[Jason67]

Having some problems with the ignition on my new pertronix set up, mainly with obtaining the required no less than .010", no more than .060" clearance. I feeler checked the magnet ring to the ignitor with the distributor out of the car and the shaft pulled down. I had to slightly bend the ignitor as per instructions to obtain the .010" gap with distributor pulled all the way down. This is where the first problem came up. The ring was showing .010 in one spot, then rotating the rotor 180 showed .030. The runnout also just happens to be 90 degrees out from where you could install the .032" washers between the magnet ring and the rotor.
On to the next step, checking the up position on the shaft. Should be no more than .060" The shaft had .060" endplay, so that made the up position have .070" to .100" They said in the instructions to install a shim between the gear and the thrust washer, .032" thick. This would put me in range. Did that. Installed distributor, started car, and it sounded like I had a lifter float. Like the oil pump shaft wasn't engaged correctly. My gauge showed oil pressure. I could see oil in the drivers side valve cover through the fill hole flowing.
Shut car off, pulled out distributor, notced the shim had some wear. We're only talking about 2 mins. total running. I mic'd up the shim, still .032" I removed the shim, re-installed distributor, started the car, No floating lifter noise. I timed the engine, 6 deg BTDC. Through the timing process, it was noticably running rougher than before. And, after it is timed, and warm, it will just quit. Not like fuel starving, but like iginition. Then it will start right back up. Do you guys think this is a faulty module in the ignitor? The runnout from above appears to be in the arms that the centrifugal advance weights hook to, should they be like that? The distributor is original. 51,000 miles. No slop side to side. Should I put the points back in?? Try a re-built distributor? Re-build mine?

Thanks,

Jason.
67 GTO
400, .030 over, .068 cam

Jason Lavers
67 GTO

[Jason67]

Having some problems with the ignition on my new pertronix set up, mainly with obtaining the required no less than .010", no more than .060" clearance. I feeler checked the magnet ring to the ignitor with the distributor out of the car and the shaft pulled down. I had to slightly bend the ignitor as per instructions to obtain the .010" gap with distributor pulled all the way down. This is where the first problem came up. The ring was showing .010 in one spot, then rotating the rotor 180 showed .030. The runnout also just happens to be 90 degrees out from where you could install the .032" washers between the magnet ring and the rotor.
On to the next step, checking the up position on the shaft. Should be no more than .060" The shaft had .060" endplay, so that made the up position have .070" to .100" They said in the instructions to install a shim between the gear and the thrust washer, .032" thick. This would put me in range. Did that. Installed distributor, started car, and it sounded like I had a lifter float. Like the oil pump shaft wasn't engaged correctly. My gauge showed oil pressure. I could see oil in the drivers side valve cover through the fill hole flowing.
Shut car off, pulled out distributor, notced the shim had some wear. We're only talking about 2 mins. total running. I mic'd up the shim, still .032" I removed the shim, re-installed distributor, started the car, No floating lifter noise. I timed the engine, 6 deg BTDC. Through the timing process, it was noticably running rougher than before. And, after it is timed, and warm, it will just quit. Not like fuel starving, but like iginition. Then it will start right back up. Do you guys think this is a faulty module in the ignitor? The runnout from above appears to be in the arms that the centrifugal advance weights hook to, should they be like that? The distributor is original. 51,000 miles. No slop side to side. Should I put the points back in?? Try a re-built distributor? Re-build mine?

Thanks,

Jason.
67 GTO
400, .030 over, .068 cam

Jason Lavers
67 GTO

[67GTONUT]

Jason, I am not sure I really follow what you are doing. I installed my Pertronix 2 years ago... no magnetic ring involved. Just removed distibutor, checked endplay of distributor shaft, shimed to have between .010 to .020 of play, attached Ignitor to plate, reinstall, wire it up and fired it up. Do you have an old unit? IgnitorII? Make sure you check the coil for correct resistance, and that you are getting enough voltage to the ignitor.

Drive it like ya stole it!

[Jason67]

This is the ignitor 1. It has a round magnetic ring that mounts under the rotor, and the ignitor itself mounts to where the points set. I've actually had it in the box for about a year, and just got around to installing it. Yours doesn't have the ring under the rotor? where's it getting the signal from to fire?

Thanks,

Jason.

Jason Lavers
67 GTO

[67GTONUT]

Jason, I think you got a pretty old unit there. The latest version is a true Hall effect device, meaning when the igintor is energized it produced a magnetic field between the lobes on the distributor shaft and the pickup.... no ring needed.

