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Expert
Posts: 1348
  
Location: Valley Forge, Pa. | I know this has come up several times before but sometimes its easier to ask again and there are often new thoughts sence the last time it was posted, so... I am thinking to switching to an aftermarket electronic distributor for my stock 1960 318. I see them on Epay from $49 - up. Are the inexpensive ones junk? Do you get what you pay for? For something reliable, do I need to go to an expensive dist? In other words, who has used the "cheap" ones and how are they working for you now?
The first time I went for plug wires for my 1960 318 poly with factory dist., they sold me wires for a later 318 saying "a 318 is a 318". I had no knowledge of a POLY motor, so I took that they knew. They were not even close to reaching. So, before I purchase an electronic dist, and have to run back and forth trying to match up long enough wires, what are the correct plug wires? Do they make them spacifically for a poly or do you need to use some sort of big block wires? A NAPA, Auto Zone, ect. # for plug wires that fits the wide block and the electronic distributor.
Thanks for any info,
Karl. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 888
Location: Peoples Republic of Oregon | If you want electronic ignition then I'd suggest using the Mopar stuff. Easy to get all replacement pieces; available at every parts house and bone-yard.
The only special 'part' that you'll likely want to buy, vs. fabricating, is the harness to splice in the dizzy: P3690512, available from multiple sources.
Keep a spare ballast resister handy, or, mount a spare next to the one in operation.
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Expert
Posts: 3778
Location: NorCal |
I've had mixed luck with those ready-to-run distributors. The type that have an external "platform" just below the cap use a module from an Australian Holden....costs more to replace than the whole distributor. IMHO the Mopar electronic is too complex, there are lots of quality ready-to-run distributors out there but they're not cheap; for cheap there's always the Pertronix kit for your existing distributor.
For those with the HEI terminals in the cap, I prefer a universal wire kit that you fab yourself...get a kit with the correct spark plug end, cut to length and install the terminal/boot on the distributor end. |
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Expert
Posts: 1348
Location: Valley Forge, Pa. | Sorry, not trying to say I am cheap. I am more than willing to pay for quality IF it is that much better than the less expensive stuff. Its just that sometimes you may not need "top-of-the-line". So what is a quality, readily available, parts readily available, dist. and not just paying for a name or something?
I looking for a quality dependable dist. that I can find over night at Advance Auto, ect.[if needed] and not need to find a performance shop and pay tooooo much for? Is there a simple, good, 318 dist. that i can find and readily find parts for or a replacement for if needed? I'm towing my boat 6+ hours to the Canadian border in July. I will carry a spare dist. but even those require time to find parts for.
I might be best off if I were to build my own wires? Has anyone looked at some sort of big block[MOPAR, CHEVY, FORD] wires that would fit?
Again, thanks for your help.
Karl. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 6502
Location: Newark, Texas (Fort Worth) | Is your cap a regular female style? If so these at rock auto will work. The more you pay, the better electronic spark you will get.:
http://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/plymouth,1958,belvedere,5.2l+317... |
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Expert
Posts: 1348
Location: Valley Forge, Pa. | Thanks, that might be the info I am looking for. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 888
Location: Peoples Republic of Oregon | Given your comments regarding availability of service parts then the ONLY electronic system you should consider is the Mopar. Overly complex? They seem pretty straight forward to me. I've been using them since they appeared in 1971 and the only part that has ever failed me is the ballast resistor so I always mount 2 together. If it fails then just move the wires.
The wire set at RockAuto that was mentioned shows up as the same part number for the LA engines so........ If you invest in the proper wire terminal crimper then making a wire set is a no-brainer. I made custom sets for the EarlyHemi for years and still have some 8mm wire if you need. Boots, terminals and such are readily available from brands like Belden or even NAPA. |
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Expert
Posts: 3778
Location: NorCal | wayfarer - 2016-06-17 9:03 AM
Given your comments regarding availability of service parts then the ONLY electronic system you should consider is the Mopar. Overly complex? They seem pretty straight forward to me. I've been using them since they appeared in 1971 and the only part that has ever failed me is the ballast resistor so I always mount 2 together. If it fails then just move the wires.
Additional parts (ECU, Ballast) adds to complexity. The current and most older MP kits feature the orange box; do a Google search and you'll find lots of problems with them and, the ballast....lucky they're readily available cause you'll needum.
OTOH, the MSD RTR needs no external parts and is dead reliable. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 888
Location: Peoples Republic of Oregon | ...guess that well have to agree to disagree on how good the system is..... |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9681
Location: So. Cal | I developed this conversion to get high power HEI with the stock electronic mopar distributor. I really like this solution because it uses a readily available module, is extremely reliable, doesn't require mounting anything on your firewall, and gives excellent performance. I use it on all my cars.
http://www.designed2drive.com |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 6502
Location: Newark, Texas (Fort Worth) | Nathan: will this adapter work on my tach. cable drive electronic mopar distributor? Thanks! Marc. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9681
Location: So. Cal | I think the tach drive distributors are cast iron. It won't work on any of the cast iron distributors. Only the aluminum ones. But it rely's on the flat surface on the bottom of the distributor so even if it is an aluminum one, it won't work with the bulge of the tach drive sitting there. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 888
Location: Peoples Republic of Oregon | ...curiosity got the best of me....I did a simple browser search for 'mopar distributor with gm module' and lots-o-reading ensued.
As to overall consensus, some good, some not-so-good.
Edited by wayfarer 2016-06-18 11:44 AM
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 9681
Location: So. Cal | Most of the not-so-good is because some people can't get over using a GM part on their Mopar. I have never experienced a single failure of these things with an accumulated 250K miles over 6-7 cars and 15 years. I have used them with mechanical voltage regulators from '56-'69, stock coils with ballast resistors or extremely powerful coils without ballast and they always work no matter what I throw at them. The only time I had an ignition issue was in my '70 Satellite because the bulkhead fuse connection was slowly going bad and reduced the voltage down to 6 volts to the module. But it worked perfectly all the way down to 7 volts! And these are pretty much the best that is out there in terms of performance without going to 8 separate coils. The only thing that may be better is a capacitive discharge (CD) system, but I doubt that really is much better.
When I build my cars, if I don't care about swapping out the original distributor, I use this HEI setup because it is cheap, easy and always works. I have a pile of used electronic distributors that I pick up at swap meets for around $10 each. All of my cars are currently setup this way, but I may want to go back to the original distributor in my Desoto someday. If I want to use an original iron distributor and keep it looking stock as much as possible, the Pertronix II or III is definitely the way to go. I would avoid the Pertronix I as it can't provide the performance of the II or III and generates more heat. The Pertronix II is similar in design to the GM HEI and the III is a CD type ignition. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 888
Location: Peoples Republic of Oregon | Some of the 'reading' I did makes it sound as though you have been blessed with your experience. Yours is most certainly not the 'rule'.
Since the OP hasn't jumped in I'll wonder if he has decided on his own what to use.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programme. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 888
Location: Peoples Republic of Oregon | Since the 'system' won't allow me to edit my last post I'll add one thought here for the OP;
All electronic systems are sensitive to having the components well grounded and the Mopar is no exception. Over the last 40 years I'll venture to say that 95% of the system problems that I have encountered have been traced back to poor/lost grounding of the ECU. This is always the first thing I look for in a no-start situation. |
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plug wires for electronic dist.?
