Best points conversion these days

Looking at some cars and a few still have points. Will want to keep a stockish look. I used to run Petronix, but last I heard quality had gone down. That’s been a few years ago. I suppose a mopar kit would be fine, if a good ecu is still available.

Cars I’m looking at would be original enough that I’d just shelve the factory distributor and get another to add a kit to or a ready to run.

Check here linky and here linky

The HEI approach with the specific bracket keeps a low profile appearance while eliminating the ballast resister and allowing increased plug gap.

Not to mention it has the benefit of being extremely cost effective. Not something you run into that often with our hardware.

I thought years ago I read HEI came out during the smogger years and wasn’t good above 4500. At least stock stuff. What is a good aftermarket setup for that? The one coil mentioned there isn’t going to really fit with a stockish vibe, would need to stick with a canister.

I'm tempted to see if the point replacement kits that Holley offers for GM and Ford could be adapted to a Mopar distributor. I too am leery of Petronix. From what I read it's kind of like playing the slots at Vegas.

I've used the Pertronix kit (I think #1381) for years without any problems

running pertronix and the 40,000 volt chrome coil for over 20yrs. when it lost a couple magnets I called and they sent me a new magnet rotor for replacement. that's pretty good customer service after 20 yrs.

I have 3 units running now and have used a unit for a duel points conversion. no trouble with any of them.

another thing I suggest when you set it up is to add a set of the MrGasket Mopar mech. advance springs for a fast recuve of the stock points dist.

I've been running the Mopar Electronic Ignition Conversion Kit that came with my 360 crate engine since 1999. I've had no problems with it at all in over 20 years, and would highly recommend it to others.

Mopar Performance Of 1999 is not Mopar Performance Of 2021

Apples to Oranges or USA to China

Honestly does Mopar Performance even exist today with respect to our older cars ?

With a little creativity, it's not too hard to find new old stock.

good reads, lengthy but good

Same can be said of Pertronix. A 20 year old Pertronix kit is not what they are selling today.

Since the OP neglects to mention what he's putting it on one can only surmise about a good replacement.

But Rockauto has Standard Motors conversion for the /6, LA. B. RB and Hemi listed. LX812 for the slants and LX813 for everything else.

Everything I’m considering is a big block car, late 60s.

One has to really ask their selves is it worth it??? Minimal driving and worried about looking original. No brainer here. keep the points along with buying another set and a condenser along with a .017 feeler gauge for the glove box. My bets 10 years later the glove box emergency items were never used. People need to quit humping their own leg.

Agreed

Mine is factory dual points. And will remain as such.

Planning to stock up on several sets of points and condensers and maybe a couple tan caps though.

How about a Mopar electronic dist. triggering a buried MSD box firing a disguised MSD coil? Done right it would be hard to tell at a glance. Just my 2

Im talking a slant 6 that originally had lean Burn (truck's an 85) but I found an NOS Mopar elec ignition/vac advance distributor for ~$75-80 bux earlier this year on Feebay and a NOS aftermarket (Niehoff or BWD) from 30+ years ago-- made here in USA-- for less than $20 each-- bought 3-4 of the 4 pin boxes at the time while the gettin was good----- and that engine has never run so good as it does now.

Same treatment I'm gonna be giving my 78 Sport Fury later this winter, to delete the original Lean Burn...... I have everything I need to do that job (remember, I bought several new aftermarket 4 pin boxes?) one for my truck, one for the Fury, one went on my son's 80 D150 when the innards of the original 40 year old module melted out of it and left him stranded, and 1 for spare. besides those, my son has a Ramcharger and a 72 Fury wagon w/a 440, so it don't hurt to have a good reliable spare among us.........
plan B would be same distributor and HEI module conversion.

Best idea posted yet I know a few cars with a stock point distributor with an MSD under the dash that ran perfect and looked stock.

Gus

Myself i believe MSD systems on a street car are a total waste of $$. Not to mention pricey parts, and one better hope they don't break down on a road trip.

MSD stuff works ok, until it doesn’t. I always saw those fail suddenly and stayed away. Could be that’s what most people run so it follows you’d see a bunch fail just because of that. That’s how I got into using Petronix. Didn’t hear a bad thing about those until recently. Had good luck with jacobs electronics boxes back in the day.

Agree but.....I've been turning wrenches since electronic ignition was new. I've seen them all fail,GM,Chrysler,Ford, Honda,Toyota, Mallory, MSD, etc. They all work great until they don't...that's the electronic part...lol. Sometimes ya just gotta pick something and run with it while hoping for the best.

I currently run an Mopar dist and an orange box w/MSD coil in my stroker low deck. It's all 25 years old and works perfect. I'm aware once that old orange box craps I'll need something else and the new stuff is scrap so I have an MSD box waiting in the wings......$100 from a buddy that took it off his car, I heard it run minutes before he removed it.

Something I learned several years ago is that the MSD boxes are sensitive to degradation of oil-filled coils, especially if the coil is horizontally mounted.
Pretty much a lottery as far as time, as those coils aren't completely full of oil.
An epoxy-filled coil avoids that, but doesn't look stock.
On several cars since, I've used a re-curved MP electronic dist, MSD6 box, and F150 epoxy coil, when stock-appearing wasn't necessary.
On every one, the cars will light off almost immediately, run crisply, and run without failure.

It's one of the areas where restoration/originality and higher performance diverge, like headers.

probably the ONLY good thing about a GM HEI conversion is, you can find a modual at any grocery store or library around the country for 89 cents plus tax if yours takes a dump.
if you want to carry a spare in the glove box, they take up slightly less room than a ballast resistor.
just my which is worth "slightly" less than that.

