MGB & GT Forum

Worth fitting or not? Some folks highly recommend fitting these, some folks say leave the points system in. What do you think. Price is a out £28 in UK money, plus fitting if you don't do it yourself.

Some swear by it, some swear at it.

I fitted a complete electronic distributor (Chinese copy) about 4 years ago. No problems at all since.

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Member of The International Society of Luddites (Unrepentant Chapter).

Take the time to understand what a part does and how it does it, then you'll have a better understanding of how to fix it when it goes wrong. Beats the scattergun approach every time.

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I use their complete clone distributor. It works, but mechanically not up up Lucas, advance curve was wrong, and the phasing was out. Mine is welded solid as I feed a CB Black Box timing computer. It is a darn sight better than the no-name clone points POS that was in the car.

The Accuspark can only run a 3 Ohm coil, where The Pertronix II can run a 1.5. I did need to add a diode to my VDO tach.

IMHO, anything is better than points. Others believe the world will spin backwards if electronics are used. I think the consensus for most reliable points replacement is the Crane 700. Your choice. Nor of it will work well unless the distributor is mechanically solid and the advance curve is appropriate for the car.

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Cogito ergo sum periculoso

I assume that if you use the AccuSpark electronic ignition in a locked dizzy with something like the Aldon Amerthyst mapped timing box the 3 ohm vs 1.5 ohm issue does not matter as it is not directly triggering the coil.

My experience is that if you love to fiddle with your ignition/distributor, points are the way to go.

If you want an ignition that is essentially "set it and forget it" and lasts for years with only rotor, cap and plug wire changes periodically, then electronic is the way to go.

My Pertronix is almost 5 years old and has 50k miles on it. It's the right thing for me, although not for everyone.

I do carry a spare Pertronix in my trunk spares bag since electronic ignitions tend to fail completely when they fail.

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“Ideological certainty easily degenerates into an insistence upon ignorance". Daniel Patrick Moynihan

In any debate, the side which strays from civil discussion is usually the side that lacks confidence in its debate position or in the merit of their arguments. Making personal attacks on the opponents instead of staying on the subject is also a sign of weakness.

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Here we go again. If you want your car to run its absolute best, points are the solution. From there, crank fired ignition is better. Electronics will run worse due to spark plug wire noise that fouls the signal and causes the coil to randomly discharge when it shouldn't, which will make your next cylinder fire on low power and you'll have a weak spark with rich fuel mixture.

Those who have gone to electronics, then back to points, will confirm this. Those who simply switch to electronics and have an engine that runs better need to get their distributor repaired because the "fixed dwell" of the electronics is masking worn parts that should be repaired or replaced.

If you're looking for a band-aid, electronic ignition is a good one. Personally, I "fiddle with my points" about once every 6000 miles. Its a good time to lube the distributor, which needs to be done annually no matter what triggering system you use, so "maintenance free" is an outright lie.

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jeff@advanceddistributors.com

Went from points to electronics and back on the 63B.

Runs better on points.

Really liked the Allison/Crane electronic on my 77 Spit. Never had points on it from the factory.

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L.W.(Larry)Baygents
63B
77 Spit

Very much, but the CB has a built in MAP sensor, so I can run vacuum advance. Load on the module is trivial.

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Cogito ergo sum periculoso

Do it, You won't regret it. Set it and forget it. Chuter

Bob,
"if you love to fiddle with your ignition/distributor" I know you are exaggerating, but will not question your findings.
We need to stick our head under the bonnet for a cursory check of things regularly. Popping the 2 springs that hold the cap in place, drop of oil as required and points gap check is not such a fiddle.

B

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Life's most persistent and urgent question is, "What are you doing for others?"

If changing points every 12,000 miles or checking gap every 6 months is a chore , a cheap electronic set will save the 10 minutes .Buy 2 of them you may need the second set.
Or as some are wont to do buy a complete cheap distributor,a $200 CB black box, maybe a diode,weld your distributor,spend days weeks,months tuning and end up with a still as yet non running MGB
all the while *****ing about about how worthless a distributor with points is.

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Had a Crane 700 in my MGB. It died and it cost me a $100 years ago. Don't know what it costs now but points are much cheeper and have been working ever since. The Crane lasted about 3 months.

That...


Yeah, I went to the darkside(Pertronix and Accuspark) and back. Car's never run better than with my current setup; Rebuilt(by Jeff) dizzy/vacuum advance, new points/plate/cap/rotor

I can't take much more of the "points are more maintenance" excuse. THIS(MGE) is an ENTHUSIAST(not purely maintenance/troubleshooting) site. The vast majority of owners here own this car as a HOBBY. All they DO is "fiddle" with the car. They obsess over everything...including the mechanically insignificant..., deck it out in lavish MG decor, baby it, polish it with a diaper etc...I'm sure they can fit in the 15 min every two years to remove/check/gap/lube/replace the dizzy/points.

I'm POSITIVE there are people here who spend more time every WEEK cleaning and polishing their wheels.

IF you want a module because you want a module...great. Don't make some bogus and unbelievable excuse to justify the switch though..."C'MON MAN!"

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"One test is worth a thousand expert opinions"--Alvin "Tex" Johnston...Boeing test pilot.

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73 MGB. Tires: Round, black, hold air. Oil: Sometimes old, sometimes new...always slippery. Oil filter: Yellow, usually full of oil. Carbs: 2 SU HIF. Distributor: Yes. Headlights: Not that bright but bright enough. A bunch of other stuff most cars have but not really important enough to itemize. Oh, wait...it has a cool sounding exhaust with stickers on the chrome tips. Really slays the ladies...

MILLIONS of cars built from the 80's on have electronic ignition (darn near all of them) without the problem Jeff describes. I am sure he has seen it, he has seen thousands. But I also can't vouch for the installation, design of any specific module, and the rest of the system. All of the car manufactures resolved these problems years ago; INCLUDING MG.

This is not to say all modules are equal and all are immune. It is just an engineering problem that we solved 30 years ago. Lucas invented the transistorized ignition in 1955.

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Cogito ergo sum periculoso

When I posted this, I was looking for some simple replies, from people who had themselves converted from points. In plain terms, does the engine start up easier, is the tick over more reliable, do you get any more miles per gallon, and do you notice any more low down pulling power etc. My 25 D points distributor is not worn out, and my car runs quite well on points. I am not looking for a rebuild / replacement from Jeff or the distributor doctor, just some simple answers from those who have swapped over and noticed a difference. If you have no experience of accuspark etc.i don't think this will be helping me much.