Drive it like ya stole it!

[Jason67]

Yeah, mine doesn't sound like that at all. No shimming of the magnet ring needed with that. Must have changed styles since I bouhgt mine, or they're just giving me the old one from the shelf. I'll get a new one.

Is there anyway to miss the oil pick up from the bottom of the distributor? I would think that the distributor wouldn't seat if the oil pump shaft wasn't right. I know the oil pump shaft has some slop, but not 1/4". Just trying to figure why the lifter sounded like it floated. The gage showed oil pressure, but still it was making a ticking noise. After I pulled the distributor, removed the shim under the drive gear, and re-assembled it was gone.

Jason Lavers
67 GTO

[67GTONUT]

NO.... I dont think the distributor will seat. But I am not an engine guy, so I cant be sure.

Drive it like ya stole it!

[Jason67]

Also wanted to mention that this should work like an HEI set up. I would figure that if the petronix ignitor went bad, it wouldn't fire at all. You know, it would either work or not. Anyone had any problems with their car just quiting like you shut the key off with this set up? My Dad says it has happened in his old truck one time, blamed it on the petronix. But it fired right back up and hasn't quit since.

Jason Lavers
67 GTO

[Sun Tuned]

That is the exact reason i don't care much for the Pert, too many places to make a boo boo. Not all your fault either. See the 2 main things with this kit that cause a problem are 1. that the top plate on every distributor I ever saw wasn't perfectly flat across the top. I don't care how good of care it has had, they all are bent to a certain degree. 2. The Pert magnet ring is made of plastic... welcome to the world of recycling. Plastic just ain't getting the job done for me these days. That magnet ring is DEFINITELY NOT true across the face. Especially problematic with the thing is the fact that where the rotor studs are molded into the ring the face will be a touch higher on plane than the rest of the magnet ring face. All this mismatch of crap combines to allow the magnet ring to oscillate up and down like a jack in the box. .010-.060 air gap clearance is a wish made by pertronix, and only achievable "consistently"... IF you spend about 2 hours with a straightedge, a pair of vise grips, a ball peen hammer, and about a pint of good bourbon... you'll get close.

This is the exact reason why I tell you guys to send me the dist and I'll look at it and see what it needs/ don't need , then I'll call you and we'll talk about $$$. I learned my lesson with a pertronix early. Aguy said he was sending a mint RA4 dist to have one of these things put in and wanted to know how much. I told him I'd do it for 65.00. At the last minute he decided to send me a salvage yard dist and I spent about 3 hours getting the top plate straight so all that conglomeration of plastic garbage would work as advertised. NEVER HAPPEN LIKE THAT AGAIN.

First you got to get the plate straight. next you look at the magnet ring and carefully bend or heat/bend it where it is sorta straight. I say sorta cause you'll never get it perfect. They allow a spec range and that is what saves you. In reality the dist shaft rides up in the housing. most of the time to get this stuff right you'll need to shim this thing where the magnet ring just touches the hall effect p/u at rest and it will be off the p/u in the running mode... hopefully within spec allowance. Just have to play with it. This is why most people have bad luck with these things. According to Pert.... Why it'll go in there in 15 minutes install time , no fuss no hassle and work for 100 years before any problems, you'll be able to weld with this thing, cook dinner and even microwave small potatoes with it.

Good luck!!! It ain't happening.

[78 GHOST]

I'm not defending Pertronix, but mine seems to work OK. It's a LS type without the ring and literally did install in 15 minutes.

My complaint about the system is that you have to have the key "ON" for 5 seconds before it will fire. I've talked to others and this is apparenly common to the earlier LS units. As I only drive this car occasionally, it's not a big dealio, more of an aggravation.

Someday, when I'm feeling really motivated, I will send the unit out to be properly curved and will more than likely go back to points at that time.

SunTuned, do you curve the distributors as well?

____________________________________
Much love out to my Peeps

[MarkJ]

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><font size="-1">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by Sun Tuned:
IF you spend about 2 hours with a straightedge, a pair of vise grips, a ball peen hammer, and about a pint of good bourbon... you'll get close.

<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Yep, that’s what I had to do when I put one of those units in my 68 Lemans. I bought one way back in 1995. After reading and rereading the instructions about a dozen times, I installed the magnet and shims. A simple spin of the distributor showed that the magnet was wobbling like a bent bicycle wheel. So, out came the tools.

