I bought a 200 6 to put in my 65 Falcon wagon,I dont want to use the duraspark,I want to put a points distributor in the engine so i can run a pertronix 1,and still be able to switch back to points,what older 200 6's distributor will fit in the 78 engine? I know some will ask why the pertronix,but i have had nothing but flawless operation from it in lots of different fords,
1978 200 out of zephyr
- Thread starter chicken
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Patrick66
Famous Member
chicken":102hu4h2 said:
i know ALOT of people will say the exact same thing about the duraspark distributor. if you want to be able to switch back to points in case of a failure with the pertronix, i can understand why you would do that. if you keep the duraspark, just carry an extra module, should be easier to swap out modules that to reinstall points.
theres no reason to go back to an inferior technology when your engine came with duraspark to begin with. if you really want points, do what wallaka said, the early distributors arent all that great.
Eric Rose
Famous Member
If you get an early style (pre'68-ish) Load-O-Matic distributor, those advance on vacuum only. To use it properly you'll need a carb with a Spark Control Valve (SCV). Probably more trouble than its worth by the time you get all the right parts and then mod the LoM distributor for Pertronix.
The dual advance distributor will work with any carb.
But I still think th Duraspark is the best option. Replacement parts are cheap and can be found at nearly any neighborhood parts store 8)
The dual advance distributor will work with any carb.
But I still think th Duraspark is the best option. Replacement parts are cheap and can be found at nearly any neighborhood parts store 8)
my Dad got a pertronix way back,The school bus fleet garage started running them in the early 80's,(yeah,maine was/is a bunch of cheap yankee farmers,And held on to gasoline engined buses into the mid 90's)it wasnt called the ignitor,at any rate he took one home and installed it in a 68 F100,that was 1984 or 1985,that unit has been in many,many vehicles since,but it finally died after my brother managed to run it over(?)backing his truck out of the shop.I've bought 3 units over the years both for the six and v-8s.again not one problem,so why bother with a used duraspark and splicing wires or pulling a distributor to change it out?
I can understand your reasoning, and would likely do the same. However, I bought a rebuilt DS II for $40 (no core charge) and a new GM HEI module for $20 (both on Ebay). That's about the cost of a Pertronix I.
But if you already have the duraspark why would you be changing the dizzy or splicing wires?
I may agree with you if you had a 68 or later points style dizzy--that using petronixs would be better than swapping to a duraspark--but not if you already have duraspark.
Like the dog on the Bush's Bean commercial says "That's just crazy."
I may agree with you if you had a 68 or later points style dizzy--that using petronixs would be better than swapping to a duraspark--but not if you already have duraspark.
Like the dog on the Bush's Bean commercial says "That's just crazy."
I understand that you have had good luck with the Pertronix in the past, but a lot of people here (and on other forums in other vehicles) have had problems with them recently.
Remember a part that was made in the USA by skilled people who actually cared about the quality of their work in 1985 is now probably made in china by an 11 year old kid.
So just because the one you bought in 1985 (or 1995, for that matter) worked out great for you, doesn't mean the one you buy today will. Same brand, but totally different quality.
Disclaimer: I don't know if pertronix is made in China or anywhere else specifically, just talking in more general terms. Kinda like craftsman tools...
But I digress. There are numerous advantages to using the duraspark over the pertronix besides just reliability concerns. Im sure you could probably get a pertronix to work fine - but why? You already have the duraspark and it is a better overall design. The pertronix would be a downgrade.
EDIT: FWIW, I can't find anywhere on the pertronix site where it claims "made in the USA", which to me suggests that it probably is made in china.
So, Pertronix circa 1985 != Pertronix circa 2008
Remember a part that was made in the USA by skilled people who actually cared about the quality of their work in 1985 is now probably made in china by an 11 year old kid.
So just because the one you bought in 1985 (or 1995, for that matter) worked out great for you, doesn't mean the one you buy today will. Same brand, but totally different quality.
Disclaimer: I don't know if pertronix is made in China or anywhere else specifically, just talking in more general terms. Kinda like craftsman tools...
