I decided to put in a Pertronix distributor but have a GM HEI set up in the wings. I hooked it all up today using a Holley carb as a substitute for the Thermoquad that is out for a rebuild. Everything worked, I was able to fire up the engine and adjust timing etc. I tweeked the Holley as best I could, it went through a rebuild several months ago and is okay, but I think the TQ will do a better job. We'll see. I set initial timing at 10 degrees BTD without the vacuum advance. The engine will start right up on the first turn of the key.
Here some pictures:
This is the battery source of power for the Pertronix or GM HEI ignition system. It goes to a relay and there is a 15 amp inline fuse between the source and the relay. It's in that little black weather proof holder that is suspended from that body support bar. The red wire is battery current that attaches to the red lead coming out of the relay.
These are the connectors from the ballast resistor (no longer in the car the relay sits in it's place) with a jumper between them.
Coil wiring. Very simple. 12 volts coming from the relay (yellow lead) to the Positive side of the coil (+) along with the red wire from the distributor. The black wire is also from the distributor and it connects to the Negative side of the coil. That's it.
Note about the Pertronix distributor. Although it is advertised to fit in tight places, it does - kinda, I was able to drop it in. However it was right up against the upper corner of the cylinder head and made adjusting timing almost impossible. I saw this when I first fit it in. I removed and had to grind the corner of the head just a tad. This was pretty much trial and error fitting using a feeler gauge to find the high spots to remove. It took about a half hour so so to get it just right. I was using a 3/8 inch chuck electric grill and grinding stone that kept falling out of that cheapo B&D drill chuck. It would have gone much faster if it wasn't for that.
The original coil has a condenser attached to he coil bracket which I think is to suppress radio interference, (right)? I found it wasn't necessary. Correct me if I am wrong. As you see in the picture, it is just sitting on the intake manifold. That is not a satisfactory condition. I was able to bend one end of the OEM bracket and bolt that to the tapped hole in the manifold. Now it sits upright inside of laying on it's side. I think this will allow it to stay cooler. BTW, I used Pertronix Flame Thrower coil which they recommend.
About the relay. I used a similar set up in my 1972 Lincoln Mk IV with a Pertronix module. I bought two of these relays (Hella) on eBay for about $39 with S&H. They are weather proofed and have 5 leads. The seller, for a little more money, will add longer leads for you if you request that. I think he wanted 25 cents per foot IIRC. The relay has a red (for battery power) white is the ground, black is for switched power to trigger the relay and blue and yellow for the device you wish to power. In this case it's the coil/Pertronix distributor. However, it can be used for additional lights etc. The blue is for 20 amps, the yellow for 40 amps. I taped off the blue and ran the yellow to the positive side of the coil.
This is a pic of the coil and bracket set up. I bent the bottom part of the bracket so that it would set up rather than lay the coil on it's side. I think this is a better arrangement.