As you can with the mopar stock electronic system. I learned a lesson 40+ years ago about the aftermarket cr-p. I worked swing shift and got off at midnight. Still wide awake i decided to hit the locak car wash and hose my engine down. I THOUGHT I was prepared with paper towels etc if the Dist. got wet. Sure enough it did.
I popped the cap off and was drying things up when i heard this "ting" noise. It didn't take to long to find the center conductor of the rotor on the back of the motor. Back then they still had "SERVICE STATIONS" and many were open & within walking distance. But none had a rotor for a Mallory distributor.
the stock stuff works well with a few upgrades IMO. Now if you have 14:1 compression and running on alcohol. Go for the MSD, otherwise put you $$ somewhere that will do some good

While that was true a few years back it may not be now.....just did a quick search of the AZ,Advance,Napa stores in my area....they all list the 4 pin HEI module but none in stock. Couple days out. Gotta remember those 4 pin modules were late 70s...by the mid 80s GM had incorporated ECM control and the modules changed......soon after distributors disappeared. Coil packs for an LS are likely easier to come by than a 4 pin HEI module.

I've had more bad HEI units then ecu and ballast. I know I'm going to jinx myself by saying it but the only time I've ever had a ballast fail the car was in a shop getting something else done so I don't know if it was something they did and it was also a completely hacked together ignition system that I did.

I haven't used a new ecu but I've heard that they're completely chinalized now and some of the parts in them don't even do anything.

There is not a failure proof system nowdays. So I would stick with Pertronix yet for the easy conversion on stock look.

Points are a whole lot less failure prone than the offshore electronic crap being foisted on us these days.

The new MSD digital boxes are garbage offshore stuff.

We use the older analog 6AL's triggered by an OE Mopar electronic distributor and an OE Mopar coil for spark. Stock look and you can find analog 6AL's virtually everywhere!

The 6AL is hidden under the battery tray and has the advantages of a rev limiter and an added timing controller in the form of a knob on the dash (for nitrous retard).

This basic setup has been bulletproof in two different cars for years.

The problem is the replacement points are offshore garbage now as well. You have to find an older set to get quality.

you treed me with your statement above about the offshore points available, which you most likely have to order as well.
last year [2019] i had a new, just installed set toss one of the contacts after just a few minutes run time.
back in the mid to late 60's, we always had a match book [even those are kinda hard to come by today ! ] in the glove box to gap points on the road.
i have even gapped just the springs to get home !
that took a bunch of fiddling to do to get [semi] right [imagine doing this at night using your buddy to hold your zippo while you are fiddling with what is left of the points after you have had a "few teas" [], but it worked long enough to get home.

Won't requote all the quoting lines, but once again there is NO a failure proof system nowdays INCLUDING POINTS, sooo since he is requesting for an upgrade from points and being Pertronix a system which keeps your stock system and look I still would go with it.

Even the ballast can still be in place since if you want or need to bypass it, just need a jumper wire ( no need to cut and splice wires together )... or even replace the resistor element from back of the ceramic and install a wire in place to make a cleaner look.

This is exactly why I will stay with points. I dont need to breakdown along the road due to a system that NO ONE stocks parts for locally.
I about to buy some NOS mopar and standard electronics points and condensors , plus a couple tan caps . Just to put on the shelf ,,, as a just in case

yeah, well, if wished to keep with points and get acces to good quality parts that's a good idea, but is he still wish the upgrade ( for whatever reason ) I wouldn't get worried about Pertronix "quality issues" over the rest of options.

So some food for thought for points users

A while back I was having hassles setting a consistent gap on my 383, so I measured every gap for a full rotation, there was a .004 spread and it was very random from lobe to lobe. It was a 50+ yo distributor so no real surprises there, but I wonder how true they were from factory? I wonder how many old cars that were hard to tune were from this? The mind boggles

A pedantic person could go through and file/polish down the taller ones to ensure an even gap, I just set the gap off one of the ones in the middle of the variance - so only a +/- .002 difference at most, not ideal as such, but a much better result than if I had randomly set it off one of the + or - .002's

In retrospect a dial gauge would be the easiest way to check that - didnt have one back then lols

A .004 variation would have shown up on a dwell meter and wreak a little havoc with the timing

If the variance is to one side the shaft is bent. I ran these all the time on my machine and a whack in the right place made them true. Most will never understand what it takes.

I use points. All the distributors I have tried had mysterious problems except something called an Accel Blueprinted Distributor. I got it from PAW a long time ago and it has always worked for me. If it ever wears out I guess I'll have to switch to electronic.

Make your own Mopar Performance electronic kit. I did a while back to convert my slant six D100. Put an electronic ignition plate in your existing distributor (aluminum ones only) and get the MP wiring harness conversion that was sold separately and is findable. Rick Ehrenberg sells a quality four pin ECU on E-bay, and get a couple of name brand ballast resistors, one for the vehicle and one for the glove box.
One benefit is you retain your stock advance curve, etc. since the MP units are more race oriented, they can cause pre-ignition on today's garbage gas.
The early nineties conversion on the truck is still fine, just had to replace the ballast after about 20 years.
Mark

The reason I don’t like points is an old super stock racer showed me how many were bad out of the box. He had stacks of them from when he would test several on his sun machine before a race. These were back when these cars were pretty much new. Had boxes and boxes so he could always get a handful of good sets to take with him. Lost a race and started really watching for the problem after that. That all stopped when his Chrysler contact scored him the then new electronic stuff. Couple that with my desire to work about an hour on a car, then drive the rest of the day, and forget about a chore that can be eliminated with one swoop. As long as good stuff can be obtained that is.