electronic ignition for my 73
11-20-2001, 09:59 PM
#1
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electronic ignition for my 73
Whats the best electronic ignition upgrade I can get for the $$$(+ coil, plugs, wires ect.) and what are exactly the benifits? (HP/fuel ecconomy/longevity?) thanks Im a "VET VIRGIN!"
11-20-2001, 11:20 PM
#4
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Location: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
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Re: electronic ignition for my 73 (Vetteboy)
Your stock '73 setup with points will perform incredibly well if properly set up with a good curve and good quality parts - really tough to beat. We just ran an engine on a dyno with a stock, recurved point-style Delco distributor and a used set of carbon core plug wires, and we ran 588 hp @ 5800 rpm with 608 ft/lbs of torque @4400. We made runs up through 6000 rpm with no point bounce and with rock steady, precise timing. These old distributors are just great, so don't go to some electronic conversion.
Here's a good recipe for you:
I can either go through your distributor and set it up with a great curve for you for $75 (this includes parts, a complete blueprint setup, hot tank, detail, paint, and a test-run), or you can install one of my kits if you'd like to do a little work yourself. Hook it up to a PerTronix "Flamethrower" coil. These are the same size as a stock unit, and they are available in "stealth" black (as well as gaudy chrome). This will give you a fantastic level of performance, and will be very reliable. If you want another upgrade from there, install an MSD6A box. These do work. Trigger it with the recurved point distributor. This combo is really unbeatable.
If you'd like more info, drop me an e-mail at
V8FastCars@msn.com
Here's a good recipe for you:
I can either go through your distributor and set it up with a great curve for you for $75 (this includes parts, a complete blueprint setup, hot tank, detail, paint, and a test-run), or you can install one of my kits if you'd like to do a little work yourself. Hook it up to a PerTronix "Flamethrower" coil. These are the same size as a stock unit, and they are available in "stealth" black (as well as gaudy chrome). This will give you a fantastic level of performance, and will be very reliable. If you want another upgrade from there, install an MSD6A box. These do work. Trigger it with the recurved point distributor. This combo is really unbeatable.
If you'd like more info, drop me an e-mail at
V8FastCars@msn.com
11-20-2001, 11:26 PM
#5
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Re: electronic ignition for my 73 (Vetteboy)
He will probably read the post and reply. If not do a "Hey Lars" post. My dist was totally boned and he rebuilt it ground up. Here's an email from him about my distributor. It was set up to advance correctly and it performs well.
" I have the distributor fully disassembled, all cleaned up, and ready for
assembly. All the parts except the shaft bushings are in, but I can't do
much assembly without the bushings. Mid-America is promising the bushings
"any day" (they were due in at M/A on the 14th). Here is what I found with
your unit:
1. The shaft had a gross amount of end-play in it. Normally, the factory
installs 2 shims on the shaft to reduce this somewhat. Your distributor has
been previously disassembled, and was re-assembled with only 1 shim. This
gave the shaft about 3/16" end play, causing the shaft to bounce up and down
(changing the timing as it's bouncing) significantly.
2. Your lower shaft bushing was completely egged out, and the shaft was
scored. This produced a huge amount of side-movement in the shaft.
3. It appears that the lower end of your shaft has been welded and ground
to shape. This welding distorted the gear pin hole, making the hole oval
instead of round - too small for the roll pin to fit through. In spite of
this, the roll pin had been forced through the hole, and this collapsed the
roll pin. The collapsed roll pin did not hold the gear securely to the
shaft, allowing the gear to slap back and forth on the pin several degrees
of movement. This was your ticking noise. This also would have produced
very erratic timing, and the distributor would advance and retard several
degrees completely at random.
4. Your distributor advance stop bushing was missing.
5. The wrong vacuum advance unit was installed.
6. The oil control shield under the breaker plate was broken in half.
7. The distributor primary lead wire was damaged.
All this stuff is easy to fix. I'll be installing new shaft bushings, a new
shaft, a new drive gear, and a new roll pin. I will fabricate and install a
new oil control shield (new ones not available). I'll install the curve kit
with my preferred points, and set the whole thing up for you to produce a
good running, click-free unit. I'll send you back all of your old parts so
you can check them out - pretty amazing stuff, really... I'll charge you
whatever Mid-America charges me for the parts with shipping, and charge my
normal distributor set-up price less the cost of the curve kit (which you
have provided). I haven't figured it all up yet, but it should come in
under $200 for the whole thing. This will give you a completely rebuild unit
that will perform like new. I take that back - it's going to run better
than new."
" I have the distributor fully disassembled, all cleaned up, and ready for
assembly. All the parts except the shaft bushings are in, but I can't do
much assembly without the bushings. Mid-America is promising the bushings
"any day" (they were due in at M/A on the 14th). Here is what I found with
your unit:
1. The shaft had a gross amount of end-play in it. Normally, the factory
installs 2 shims on the shaft to reduce this somewhat. Your distributor has
been previously disassembled, and was re-assembled with only 1 shim. This
gave the shaft about 3/16" end play, causing the shaft to bounce up and down
(changing the timing as it's bouncing) significantly.
2. Your lower shaft bushing was completely egged out, and the shaft was
scored. This produced a huge amount of side-movement in the shaft.
3. It appears that the lower end of your shaft has been welded and ground
to shape. This welding distorted the gear pin hole, making the hole oval
instead of round - too small for the roll pin to fit through. In spite of
this, the roll pin had been forced through the hole, and this collapsed the
roll pin. The collapsed roll pin did not hold the gear securely to the
shaft, allowing the gear to slap back and forth on the pin several degrees
of movement. This was your ticking noise. This also would have produced
very erratic timing, and the distributor would advance and retard several
degrees completely at random.
4. Your distributor advance stop bushing was missing.
5. The wrong vacuum advance unit was installed.
6. The oil control shield under the breaker plate was broken in half.
7. The distributor primary lead wire was damaged.
All this stuff is easy to fix. I'll be installing new shaft bushings, a new
shaft, a new drive gear, and a new roll pin. I will fabricate and install a
new oil control shield (new ones not available). I'll install the curve kit
with my preferred points, and set the whole thing up for you to produce a
good running, click-free unit. I'll send you back all of your old parts so
you can check them out - pretty amazing stuff, really... I'll charge you
whatever Mid-America charges me for the parts with shipping, and charge my
normal distributor set-up price less the cost of the curve kit (which you
have provided). I haven't figured it all up yet, but it should come in
under $200 for the whole thing. This will give you a completely rebuild unit
that will perform like new. I take that back - it's going to run better
than new."
11-20-2001, 11:38 PM
#6
Tech Contributor
Member Since: Aug 1999
Location: At my Bar drinking and wrenching in Lafayette Colorado
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Re: electronic ignition for my 73 (FERL 73)
Hi FERL!!
Looks like we must have been typing at the same time, and I beat your post by a couple of seconds!
Glad to hear you're happy with the distributor setup and that it's running good for you. I have two Forum member distributors on my workbench right now, ready for a test run, but I gotta' bake pies tonight...! If you can believe it, one of them was messed up worse than yours....! How fun :yesnod:
Looks like we must have been typing at the same time, and I beat your post by a couple of seconds!
Glad to hear you're happy with the distributor setup and that it's running good for you. I have two Forum member distributors on my workbench right now, ready for a test run, but I gotta' bake pies tonight...! If you can believe it, one of them was messed up worse than yours....! How fun :yesnod:
