Best Electronic Ignition Setup for a 273

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Bossanova5

Bossanova5

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Hello all,
Doing a slant six to 273 conversion. The 273 I picked up has points. Would like to convert it to electronic ignition.
Would like to use a factory Mopar setup from perhaps a newer 318?
Does anyone know if a 318 electronic ignition and distributor will work on a 273?
If not, what are my other options?
Thanks in advance.
 
be wary of the cheap repop and offshore junk available on summit and ebay. the yards are littered with them, but don't get a lean burn unit.

a wanted ad here would probably turn one up. or @halifaxhops our resident distributor master would be a great resource.
 
Bossanova5 said:
Hello all,
Doing a slant six to 273 conversion. The 273 I picked up has points. Would like to convert it to electronic ignition.
Would like to use a factory Mopar setup from perhaps a newer 318?
Does anyone know if a 318 electronic ignition and distributor will work on a 273?
If not, what are my other options?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

As said above…. All small blocks can swap distributors. The factory stuff is where it’s at. Purchase new stuff, don’t bother raising older used equipment. Go to Manciniracing.com or Summitracing.com

The “Orange box ignition kit” is a simple 4 wire installation. 1 wire to a constant 12v source, 1 wire to the coil, the other two wires with the connector end to the distributor.

Start at 15* initial timing.
 
You should decide on the type of intake you want to run: 2 brl, 4 brl, or fuel injection and if you want to change the cam. The distributor may depend on that and what type of an advance curve you may want. I believe that @halifaxhops can set up a used distributor and give you the advance curve you want. Talk to a tuner to help you decide too.
 
Bossanova5 said:
Hello all,
Doing a slant six to 273 conversion. The 273 I picked up has points. Would like to convert it to electronic ignition.
Would like to use a factory Mopar setup from perhaps a newer 318?
Does anyone know if a 318 electronic ignition and distributor will work on a 273?
If not, what are my other options?
Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...
I don't know about 273s, but I can tell you that I put a complete MSD system in my 69 340 (mechanical advance distributor, coil, plug wires and ignition box). It was a huge improvement. The car starts, idles and runs better than before the swap. It was an excellent investment.
 
Stock distributor simply converted to a Pertronix. No modules to go bad.
 
Richard Sweet said:
I believe that @halifaxhops can set up a used distributor and give you the advance curve you want
Click to expand...
@halifaxhops - Ray will set you up! Tell him the specs on your 273 and what you plan to do with the car and he'll figure the right curve for you. He's in PA but ships all over the place (I'm in WA state!).
 
Tons of ways to make this work. Mopar, Points (nothing wrong with them) Petronixs (need a points dist) Mopar elect, older the better the new orange boxes are junk and the kits are made overseas "authorised" Mopar. Biggest thing is having a proper curve for your motor. Just say you get a RA one it has a curve set up kingd of in the middle of a ten year streach. Yes it will run but probably not well. Run from lean burn and aftermarket one wire cheapos.
 
Any 340 or Mopar Performance electronic distributor and electronic system will work well. New cap, rotor, Taylor Spiro Pro wires , platinum plugs. I'll second having halifaxhops setting up any electronic distributor to high performance specs.
 
Looks like you already have a distributor. Get a Pertronix kit and convert it would be the easiest and probably cheapest way to go. If you want to have the '72-up factory electronic, you'll need a distributor, ballast resistor, module, wiring, etc. I think you'd be better off with the Pertronix unit, especially if you like it to look stock.
 
2 bbl or 4 bbl 273?
For best economy and performance you want a distributor with the best timing curve for the specific engine. Changing from points at the cost of changing timing curve to one that is less efficient will hurt performance.
 
here's my gripe about the pertronix, say the thing fails on a dirt road at the *** end of hard luck? what are your options?

with OE EI the failure is *likely* going to be a ballast or ECU which, and if you've read the syllabus, you should be carrying in your glove box. but in the case of throwing caution to the wind when you checked your hidey hole all you found were stems and seeds along with some rolling papers, it's not that dire. any busted down parts store in any podunk town is gonna have an ECU and ballast that can get you back on the road.
 
Just keep a set of points and condenser in your glove box to convert back if that happens.
 
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