Points to electronic ignition for a 318

-

joshb1983

Well-Known Member
Joined
Jul 29, 2012
Messages
52
Reaction score
0
Location
kentucky
i have a 1970 belvedere with the stock 318 in it, previous owner added a bigger cam and iv added a new elderbrock 4 bbl intake and carb..the one thing iv been wanting to change is the original points system to a electronic system..iv never done a swap like this before and was looking for some info and advice on the best way to do it..what all do i need to swap out, and what would be the best setup to put on it, or what would be a good vehicle to take all the parts from..any help is appreciated, thanks for reading
 
The most simple would be to put a pentrniox set up in the points distributor you have.

You can pull the stock parts off any small block from about 73 to 80, with the wiring and make it work.

I prefer to do the following, trade the points distibutor in at napa for a stock re-manufactured electronic distributor and do a hei conversion in it, I have 3 old mopars running this way and it costs $100.

There is a complety contained off shore made distributor for like $75 buck, I have not used one, but the quality in some have not been that great.

There is also plenty of MSD, Mallory after market units which are really nice.
 
Yes, the one I bought was already set up, but i believe you just replace the points plate with this unit and then hook it up to the coil. It doesn't even look like you have electronic after the conversion.

I would and I did, if I were you, keep another points dizzy around just in case the pertronix unit fails. Mine never did.
 
You guys type faster than me.

Pentronix will work in your application very well.
 
The most simple would be to put a pentrniox set up in the points distributor you have.

You can pull the stock parts off any small block from about 73 to 80, with the wiring and make it work.

I prefer to do the following, trade the points distibutor in at napa for a stock re-manufactured electronic distributor and do a hei conversion in it, I have 3 old mopars running this way and it costs $100.

There is a complety contained off shore made distributor for like $75 buck, I have not used one, but the quality in some have not been that great.

There is also plenty of MSD, Mallory after market units which are really nice.
thanks, i will look into that..$100 is well worth getting rid of the points..
 
They also sell a complete distributor with their internals in it already. That would be the easiest way to go. If you just buy the internals to install in your points distributor, you may end up having to rebuild the distributor before installing the Pertronix system. It won't work if there is excessive wear.

There is also an HEI conversion. I don't know anything about that though. I'm sure someone will reply about that. I'd stay away from the MP electronic conversions...too much trouble with ECU failures and bad distributor design.
 
or you can go this route

http://www.designed2drive.com/

hei that is.

The advantage to this is hotter spark and all the parts are available at any parts store. which is a disadvantage to the pertronix setup

the disadvantage is you now will have GM parts made in china running your mopar.
 
if i went with the pertronix should i buy a better coil also..mine the stock one..
 
The big ***** I have with ANY aftermarket system, whether MSD, Mallory, Pertronix, "er whut" is WHUT do ya do when it quits? Not it might not ever.......but it might.

This means if you buy Pertronix you'd better buy TWO, so you have a spare.

With the Mopar factory setup, or even a Mopar distributor firing an HEI module, you can at LEAST get these locally.
 
The big ***** I have with ANY aftermarket system, whether MSD, Mallory, Pertronix, "er whut" is WHUT do ya do when it quits? Not it might not ever.......but it might.

This means if you buy Pertronix you'd better buy TWO, so you have a spare.

With the Mopar factory setup, or even a Mopar distributor firing an HEI module, you can at LEAST get these locally.

Actually I just kept an extra points dissy in the trunk, but I never needed it.
 
The big ***** I have with ANY aftermarket system, whether MSD, Mallory, Pertronix, "er whut" is WHUT do ya do when it quits? Not it might not ever.......but it might.

This means if you buy Pertronix you'd better buy TWO, so you have a spare.

With the Mopar factory setup, or even a Mopar distributor firing an HEI module, you can at LEAST get these locally.

I dont know about your area, but the last time I checked a stock mopar ECU was an order item, HEI is so common almost every parts store has one.
 
The big ***** I have with ANY aftermarket system, whether MSD, Mallory, Pertronix, "er whut" is WHUT do ya do when it quits? Not it might not ever.......but it might.

This means if you buy Pertronix you'd better buy TWO, so you have a spare.

With the Mopar factory setup, or even a Mopar distributor firing an HEI module, you can at LEAST get these locally.

Obviously you have never used a Pertronix conversion. If you had, you would know that you can keep your old points and condenser in a little bag in the glove box. If the Pertronix quits, you just refit your points to get you back on the road. That's why I prefer to use them when I can.
It's a very simple bolt in conversion, you won't even need to remove the distributor from the engine unles you want to replace it as well. Buy it, use it. You will be happy with the result. You can also upgrade to a better than OEM coil if you like. It's easier just to get a 12Volt coil and bypass the ballast resistor to a constant 12V system
 
thanks for the help and info everyone, going this way will save me some time and make the car run alot better..
 
When the nukes hit, yall are gonna be SOL while I ride by with my dual point.
 
I have used Pertronix and had no issues. On my Dart it had an MSD distributor and an orange box and that worked well. Then I went to the MSD dizzy and an MSD-6 ignition box. That worked great. Now I just bought an MSD 6AL-2 programmable ignition box that I have yet to put in. I expect to have a lot of fun with that. Basically, there are a lot of ways to go, all of them will work, and some better than others. I would take into account what you have for a motor, what you plan on doing in the future, and what your budget is. If you want to go cheap, Pertronix works very well and is way easy to install.
 
Ugh...Pertronix...Another bubble gum ignition.Plus your going to throw it in a 20,30,40 yr old distributor ? Been there done that.No thanks.

Why not install a Chrysler electronic ignition,that is tried and true ?
Don't believe the BS,sky is falling,jibber,jabber,about this system.
Chrysler designed one of the best electronic ign systems ever.
Either buy a kit,or piece it together.Installs in minutes,looks right,and works very,very,well.In case of a failure,the parts are readily available at any auto parts store.
 
-
Back
Top