation)
https://pertronixbrands.com/ Ray Melton (Yes, I HATED adjusting the dual points on my '57, even with a dwell meter - crawling into the mouth of the "Whale", bracing myself on the carburetor for 40 minutes of trial-and-error inside the distributor, standing tippy-toes on a stepstool over the fender, YUK!
**************************************************************************************************
On 12/1/2021 10:55 AM, Dan Plotkin wrote:
I am happy to hear so many of you have had good luck with Pertronix. Corvette owners I associate with, most of whom serve as their own mechanics have not had as much luck and there is considerable controversy over their use. Seems divided down the middle between those of you here who love it and are problem free and those who came home on a tow truck. At the very least the warning I get is to keep a set of points, including the mounting screw, in the glove box just in case. Their theory is you can take a matchbook striker to a set of points and get going again.
I’ve always wanted to know how they made a switching transistor that small to carry primary current, needing no means of cooling, inside the distributor. Somehow they must have it working. But for that reason I generally recommend staying with points. A good set properly installed and adjusted will go 15,000 miles or more. For me adjusting points and playing around with old tech is half the fun.
Interesting Petronix discussion. I found a Petronix pickup setup at a swap meet that fits my 72 MG Midget for $5, but no other parts or instructions. I just installed it in place of the points, with no change to distributor, wires, plugs or ballast resistor, and it works great. I've owned the car since 1979, and it's never started better. Maybe I should try to download the instructions? ;-)
Hello,
totally support Rays view. Had and have Pertronix installed in several cars (30s-60s) and they work flawless. You can use original distributor, no hidden boxes, easy to install. Just follow the rules of low resistance coil, bridging the ballast resistor and correct wires and you’re done for years…
Good luck
Several years ago I bought the Pertronix Ignitor unit for my 1957 300C from Club member John Lazenby. I separately bought the Pertronix 40 kV coil (painted black and with homemade lettering to duplicate the original), custom-made 7 mm RFI-suppressed resistor ignition wires (virtually mandated by Pertronix) and modern fine-wire NGK iridium resistor spark plugs. I also filled in the backside of the factory ballast resistor to provide constant 12V to the distributor as required by Pertronix. I am SO HAPPY to never have to deal with those cursed dual points buried against the firewall ever again! And the car now starts within barely half a second after priming the carburetors! I absolutely love it! There is nothing to hide (it's all inside the distributor) and everything looks perfectly stock for the most persnickety concours judges!
Ray Melton Las Cruces, NM 1957 Chrysler 300C cvt White/Gauguin s/n 3N572517
************************************************************************************************
Can't help on the mechanical tach but this system will do:
You can hide the box under the rad support. See attached photo of my 61 Savoy with this setup.
Danny Plotkin
Hi Friends,
I am looking for an electronic ignition conversion kit for a Chrysler 300G. My 64 300K has a kit that was purchased from Summit racing, part number PNX - 1382 which is no longer available.
--
Back to the Home of the Forward Look Network
Archive Sitemap