conversion from points to electronic ignition

[Bob A.]

Now that I am finished judging my 63 - 327/340 roadster, I plan on driving it a great deal. It was recommended that I convert the distributor points to electronic ignition for reliability and performance improvement.

Has anyone recently done this conversion? Is it a good idea to keep the points or convert using the electronic conversion kit.

Bob

[Mark E.]

Save time, money and the risk of sudden failure and don't do it.

Performance gain is negligible, if not zero, and you'll add the risk of sudden and total ignition failure that's more complicated to diagnose.

Points perform just as well on the street and give plenty of warning before they fail and leave you stranded somewhere like an electronic ignition can.

And when they do act up, points are simple to diagnose and inexpensive to replace.

The aftermarket electronic ignition business is hype, IMO. You'll gain more improvement by spending the $ on a quality cable set, cap, rotor, plugs, points/condenser and making sure the centrifugal and vacuum advance work properly (many don't).

[Harry S.]

Now that I am finished judging my 63 - 327/340 roadster, I plan on driving it a great deal. It was recommended that I convert the distributor points to electronic ignition for reliability and performance improvement.

Has anyone recently done this conversion? Is it a good idea to keep the points or convert using the electronic conversion kit.

Bob

Bob, I've converted both my 63's to Breakeless Ignition from ---- > https://wiringharness.com/wiring-harnesses

Never a problem, One I did 20 years ago and one 10 years ago.

Give them a call

[Keith B.]

points will last about 12K miles.

[Terry D.]

I agree with Mark, nothing wrong with points, but like anything else they need to be adjusted properly and maintained. I have gone over 30,000 miles on a set of points and that is not unusual. I think you will find that like most questions there will be different opinions. A lot depends on how you drive, number of miles you plan on driving it and how you maintain it. Just my old two cents!

[Harry S.]

What I liked about the M&H setup is, after installation you can not tell it is there unless you open the distributor cap door.

[Stephen B.]

Installed electronic unit in 72. NO problems

[Leif A.]

The Breakerless SE system is about as simple and trouble free a setup there is. I've used them in three different C2 and C3 over the years and never had any issues. Pertronix I've heard nightmares about but have never, personally, used them. As was stated earlier, the entire (simple) setup resides under the distributor cap and is totally non-detectable once installed.

[Duke W.]

This subject has been beat to death almost as much as engine oil, but here's my opinion based on over sixty years of experience.

When new, my SWC's 340 HP engine would often not rev beyond 4500 before it began to breakup and nobody knew what the problem was. The dealer was clueless as were the so-called small block "experts" I talked to. Swapping in a set of new or cleaned used sparks plugs would sometimes help, and I learned to use the hotter AC 45 plug rather than the OE 44, but the ignition breakup was still an issue.

In 1967 I had a opportunity to buy, at a low price, a complete Delco TI system from a '67 L-88. So I did, swapped in my 365/375 HP spec. centrifugal weights, springs, and VAC, and it was like a whole new engine. I would rev cleanly to 6500 or more without missing a beat.

Then a couple of years later I had a no start condition in the garage. A quick diagnosis yielded a no-spark condition so I removed the amp, took off the cover and found one off the three main transistor (that's mounted directly to the heat sink) leads had popped off the circuit board, so I stuck it back in the via, added a dab of Solder and voila! It started right up.

Not long after in 1971 the SWC went into storage in my parents Seattle garage while the Air Force had me in North Dakota and after moving to CA and buying a house I brought the SWC down to my new garage in early 1975. At this point it was a "weekend car", not used for daily driving, so annual mileage was down to probably no more than 1000 miles.

A few months later when leaving a friend's house there was another no start condition. Because I was always a little leary of the TI system due to the previous failure, when I got the SWC down to California I took the distributor to the Air Force Auto Hobby Shop, where they had a Sun Distributor Test Machine. I had also read articles about how to "blueprint" a single point Delco distributor.

Testing on the Sun machine showed significant spark scatter at high revs. Upon disassembly the shaft bushings were okay, but the grease well for the upper bushing was dry as one would expect after 12 years, and distributor end play was the usual sloppy .060" or more. What turned out to be the real problem was a wobbly breaker plate. So I bought a new one from my local dealer along with a shim kit and a set of Delco D112P 28-32 oz. breaker points to replace the OE 19-23 ounce type and also new 365/375 HP weights, springs, and VAC. I shimmed up the end play to the .002-.007" spec specified in the 1963 Corvette Shop Manual in boldface type (Page 6Y-29).

Testing on the Sun Machine showed perfect spark timing on all eight to 3500 Distributor RPM (7000 crankshaft), so I wrapped it up and vowed that If the TI system ever went TU on me again I would replace it with the blueprinted OE single point distributor.

So when the second no-start happened I had my buddy drive me home. I grabbed the OE Distributor, we drove back, pulled the mag pulse distributor, installed the single point and away I went.

Not long after I removed the TI harness and amp, set everything up on my workbench, and using a battery charger for power source and electric drill to rotate the distributor looked for a spark on the spark plug that I connected to the center tower. The initial test was no spark, but not long after I traced the problem to the connector at the amp. Moisture intrusion had caused some exfoliation corrosion on one of the pins increasing circuit resistance, so no spark. I cleaned up the connector, successfully tested the system, reconfigured it with the original weights, springs, and VAC with the cut off nipple and put everything in a box. It still had the original brown distributor cap!

Thirteen years later I sold the system back to the guy who then owned said '67 L-88 that it had come from.

One of the best things about vintage cars is that they are SIMPLE! You can troubleshoot almost any electrical problem with a cheap multimeter. Try that on a modern car... good luck!

In my experience points last 15-3OK miles, and having owned my SWC from that era an annual "minor tuneup" was just a fact of life,, like a weekly wash job. Check the cap, rotor, and points, for wear and condition, clean the cam and add a tiny mount of grease to the point rubbing block. Replace parts as you saw fit then check dwell, timing, go through the idle speed/mixture adjustment and you were good to go. It took less time than the weekly wash job.

Given the longevity of points and your annual mileage, how often should you do the above job? Every few years I suppose, and If you're like me and have been doing this job most of your life and have had several no notice electronic failures over the years on more modern cars, I would not put any electronic system on a simple vintage car that has plain old electro-mechanical analog components.

My advice to vintage car owners is keep a small tool bag in the car with a set of new or used points and condenser. If used, set dwell at 30 degrees before you remove them. If you don't have used, by two points and two condensers. Install one set to be sure they work, set dwell at 30 degrees, then remove and place in your in-car tool bag along with a medium screwdriver. Some guys even include a voltage regulator, alternator, and starter, but that's probably going overboard.

Chances are you will never need them, and since the dwell was set at 30, the dwell and timing will at least be in the ball park if not spot on and will get you home. Failing points will usually give a lot of warning, but if you do need them you'll be back on the road, shortly.

There are guys who have never had an aftermarket "electronic switch" fail, so they trust them and some who have had a bad experience and won't go near them again. So consider the anecdotal evidence, your skill level, and make a decision you think is best for you. If you're willing to spend a minute or so on a search, I started threads on how to do a "blue print overhaul" on a Delco single point distributor and how to select the best type of points for your engine configuration, and my tuning seminar will tell you how to set up your engine's spark advance map for best performance and fuel economy.

Oh... and if you go with an electronic switch, be sure you have towing coverage on your insurance policy.

Duke