Electronic igniton conversion questions

I know this has been beat to death I find myself questioning which way to go. Dealing with a single point 383 distributor.
The Mopar conversion kits seemed to have been taken over by Proform. my experience with them has not been good on electrical components.
I have also read the current ECU's fail about as fast as you can install them.
I bought a Mallory optical kit and it won't clear the lobes on the distributor cam. Looked at moving the module towards the outside of the dist. but the supplied trigger wheel is already BARELY clearing the module. So doing so would fix one issue but create another.
So I went looking and see that Petronix now requires their own rotor which I'm not overly fond of.
Accel is the same as Mallory just a different color
I swear I saw a kit that used a hall effect sensor off the existing point lobes but can't find one for a single point mopar distributor ?
Also trying to maintain as close to factory appearing as possible. so what say the "BORED"?
TIA

Ain't nothin as good as it used to be. That includes most replacement parts for nearly everything.
1) I think I would see if I could find an older electronic conversion kit someone has laying on a shelf someplace.
2) Order the new kit, maybe you will get one of the good ones. When you install that ECU, make sure to ground the case with a wire that leads to the battery. Most failure are a result of a poor ground (self tapping screw through sheet metal) creating too much heat in the box.
3) Dual point distributer?

The Pertronix conversion kits use the hall effect. I've had the original version in my 383 since 1993 and no problems yet. I have a newer model III version in a Pontiac for 15 years and that one has run flawlessly too.

Do you have any Pick A Parts yards or other scrap yards near you to scavenge a complete ignition with the distributer and wiring along with the ECU. If ss I would do that and make sure and buy it on the condition it works properly, the ECU grounding must be VERY GOOD

hi

why does everyone think they have to have electronic ignition ?

i do a fair amount of dist rebuilds , and recurves for performance / race engines . < have sun and allen dist tester>

i have some points dist that have been in use for 10 years , driven on weekends regulary and never been back for readjustment .

points are reliable ! must be properly installed !

single points easly run 6000 rpm plus , doul points 7000 .

chrysler and others accel / Mallory ect offered points for higher rpm 8500

just sayen !

New points and condensers have the same issues as an other new part these days, poor quality. Put new points in my 51 2 years ago, I have maybe 1000 miles on it and the rubbing block is worn out already. NOS is where it's at because it isn't going to get better and since no new car has come with points in a long time no one is going to step up to build quality stuff.

I was at a pick -a-part yesterday with a friend, just tagging along. I left with a small block electronic dist. for these reasons alone, to throw on the shelf.

I do have a pertronix lit in one of my cars since the late 90's... special rotor and all.

It is easy enough to find a quality or original electronic pickup assembly and cam, if not complete distributor. Clean it up and convert. Harness is available, then get a ECU. Keep the points as a back up. Having said that, my 70 still runs points as a weekend car and I have not messed with it since the tune up about 5 years ago. Used OEM original points and condenser.

You know, Pertronix is not the only game in town

Both Standard and Wells have similar conversions. Look up a 70 Charger with a 383 at Rockauto

https://www.rockauto.com/en/catalog/dodge,1970,charger,6.3l+383cid+v8,1496003,ignition,ignition+conversion+kit,11340

the set in this car has less that 1k miles on it same S💩
To answer previous questions in order
1. Pooboy : When you say new kit, Are you referring to NOS or the current offerings? The only one I'm fining is Proform and my experience with their electrical components. It was so bad anytime a car came in with one of their HEI's we ALWAYS changed the modules out (Long story for an
other day). I wouldn't be so concerned about Proforms offerings except for the control box. From what I've read it's hard to find a reliable one.
Please comment if anyone knows otherwise And yes currently a single point dist.
2. MoreParts: May wind up going that way and buy an extra module
3. Cab: Being in the rust belt the chances of finding anything are next to zilch. Not to mention who pays for the time to go look? I do have a butt load of parts for both points and electronic but I believe most are small block. Actually thought about trying to mix and match putting soemthig together but there's that time factor again
4. CalRob: See Snipers and my response at the beginning of this response. I also have a Sun 504 distributor machine.
5. B1maxx See number 3 and then there's the control box issues that concerns me
6. Dragon slayer: being a 383, the distributor is a bit harder to come by quickly, I have plenty of OEM cams, pickup coils, and a New harness.
The issue is time and a reliable ECU.
7. Sniper: thanks they both look like petronix units. However they show the rotor and magnetic ring separate. That would make me a bit warmer and fuzzier as years ago I learned caps and rotors from different sources were not always compatible.
thanks to all for the responses, after many years of contributing, I am now getting help from others
If there are more comments. suggestions, experiences, Please feel free to add them
thanks again

I ran a mallory duel point setup that replaced the original point distributor. It ran decent until the points wore/got out of adjustment. Got tired of it and replaced it with a stock electronic distributor with modded springs and a msd6a. Been happy with it ever since.