After a while, I got the thing to spin pretty true, but I took a lot of time to get it right. No problem with motor operations once it was installed, and I often forget that it’s in there.

If they did away with the ring magnet in later production runs, it was probably out of necessity for better product reliability, if not due to customer complaints.

Next time I do any upgrade to a distributor, I’ll either send it out to an expert (e.g. Sun Tuned) or get one of those small body HEI conversions that everyone keeps talking about.

[gtoguy1967]

Been running mine for 2 years with a 15 min install runs grate never any probloms and I would do it again.
Don

some times when you race with squarals you get your nuts cracked!

[Squidward]

Mine went in a few years ago, had the car running again in an hour, had instant improvement in power, and never had a complaint.

Yes, mine had the magnet ring, and it also wobbled. The only thing I made sure of was that it was as close as possible without touching when I spun it. The entire thing didn't seem to be that precise to me, and it has worked great for a few years now while the rest of my car deteriorates around it!

"...ridge reamer and ring compressor? Do they have tools like that?"

[Sun Tuned]

To be honest, there are those out there who hate the Pert. I can only say that out of the 10 or 12 I ever installed for others, that no one ever had any problems... some are 8-9 years old. They aren't in my opinion the best... but then they aren't the worst either. How good of a job you end up with will all depend on how careful one was to catch any potential problem areas beforehand if there were any. I have installed 2 that went right together literally in 15-20 mins and had no problems. I have heard stories from others that were not so lucky. it's like anything else in life... ask 1 yes/no question to 10 people and you'll likely end up with 10 different answers. These things do work, so don't be afraid to try them, just be careful when you install it.

[Sun Tuned]

Yes Ghost, I have been known to fool around with 1 or 2 at times before. I got you a very smelly stale old set of brand new 1966 vintage Delco points just waitin on ya if thats the way you wanna go. The good ones that don't fly apart 10 mins after you leave the driveway.

And for the record all those "small body" things that everyone "raves" about. I build my own mini HEI too, just noone has asked me about it. And mine got 100% Genuine GM Parts in it too. The only kind of parts mixin up that works good is GM stuff on a Ford/Dodge, doin it the other way around, is in my opinion, watering down the gene pool. Every Ford runs faster with some GM parts bolted on it.

[Jason67]

Suntuned, you've got mail. I think its time I used your services on my old distributor!

Jason Lavers
67 GTO

[KEN CROCIE]

Put a ring type pertronics in my 74SD-magnet dropped out(Runs ok on 7!) on way back from Reno T/A trans-a rama.Less than 1000mi round trip.
Put a unit in my daily driver 72 Riviera--started runnig rough--"probably needs a tune up"--magnet dropped out.
Put a unit in my 64 GTO--never got out of the garage--it smoked-literaly-when I turned on the key.Talked to a rep last month-"oh yeah,did the plastic cover unglue from the magnets"?? Must be fairly common.
Just installed a Crane XRI in the ski boat and the rev limiter works as advertised and runs all day @ 4500 RPM.

[tiresmoke68]

I have a 68 firebird that I tried installing the pertronix 2. I followed everything to the letter, and the car ran like ****, so while iam losing my mind trying to figure out whats wrong, I finally call Jim Hand, and he says, "put your old points back in and see if runs" well kick my ass, that was the problem, more and more people are bitching about this product while others stand behind them, as for me, I wish crane made that new X1 or XR or whatever its called for a pontiac!! No luck with pertronix here!!

My wife wants to know "Why do you feel the need to burn the tires like that" I said, its a guy thing honey. :}

[Lloyd-TX]

http://www.tispecialty.com/index.html

As I've said many times - flawless, easy install. Starts first twist of the key in any weather, etc. Looks OEM externally, uses stock resistor wire and coil, etc.

I'm sold on it, and PY has 'em $10.00 cheaper than one can buy them direct from TI Specialties!

Lloyd

'72 Formula 455 - TH400, 3.08 posi, A/C, Y99 suspension, tach & gauges, AM-FM stereo, 8-track, Formula steering wheel, etc.; Lucerne Blue with Medium Blue deluxe Interior; 12.96 @ 104 MPH @ the '03 PSN's

Soon I'll starting a body-off restoration on a 72 GTO 455HO, TH400, A/C, etc.; Sundance Orange with Ivory buckets

[JKGTO]

I too had trouble with the Pertronix. I bought a Stinger unit(Hays) and have not had any trouble with it. Dont know if they still make these anymore.