Dragsix you bring up good info for me to research on the dizzy. When I got the truck my research pointed me to determining the motor is a 56'. The rest of the truck as far as I know was original as far as tranny. The dizzy has been replaced with a rebuilt so I will gather the number. As far as the response about Pertronix. I did read the old post and they seem to all be talking about the original units that required the drop on ring around the lobe shaft. I don't believe that is in production anymore. Mine does not have that. It's a screw on plate that takes the place of the points/condensor and picks up from the shaft lobes directly. Do I carry an extra unit in the glove box? You bet. But I also carried a spare points/condensor set when I was almost left stranded on the way to a car show when the points burned up due to the condensor failing and I just barely limped back home. Point is anything can fail and points/condensor do not grant you immunity from failure anymore than a Pertronix. And I can swap the Pertronix along the side of the road quicker than a points/condensor change out. I've been running Pertronix in my 49', my 70 GMC, and a 65 Olds 442 for years. Not a hiccup.
I don’t think anyone would claim that points and condensers are dead-nuts reliable or maintenance free. Nor do I personally think your positive assessment of the Pertronix is flat wrong.
Problem with the current state of affairs is unmanageable variables the Pertronix introduces and that it’s darn near impossible to KNOW how it’s functioning or not. The measurables with points are very well understood and pretty binary in nature. The points are either working or not, they’re either adjusted or not. You either have proper voltage to the coil or you don’t. Much less of a yes/no decision tree with the conversion kit.
Thats where my head would go…simplify and eliminate variables, at least for this diagnostic phase. The same dizzy would have exactly the amount of internal wear and/or centrifugal advance movement if you temporarily swapped in some points. If the symptoms persist…cool, Pertronix wasn’t the deal and they can go right back in and you look elsewhere for issues.
Related note - did you ever share what carb you are running and what you know about it?
