my_z

Old point system is missing .. and it's time for a new distributor. Looking to replace with elec., preferable one with coil on top.

Would appreciate input in regards to the following:
1. Clearance - some cables/hoses as well as wipers motor running right next to distributor. Is there enough clearance to run unit with coil (saw some units that had very large diameter)
2. At Pertronix's website there're few options, how should one choose best fit?

If there's anything in addition I should consider, feel free to share.

Thanks!

jnb5101

Reinstall an "old points system".

DUB

What YEAR is your Corvette???????

What type of distributor do you have currently????

DUB

kdf1986

Same question. What year Corvette is it. There is a mechanical tach drive from 68 - 74. In 1975 it went to HEI and had an electronic tach.

If you are changing out the distributor from a 68-74 to a HEI unit, then you also need to plan on making changes to your tach drive also.

kdf

radiotexas

I would urge you to consider points and condenser and let someone curve the distributor. Many of the replacement distributors create installation space problems. Also, I fought a mystery miss-stumble in my 454-1970-4sp for two years. The car was running a well known no-points/condenser setup for the reliability factor. The car stumbled taking off and after applying the gas during each shift. I went home from car shows four times on a roll-back. Two years of static testing found nothing. I threw everything at the problem except the kitchen sink. Finally took it to an old school shop owner. He said it appeared to him that factory rivets in the ignitor were working loose and causing interruptions in ground while driving. Went back with points and condenser and the car runs great. If you drive a lot, maybe replacement for points would be worthwhile, but no more than I drive, about 2000K a year, I will run conventional ignition. Maybe it was a fluke, but it happened with two separate units. If you need an incredible trouble shooter in or around Bellaire Texas, PM me.

my_z

Sorry, was out all day ..

To answer some of the Qs:
* Year- '68
* Current setup- Accel distributor & coil
* Maybe 1k per year
* Located in LA (/SFV), CA in case there's a specialist in the neighborhood.

Hope this clarifies, thanks in advance!

Solid LT1

Yes, I have had an older Pertronix Ignitor work its rivets loose and cause a misfire.....ONLY because the magnet ring under the rotor was too close to the Ignitor unit and made physical contact with the unit. The newer Pertronix Ignitors use a cam lobe sensing operation, never a worry about clearance to the magnet ring because it is no longer used. I fixed that Ignitor by using stainless steel rivets, Pertronix should have used a stronger rivet than the aluminum ones the did in the old units.

I'm a little biased, I have been using Pertronix units in cars since the 1980's and had good results with the product for many years in many cars with tens of thousands of miles of driving/using them. My wife drove a 66 Mustang through college in the 90's getting a bachelors degree and the Pertronix unit was in for the entire time we owned that car.

My 72 LT-1 Vette used an Ignitor for over 14K miles of driving, and racing. My wife's present 70LT-1 roadster has a Pertronix Ignitor3 in it instead of the K-66 ignition it had, I have more faith in the Ignitor 3 than the GM K-66 breakerless ignition....8K miles so far...so good. The Ignitor 2/3 units are pretty bulletproof and with the LSC (cam lobe sensing) technology are pretty darn easy to install. You should take some preventative steps to insure the units will operate well, I rebuild the factory distributors and make darn sure the grounding wire from the points mounting plate to the distributor body is in good condition, most of the time, I replace this wire during a rebuild because they get brittle with age and will easily fail causing ignition gremlins that can be hard to troubleshoot. The Ignitors will exhibit problems if this critical points plate grounding wire fails because they are not just switching electrical flow but, also running the electronics inside the Ignitor units.

Nothing is perfect but, I'm more than happy with the Performance of a Pertronix Ignitor 2 or 3 and a 0.32 ohm Pertronix Flamethrower coil on my high performance Vette. Properly installed and you can forget about your ignition system for a long time.

My old 1969 Z/28 Camaro used to destroy breaker points sets at a 4-6K mile interval because of the high RPM breaker cam Chevy used in those cars. I 1st tried a Mallory Unilite Kit back in 1978, the POS failed about 800 miles after installation, I worked in a NAPA stores through college, saw how common it was for Unilites to fail in use with no warning....went back to running Echlin points in my Z/28. I tried a Hays breakerless set up, it had some problems, tried a MSD6 using a K-66 distributor as a trigger, it had problems when voltages dropped much below 12.3VDC....went back to points.....one day in the early 80's a sales rep from Per-Lux came in with their latest greatest product....a new breakerless ignition conversion kit, I was a little jaded about breakerless conversions at this point in my life....he gave me a GM kit to try in my Z/28 (my daily driver)....ten years later when I sold my Z....that original Per-Lux Ignitor was still in that car still working like a champ.

I've probably sold 100's of Per-Lux/Pertronix Ignitor units in my life and never had negative feedback from the end users. I did have a friend...who shall remain nameless....kill a Pertronix by pulling his coil wire out of the coil and crank his motor over....causing the secondary ignition voltage to seek the shortest path to ground through the negative coil terminal and KILL! his Ignitor unit....they can be killed but, if you treat them right, the Ignitor units have always worked well for me.

7T1vette

If you want the engine compartment to have a 'stock' look, you'll have to go with an original-type points distributor. There isn't room for the HEI or aftermarket in-coil type dist along with the shielding stuff and the air cleaner. You can always install an electronic ignition system/coil with the stock dizzy and get the job done.

If you don't care about it being stock, use whatever dizzy you want...but I would suggest to you that the GM HEI distributor (if in good condition) would be a good choice. Put in a new module (if needed)...but also buy a spare to keep in the car. Nothing wrong with a GM HEI distributor/coil system for good ignition performance.

tokim

On my '39 Coupe with a small block, the first thing I did was install a Pertronix.
I agree the original dist., worked well, but with the quality of todays aftermarket off shore point sets, and condensers, the choice was easy.
No regrets.

7T1vette

For converting the stock dizzy to electronic ignition, the Pertronix is a decent way to go. But, I hope you keep a spare module in your car, too. When an electronic ignition fails, it usually won't give any warning (like points do). It just QUITS. You need a replacement to get you going again.

I've used them...and had them fail. That's why I went back to points. They will begin to have some spark 'miss' well before they fail. But, you can still get home!

my_z

Thank you all for your input.

To clarify, car is far from being stock, so no worries there. Also, will keep current setup as backup in case something goes wrong in the future (it works, but rough).

At this point I'm looking for the exact part/kit that can resolve the issue. Old Delco or new Pertronix, does not matter to me, as long as issue is goes and car rides as it should.

MelWff

HEI http://www.summitracing.com/parts/su...model/corvette

wilcar

That link is for a 75 up Acdelco blueprint hei distributor. Says for a 68 but is a misprint. I would advise finding a acdelco points tach drive unit and have it rebuilt and recurved if you are keeping your stock tach set up. Otherwise any good used points 57-74 acdelco distributor can be rebulit and recurved. I have used advanced distributors in Shahopee, Mn ( 612-804-5543) to redo 2 acdelco points units for me with great results. Give Jeff a call, he is a great guy to talk to.