66' points to Electronic ignition help

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seabee

seabee

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Hi all. Sorry to be redundant since there are several threads on the electronic ignition upgrade, but all the ones i have read have been about post-70 vehicles, or have ended up in a several offshoots as to what ignition is better etc.. I get confused easily.

I guess to simplify: If I replace my 1966 points system with the Mopar E ignition, can i keep my alternator and just replace the mechanical voltage regulator?

Is it worth the $100 or so and an afternoon to just upgrade both the voltage reg and alternator to the the newer system or will this run fine for mild street use?

I already have the orange box and e-distributor installed so it's not a question of which ign system is better etc.

I appreciate any input in advance :)
 
I have dun this with out changing the alternator with no prblems.:happy10:
It only took about 30 minutes and well worth my time and $.
 

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i converted my wifes 66 to hei using the gm 4 pin and stock mopar dizzy,left the stock alt. and voltage regulator.
 
I too have done several conversions and left the stock alternator. The electronic ignitions like a nice constant voltage supply so it's probably better to upgrade the alternator to higher output, especially if you have added other electrical items to the system. I have upgraded my Barracudas but my 64 Valiant retains the stock alternator and it works fine.
 
I left the alt and regulator on mine and drive it daily but at night the regulator sometimes does funny things so I spent 25 bucks and put a original style solid state on no problems now.
 
thanks for the replies.

That's good to know, since I just recently replaced my alternator a few months ago with a slightly higher output one.

Any recommendations on a voltage regulator? I have the big black box right now.
 
I have used a VR706 or 1V1067 which are the electronic style upgrade for the old system. I sometimes pop the caps off the old and new and swap them. That way it look like original regulator and still has the electronic componenets.
 
You needn't change the alternator. The best electronic regulator for the pre-'69 system is the NAPA Echlin VR-1001 or Standard/BlueStreak VR-128. For the electronic conversion itself, I like the HEI upgrade .
 
Well seabee, I too upgraded my ignition on the 66 with the MP conversion, but for the first couple years ran my old single field alternator and breaker style voltage regulator with no problems. Well, almost no problem. The car always seemed to lack a little something electrically, being as it was only getting 36 amps from the single field alt, so I decided to go all out and change to the Mopar dual field alternator and newer style voltage regulator. Now I have 60 amps of firepower for the coil, a smooth voltage swing from the regulator, and it runs so much better than it did with the old setup. I used all OE parts, a new wiring harness made to my application from Bill Evans with the new regulator plug and distributor plug wired right in, as well as the second field wire, and I couldn't be happier. I would advise the swap to the newer alternator at some point, and I highly recommend Bill Evans wiring harnesses, they are perfect reproductions, and he will add or delete anything you request to match your application!!! Good luck with the project, Geof
 
thanks everyone for the input!

I finished wiring everything up. Install was pretty straight forward and easy. Car won't start yet so i am troubleshooting the problem. I think the timing is completely off even though i marked the rotor position before swapping the distributors. Got a couple of backfires so at least i know spark is happening.
 
I replaced the previous alternator with a 45amp. Didn't want to go much higher until i replace all of the old wiring.

So i'm manually turning the crank to get TBC and notice the distributor rotor isn't turning as well. WTF?

edit: and fixed, o-ring was too fat to fit inside the intake.
 
cosgig said:
And exactly where would that spark be coming from with an original 36 amp alternator???
Click to expand...


Easy....replace the alt. also. If you want it to act like a new car with electronic ignition you have to replace the old technology.
 
I have run many late 60's cars with just the Mopar conversion kit and kept the stock voltage regulator. This will work fine.

Be sure to use the ballast resistor in the MP conversion kit.

If you feel that you need to upgrade the voltage regulator, try the Standard Ignition either VR-109 or VR-106. It can handle up to a 60 amp alternator where the stock one is rated up to 42 amps. I can't remember which number it is exactly, I can find out if it is important I want to say VR-109. No need to convert to the 70's style electronic votage regulator, then you need to upgrade to the dual field alt.

I have driven vehicles over 300k without upgrading the voltage regulator with the electronic conversion package. I even had some cars set up with both regulators, so I can just change the wires over and switch from one regulator to the other. The stock 60's voltage regulator will work fine with the electronic conversion package.
 
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