But I digress. There are numerous advantages to using the duraspark over the pertronix besides just reliability concerns. Im sure you could probably get a pertronix to work fine - but why? You already have the duraspark and it is a better overall design. The pertronix would be a downgrade.
EDIT: FWIW, I can't find anywhere on the pertronix site where it claims "made in the USA", which to me suggests that it probably is made in china.
So, Pertronix circa 1985 != Pertronix circa 2008
There isn't a whole lot inside a Pertronix I that can fail. Just a Hall sensor and a switching transistor. Unless you overload it or overheat it there aren't many failure modes (not counting untaping the magnets out of curiosity, of course 
) Most P-I failures probably happen when too much current is drawn thru the switch because someone added a low-impedence coil.
But I agree, there's no reason to not use a DII if you have one. The whole reason it was invented was reliability so that Ford could meet a 50000 mile emission standard.
) Most P-I failures probably happen when too much current is drawn thru the switch because someone added a low-impedence coil.But I agree, there's no reason to not use a DII if you have one. The whole reason it was invented was reliability so that Ford could meet a 50000 mile emission standard.
I noticed that alot of folks had trouble with the pertronix going bad,i suppose 1 or 2 could be caused from improper installation,But from the number of posts about the units going bad,there's more to it than that.what does pertronix say? they cant really ignore the complaints or say 'improper install' to all of them
I suspect it can't cope with the range of voltage outputs from older, less well-regulated charging systems.
From memory someone put a dead one on their scope, and it showed characteristics of a blown transistor.
The biggest argument against slapping in a Ptx (as I see it) is that any points Ford distributor is heading for 35+ years old. That's a whole lot of wear and tolerance loss to overcome...
From memory someone put a dead one on their scope, and it showed characteristics of a blown transistor.
The biggest argument against slapping in a Ptx (as I see it) is that any points Ford distributor is heading for 35+ years old. That's a whole lot of wear and tolerance loss to overcome...
addo":33e4z72c said:
Also, the quality of transistor used could have a lot to do with it. There are plenty of transistors out there that are extremely sensitive to temperature, voltage spikes, etc.
It is entirely possible that a change in transistor supplier at some point in the past has led to reduced reliability in the field. Electronics reliability testing can be very difficult as there are essentially infinite corner cases that need to be evaluated. The OEM's have the advantage of an extremely large test population (every ford car sold for 10 years) that they can use to demonstrate the reliability of their product in the field. An aftermarket company just cannot sell enough units to a diverse enough customer base (and then accurately process the feedback) to generate the test results and confidence that an OEM can.
So, basically - if there was a fundamental reliability problem w/ the duraspark, ford would have heard about it (bitching customers) and either fixed it or junked the entire design. The fact that they retained it for so many years suggests that it was extremely successful across their diverse customer base - something that a company like Pertronix will never be able to demonstrate due to sheer lack of volume.
So an aftermarket company like Pertronix is much more likely to have those 1 in 100 or 1 in 1000 design flaws sneak through their QC.
well,i was forewarned! i put the 78 200 in the wagon this past weekend swapped dizzys,put the pertronix ignitor in,it ran good for several hours then it started sputtering and hoggin up like it wasnt getting spark or like one time my 289 was doing the same thing and was a cracked distributor cap,But it was the pertronix.I cant take the unit back as i bought it 3yrs ago.So today i put the duraspark back in it and tommorow i will get it wired in and be done with it
You are one lucky guy. I used to carry a set of points for insurance with the Pertronix. You had a DS II! 
Best of luck! 
Best of luck! this is the first pertronix i've ever had trouble with,i still have 3 others but they are for v-8s,i like the set up,just carry points with you.I checked and re-checked to be sure i had it wired right it was,i looked for bad grounds loose wires,low juice in the battery everything checked out.That really makes me mad! I'm still going to carry spare stuff for the duraspark however.I got it running today no troubles fiddled with the advance just a bit and it runs very nice,I didnt have to mess around with the carb either1
The P-I can't handle a lot of current. If you use the 78 DII coil without a resistor, it will overload the pertronix and it will fail just as you described.
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