<VV> Electronic ignition choices

[sethracer at aol.com]

In a message dated 1/21/2010 6:28:02 P.M. Pacific Standard Time,  
cmckinley313 at cox.net writes:

I'm  considering replacing the stock points & condenser ignition on my   
'63 Monza with one of the three electronic systems offered by  Clark's,  
and I'd appreciate some comments about your experience with  any of them.

1. Crane light-diode system, appears to be more  complicated and a bit  
more expensive than the others;
2. Ignitor  magnetic system, cheapest and simplest of the three;
3. Ignitor II magnetic  system, pretty simple but almost same price as  
Crane.

The  magnetic principle has a lot of appeal from a reliability   
standpoint. Does that actually work out in practice?

Thanks in  advance,
Chuck McKinley



Chuck -
Most of the car manufacturers went to magnetic pulse triggers within the  
distributor when they left points behind. They used the triggering pulse to 
tell  a transistor to switch the voltage to the coil. Magnetic pulse 
technology is  pretty bulletproof, but difficult - not impossible - to put inside 
the  rather smallish Corvair distributor and cap. That is one reason that GM 
went to  a larger cap with the HEI - as well as the better cross-fire 
protection of the  physically larger cap.  The Ignitors (I or II) aren't  really 
Magnetic "pulse" systems. They do use rotating magnets but they  use the 
passing magnets to trigger a Hall-effect circuit inside the little  module, not 
an induced pulse pickup, as in the factory units. I recently  installed an 
Ignitor II and the matching Flamethrower coil on a street Monza and  it runs 
fine. It also looks "almost" stock. I also installed a new cap and a  wireset 
- it really needed it! 
 
 
Seth  Emerson

C's the Day! - Corvair, Camaro,  Corvette