The owner decided to do the Proform kit licensed by Chrysler as is has better reviews than their standard kit. He will carry a spare ICM with him.

The ICM failures got me to thinking which is dangerous at times LOL. I've seen a lot of the ICM's mounted on the firewall directly above the the engine and exhaust heat. So I started wondering if being exposed to the heat may be causing some of the failures
I have always chose a cooler location like the backside of the radiator support or inside the car.

Thanks for all the help and input.

Mancini sells an adapter pigtail to run the Mopar electronic distributor off of an MSD box. It's like $39 and has the Mopar distributor connector on one end and the MSD connector on the other. I was considering doing that to my current project until I found an NOS Direct Connection chrome box. I'll run that with a parts store spare in the trunk!

I'm a big fan of the old MSD analog 6AL boxes tied to a recurved OEM Chrysler distributor.

This setup offers reliability, great spark and the ability for options like rev limiters, 2 step rev controllers and timing control (retard only).

The great thing is they are starting to get cheap since everyone wants the newest gadget. They are also very easy to hide under the battery box and retain a somewhat stock appearance.

Thought I'd post a follow up. The Proform distributor is a bit cheesy and not the same quality as the OEM's the harness about the same. Two pin connector at the distributor did not fit the harness very well, the "tan" distributor cap had a bit too much cream in the coffee, and the ballast resistor is a bad joke

So probably better to get and rebuilt, harness, Control box, and ballast etc. or go the MSD route. As previously stated my problem with aftermarket stuff is if it fails out of town your in a bad spot.

I may be greedy but unless it is a good friend or someone who has helped me i keep my stash of distibuters, harnesz, ECU, roturs, caps, ballast resisters, voltage regs.
But i do send them to Ray to get their own. He runs Halifaxhops and does rebuilds, has lots of good new/old parts and NOS stuff.

FBO still making kits? I have used a couple in the past and they always worked well.

Ray is legit. You can spend as much time talking to him as you have available. Would love to talk to him more.

There are legit complaints that the trusted Pertronix conversion kits have gone cheap. Specifically thin non durable wires. Its crazy. In the 1980s many looked at OEM Chrysler stuff as sub standard- replaced with Accell Mallory and MSD almost immediately. Now all those discarded factory components are highly regarded and mentioned in stories from the good ole days.

I have a a decent stash of distributors, carbs and parts that I need to sort and sell. not a whole lot but most is from the 80's back. Might get the time during the winter

Hello;
I am planning to do a Mopar Performace style electronic ignition kit for my 66 440 C Body.
Get a good quality ECM from Richard Ehrenberg on E-bay.
Get the MP wiring harness from Mancini Racing or Ehrenberg or others online.
Buy a service part replacement reluctor and pickup plate from any number of sources. Install these in your existing (aluminum) distributor and keep your original advance timing (the MP units were timed for race use anyway).
Installation instructions are all over the web.
Install, and have a good fascmile of the original MP kits, all with readily serviced parts.
Am I missing anything?
Mark

PS, whish this site had spellcheck

The Rick E-Burg kits on eBay are good kits

When I first did my ignition conversion to ditch lean burn I got the parts I needed off a van for $5. I'm still using the Wells ECU that came off it but the distributor was replaced with an MP one ant some point and same with the wiring back when you could still get the conversion harness kit from the dealer for around $20. I originally pieced together the pig tail pieces I cut off the van the rest of the parts came from.

Now I don't even remember when the last time was I saw a vehicle in a junk yard that would have the parts to take!

The OEM Chrysler electronic ignition was phased out and was replaced with the lean burn system. The lean Burn started in 76 or 77 and was pretty much the only choice from about 79 on, until the "new computer system" replaced it.

I suspect 77 or 78 was probably the last factory original electronic ignition systems used, so its not been installed on "new" cars for 45 or so years. Funny thing, the OEM Chrysler electronic ignition system had about a 15 year run as the only factory ignition system since it replaced the points and condenser system, but most of the guys here still are in love with the points, they have not been installed on "new" cars for nearly 60 years.

I use the FBO box on my Hemi Charger. Has worked really great, only change from using a Mopar box is the need to jumper out the ballast (I hollowed out a ballast and used a wire soldered in place) and a Pertronix coil which they spec.

No issues, really like it.

Have a bone stock 440 in a 70 Challenger, running the classic Mopar electronic ignition conversion on that. Using the Jegs blue ECU (same that Rick E sells on eBay), has worked great with no issues for several years. I tried it on the Hemi and it worked well, but the FBO box seemed to give me more at all RPM’s (seat of the pants test).

Don't leave the ignition in the on position while testing with the pertronix coils. Had a few blow 💥. Also had a few more just fail. Switched to MSD blaster II's haven't had one comeback yet