Pertronix I vs. Pertronix II

[Anonymous]

Hey all,
When I first bought my 68 Mustang, the engine was misfiring badly. We looked at the distributor and found brass shavings in it. Most likely, a bushing wore out and the distro just wasn't doing it's job. I was thinking of buying a Pertronix ignitor kit, but decided I should first get the whole dizzy unit to make sure everything was ok before I made the purchase. It's running fine now, and I'm about to buy an Ignitor kit. What is the main difference between the Ignitor 1 and 2? The 2 says it just has a computer chip that adjusts something over the RPM range? Also, I'd have to buy the 45,000 volt coil right? I'm a newbie, so what exactly does the coil do...

Also, the NPD catalog has two, one for hollow shaft dist, and one for sold shaft dist, how can you tell easily what you have?

Thanks!

 

[CobraSix]

Erik,

The I2 adjusts dwell over the RPM range. Personally, I don't how important this is. Doubtful you'd notice the difference for every day normal RPM driving.

I don't think the coil is required, but I would recommend it. It will give the engine a slight improvement in performance and allow you to open up the spark plug gap. That will increase power and mileage.

The coil is what builds up the charge for your spark plugs. It is basically a large capacitor and releases the energy to the plugs when triggered.

Hope that helps.

Slade

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks. I think I'm just going to go with the Ignitor 1 then. I heard something about the Ignitor 2 being immune to shorting out or something? It was on a previous post and I can't find it now....

 

[BIGREDRASA]

Ignitor 2 won't burn out if you leave the key on with the engine not running.

 

[CobraSix]

That's right. But I never had a problem with I1 either. I used to leave it on when working on the car. Just can't leave it on for hours on end. That's one of the reasons I went DS2, so I wouldn't have to worry about it. Big red is right about that though.

SLade

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the replies! As far as a carb choice, if I wanted to go with an Aussie 2V head later, would the I1 work? Or would I have to go DS2? The DS2 seems more complicated, and harder to put in...

 

[63redtudor]

I haven't used the I1 or I2, but I have done the DS2 swap. Its actually quite simple, just make sure that you have ALL of the componants. Only took me an anfternoon. The nice thing about DS2 is that its a stock system & replacement parts can be found off the shelf just about anywere. Look around on this site & there's a couple of guys who have posted very nice directions on how to do the conversion. Basically though, you'll need the distributor, coil & module. If you're getting all of this out of a wrecking yard, grab as much of the other wiring as you can as well. I grabbed everything I needed for my '65 falcon off of a '79 mustang. The nice thing now is that both my '65 (200) & truck (300) now use the same system & module. In an emergency I can yank parts as needed & swap between vehicles (I hope that I never have to do this though). Now all I need to do is figure out a way to shoehorn the same system into my '63 & I'll be set. Speaking of which, wasn't there a version of DS1 or 2 that had a small-earlier looking distributor? Take care,
Edwin

 

[CobraSix]

ERik,

THe ignitor system will work with teh AUssie head. I was worried about the DS2 being complicated, and it is actually quite simple. I made is harder because I wired up a MSD ignition box at the same time. TOok me about an hour to put it all together. Nice thing about DS2 is the ability to runn larger wires.

As far as which is better, is 6 one way, half a dozen the others. I've had both. No real performance difference between the two. I like DS2 more because of the over the counter availability of parts.

Slade

 

[Anonymous]

so far I am just running stock spark plugs in my car, but have a flamwthrower I 40000 volt coil. What would be recommended for best results for just the coil right now and also if I put and ignitor II in my car??

 

[CobraSix]

Becareful running a hotter coil with points. it can fry the points real fast from what I've been told. With the hotter coil, you may be able to open up the gap by .005. WIth the ignitor and hotter coil, I opened up the plug gap to .045". WIth the MSD I opened up gaps to .053. I may open up the next set up plugs to .055" when I swap heads.

Slade