The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Electronic timing

Just curious, could I replace the points in my 1948 Chevy 3100 (216)with electronic timing? Have others done it or have any advice? My truck is all original so this would be a modification but wanted to ask.

Petronix makes what you need. It fits into the stock distributor too.

Have you tried it? Does it make a difference?

I have been running a Pertronix unit in my Suburban for several years. I put a lot of miles on it so the main advantage for me is I don't have to file and gap points every 1000 miles. If you only drive 1000 or less miles a year I'd say keep it stock.

I have run both types of ignition on my dad's old distributor tuning machine. Points will fire the plugs just as well as a electronic unit will up to a fairly high rpm, 6000 +.
One advantage of a HEI type distributor is a hotter spark at crank and smoother, lower rpm, assuming you have proper voltage and good wiring. A Pertronix unit should do the same. My engine starts easier since I switched to a GM HEI. It runs just the same down the road though.

The other advantage is maintenance as Cletis pointed out. Once installed it should be set for life. This doesn't mean you should not carry spare parts, from what I read Pertronix is kinda hit and miss. Most failures seem to be from over or under voltage.

I just had my generator rebuilt and installed a new voltage regulator so electrical is good to go. Is there a suggestion as to which Pertronix model to use?

You will want the Ignitor 1 the original since you have a 6 volt system. If it were 12 volts it would be the Ignitor 2. In that case, you wouldnt need the ballast resistor and can use your stock coil.

In a few months there will be a brand new solution using the stock distributor, but Pertronix has a very good track record and what I would probably do.

I'm a fan of Pertronix , it's been in my truck now for about 15 yrs , no issues , truck starts perfect every time , mpg is good , I like it.

I have to disagree with pertronix having a very good track record. There have been several informal surveys done on this, and other forums, and about 50 percent of the people that replied either had the pertronix fail, or performed less than satisfactorily. I have had 2 systems fail, one in the mustang, and one in the truck. In the 30 years I have owned my truck the only time it hasn't made it home was after I UPGRADED my ignition system. Yeah, it was totally not worth it. I can work on points for the rest of my life, and still not be half the trouble of that one day in the rain trying to put the points back in. On the day I finally got my wife and kid to go for a ride in the truck, on the day we (the family and I) had to ride the bus to go get the little bag of parts I had taken out of the glovebox the day before, and forgot to put back in. No I do not recommend pertronix. It didn't make it run any better, although in all fairness, I had no problems with the way it ran with the points, I don't even know why I was trying to upgrade it in the first place, it ran just fine, and having owned at least one car with points since 1975 or so, I don't ever recall working on points ever being a problem. Basically if it works don't fix it.

Yeah, I shouldn't have said that about the track record. I don't have any personal experience with Pertronix. Hopefully in a few months I will have completed the final testing of an idea that others have been successful with already. It's GM HEI using the stock distributor. Several people have done it and are happy with it, but I wanted to do it so that you can revert back to points with the same distributor if you choose. This involves making a special plate that is clearanced for the points tower and cam screw, and reshaping the reluctor for a set screw system. It has been tested on a distributor machine, but I want to see it running on my test engine which isn't back from the machine shop yet.

There are two people on this board who are adamant naysayers about Pertronix. I would hardly call that "...about 50 percent of the people that replied ..."

Yep, the few Pertronix negative voices are similar to the few loud (but wrong) 6v Optima battery voices we heard from several years ago (before people were told how to charge a totally dead Optima battery).

My guess is that some bad Pertronix units might sometimes have been due to poor grounds, incorrect wiring, poor coils, old solid core ignition wires, or ignition-switches being left on?

I've been interested in doing this and since I went through the trouble of searching, I thought I'd put the info on the Pertronix part # here. It's 1168LS-N6 for the 1950 GMC 6 cyl, 6 volt, negative ground.

Here it is on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Pertronix-116...ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER

OldDawg,

Is you 1950 GMC 6v negative ground or positive ground?

Negative ground.

I'd be interested to know if folks who have had Petronix issues have a generator or alternator? I think people have said that Petronix may have issues with the output fluctuations from a generator.

I have Pertronix on my 12 volt, 66 Ford F100 V8 with alternator and have had no issues. I get the kit for my '50 tomorrow and will install it. I'm running a generator so I'll let you know if I notice anything odd.

I recently learned (by watching a friend go through it) that there may be more than one distributor model used on the Chev trucks and that as a result there is not one Pertronix that fits all. To make it more confusing, if you enter their application chart by make, year and motor you can be told one kit is suitable for almost all Chev trucks with the inline 6 but when you enter the distributor part number (eg. 1110090) you will find a different kit is needed. Advice from the support staff at Pertronix is to always use the distributor number if available to confirm which kit is correct.

Pertronix models and notes 216/235/261 (2015 catalog)

Different model numbers for 6v and 12v (and for GMC positive ground 6v)

There are not longer 2 model numbers for: 1953 and earlier distributor (low distributor cap and older coil-lead post on distributor); and, 1954-1962 (high distributor cap and newer coil-lead post on the distributor).

The excluded distributor in Footnote 36 is referring to the special 1953-55 Corvette distributors on 235 engines.

Heed Footnote 79 "Not for use with solid core ignition wires."

I am running a 12v generator with a Petronix unit. No issues at all. The truck starts immediately and never misses a beat. I am also running solid core spark plug wires.

Your asking for a failure if your using solid core wires with a Pertronix ignition.

You may be right but 4000 trouble free miles so far and no problems. Been using a Pertronix unit in my tractor with solid core wires for several years without an issue. What fails?

You may be right but 4000 trouble free miles so far and no problems. Been using a Pertronix unit in my tractor with solid core wires for several years without an issue. What fails? [/quote]

After doing a little more research I found the below info on another site. I have the original Igniter, not a version II or III and newer spark plug wires.

Heres what I got back from Pertronix's Tech Dept this morning:

With the Ignitor you can use copper core plug wires. We prefer you don't use
these wires because they have caused us issues in the past. We have seen
that the copper core wires leak off the voltage and it can spike the Ignitor
causing them to fail.

I would tell you to change your wires just make sure you keep a good eye on
them. Make sure the connection stay secure and you don't get any breaks in
the wire insulation.

Marvin Grebow Jr.
PerTronix Inc.
Technical Department Ext. 1030
marving@pertronix.com