PerTronix Ignitor II

I have been running a older Pertronix #1281D for years . Never had any problems with it and i also bought the coil to. My Tach works fine.

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Texas GT350
I've got Pertronic Ignitor I systems on two 65 mustangs, my 68 KR and a 74 Bronco. On the 65 racecar I have the Flame Thrower coil and nothing on the tachometers on any of them. I have not had any problem with any of them, they are hardly noticeable and the performance improvement is immediately noticeable. If the PI IIs are anything like the PI Is I highly recommend them. I have always carried a set of backup points and condenser for a quick fix if needed but have never needed them. I do believe that you will need your stock distributor back in place.

 

What happened to your MSD? Did the box fail, or the rubbing block on the points?

 

I had a Pertronix I for almost 8 years in my KR, the tach and Pertronix unit worked fine with the resistor wire. However, the engine started running very rough above idle and it turned out (after trying everything else) the Petronix unit was going out. I ordered a new one, put it on and it wouldn't run hardly at all and the tach was jumping all over the place and wouldn't go to zero when off. I replaced the coil, nothing helped. Pertronix sent me another, it didn't work either. So I finally saved time and money and reinstalled the points/condenser setup. All runs like new now. I have no idea what happened with the Pertronix, the tech told me to run a jumper wire from the battery terminal (so I could have the full 12 volts all the time) to the Pertronix, but that didn't work either. Sometimes black boxes are just not reliable, so good luck.

 

sounds like all you really need is a nice msd distributor. My msd ignition (digital 6 box and msd dist.) has been trouble free for the entire 9 years / 43,000 miles it has been on the car. Been using a msd 8920 tach adaptor for the same length of time. No problems with the tach reading right, from idle to 7,000+ rpm.

Z.

 

Hmmm… I had the cam follower on one set of points break off one evening, and no tools. Using trash at the side of the road, I was able to open the distributor cap, discover the problem, and slide a piece of cardboard into the broken points, and drive home. Try that with electronic ignition. I drove my dual-point about 300,000 miles, adjusting at each oil change. No sweat. If I were driving it today, I'd use Pertronix I, with a spare, preadjusted point plate in the trunk. Pertronix I does not require altering the wiring.

 

I have a Pertronix I with a Flamethrower coil on my 67 GT350 using the factory resistor wire. Lots of spark and no problems with the tach. Some people do have a problem using the factory wire and have to wire 12V to the Pertronix.

I also have a Pertronix III with a Flamethrower coil on my 68 CJ convertible with a 8K tach. Factory resistor wire. Tach Man rebuilt the tach and said that the III might cause problems especially at idle. The only problem I have had is that occasionally the tach sticks on zero. The next time I start the car the problem goes away.

I like the III because of the built in rev limiter plus it does away with the magnetic ring and it comes with its own breaker plate. IMO you should have a rev limiter on everything. Mine has already saved my motor when I missed D and hit N. Even if you don't run it hard you never know when a throttle spring may break.

 

I agree. my msd digital 6 box has an adjustable one built in.

But the best feature it has is the 20 degree start retard. You would not believe how easily a hot engine will start in the summertime using the start retard feature. The starter spins the engine about 3x faster.

Z.

 

I solved the hot start problem with a blueprinted mini starter from RobbMc. I will turn over anything hot or cold.