Pertonix won't fit!

[CoronetDarter]

I've had the Coronet for a week and the first thing I wanted to do was change out the points dist to an EI. I picked up the pertronix inginitor III and coil, along with a solid state VR. I went to install the dist today and it doesn't fit! The outside shoulder of the dist just contacts the head, preventing it from dropping the last 1/8".

The engine is a stock mid-70's 440 with stock cast iron heads. The dist is hanging up on the casting ridge and a little bit of the corner of the head. So - is it OK to grind down the ridge? And how much meat is there on the corner if I have to go deeper?

 

[jag_mopar]

Please send a picture, is this the distributor that you took out to install the ignitor III? or is the distributor from pertonix?

 

[CoronetDarter]

Please send a picture, is this the distributor that you took out to install the ignitor III? or is the distributor from pertonix?

Here's a picture of the Pertronix dist and a close up of the area where it's contacting the head at the casting ridge.

 

[am3rican]

Mopar Muscle Magazine has an article about a Pertronix dist install that I read through during a research binge I performed. Here is the link. I'm not sure if it'll help you a whole lot but it has lots of photos and Pertronix contact info.

http://www.moparmusclemagazine.com/...opp_0111_installing_pertronix_ignition_parts/

 

[am3rican]

From what I've read you should not have to do any grinding to make it fit. You said you had a mid 70s 440. What is the date code on it? It is to the right of your distributor on a smooth metal plate. I'm sure you've seen it.

Im wondering if you may have the right EI.

 

[coloradodave]

What is the stock # on the distributor? You shouldn't have to make any modifications with stock iron heads.

 

[CoronetDarter]

From what I've read you should not have to do any grinding to make it fit. You said you had a mid 70s 440. What is the date code on it? It is to the right of your distributor on a smooth metal plate. I'm sure you've seen it.

Im wondering if you may have the right EI.

The stamp is 7 16 2. The Pertronix and Summit Racing sites don't list particular years for the dist - just engine size.

- - - Updated - - -

What is the stock # on the distributor? You shouldn't have to make any modifications with stock iron heads.

The stock # is 7143700, which corresponds to the 440 engine. And I agree, I've researched other Pertronix threads on this site and they don't mention fitment issues. I'm thinking if I take my dremel and knock down the casting ridge it should clear.

 

[SwedCharger67]

I have the Pertronix III billet distributor for the B-block, and I had to grind on the iron head to make it fit.
A bit more grinding needed on the Stealth head to make it fit there.

All my grinding was in non-critical areas so it was a no worries thing.

 

[coloradodave]

Kind of strange that they made the O.D. so large that it is that close. The Mallory is much smaller and fits with room to spare. If you're OK with grinding on the head, go for it...
I'll have to watch for your car. Lincoln isn't that big...lol

 

[CoronetDarter]

That's good to know Swede. And I was eventually going to an aluminum head - probably Stealth. I'd be a lot more anxious grinding on a $1,000 alum head!

 

[CoronetDarter]

A little grinding and now it fits. Just have to paint her up.

- - - Updated - - -

Kind of strange that they made the O.D. so large that it is that close. The Mallory is much smaller and fits with room to spare. If you're OK with grinding on the head, go for it...
I'll have to watch for your car. Lincoln isn't that big...lol

I checked out your photo gallery - what an awesome car! And you'll see the Coronet around, and the Dart is a regular around town too. For the last two years we've been regulars at the 2nd Friday cruise night in Auburn. We live near the corner of McCourtney and Virginiatown Rd. Sometime we should take the cars and meet somewhere for some beer and chow.

 

[am3rican]

Glad it worked out for you.

 

[cr8crshr]

I had to do the exact same thing on my build originally to the stock heads. Just a slight pass or two and then some touch up paint and no one could tell the difference as it was actually hidden by the Pertronix. I wouldn't sweat doing it with Aluminum heads either as there is plenty of room and you won't be able to see it also.I did eventually wind up going to an all MOPAR electronic set up though so I never had the chance to see how it would run. One thing Pertronix suggests though is to by-pass the Ballast Resistor as it is not required when using the Pertronix set up. I just took an old one and removed the internal resistor and re-wired it with the same gauge wire as everything else and then plugged the 2 wires in so it looked like it was factory correct. If yoy this then make sure to carry a spare with you...cr8crshr/Tuck

 

[CoronetDarter]

Last update - Pertronix is in. Plug 'n Play is a little deceiving. Besides having to grind a little on the head, the flamethrower coil is a little larger OD than the stock coil so the hold down bracket needs tweaking as well. But the engine fires right up. Beforehand I had noticed a very slight, almost imperceptible surge at part-throttle at 55 - 60 mph. The surge is gone. It might be all psychological but the car seems to idle and run better.
To by-pass the ballast, I just ran a 3"-4" 16 ga wire across with male spade connectors. The picture was taken before I hid the wires and removed the ballast. And if I ever need the ballast again I can just unplug. I penciled in the by-pass in the FCM wiring diagram and highlighted in yellow so a week from now I can look back a remember what I did! Saturday was a great start to the weekend, and then Sunday hit. Today sucked - I started another thread in the 66-70 Mopars forum.

 

[Dooner]

I don't know if you should bypass the ballast. My directions showed to bypass it, but then read another set of directions, and heard from another guy not to bypass it. Just make sure before you use it too much. I took mine off, and when I have time, I will put the points back in to see if my engine will run again. I think I burned out the pertronix by bypassing. Will let you know when I can.

Look here:
http://www.pertronix.com/support/manuals/pdf/ignitor12vneg.pdf

 

[SwedCharger67]

As far as I know, the Pertronix Ignitor is currently produced in the 3:rd generation, the Ignitor III.

The guide you refer to above seems to be the Ignitor I, and this one needs the ballast resistor, it works exactly as the old points, no current limiting exists (except for the ballast resistor).
With this old Pertronix system, a condition like "ignition on" + "engine not running" may produce a big, continous current thru the coil, exactly as the old points system with the points closed and ignition on.

The Pertronix Ignitor III (and I believe also the II) has electronic current limiting built in, which limits the current in the coil to a safe level in the conditions described above. No ballast resistor should be used with these systems, that would significantly decrease the energy to the spark plugs.

If you left the ignition on for some moments using the Ignitor I w/o a ballast resistor, unfortunately it's quite possible something has gone up in smoke.

 

[ArtH]

As far as I know, the Pertronix Ignitor is currently produced in the 3:rd generation, the Ignitor III.

The guide you refer to above seems to be the Ignitor I, and this one needs the ballast resistor, it works exactly as the old points, no current limiting exists (except for the ballast resistor).
With this old Pertronix system, a condition like "ignition on" + "engine not running" may produce a big, continous current thru the coil, exactly as the old points system with the points closed and ignition on.

The Pertronix Ignitor III (and I believe also the II) has electronic current limiting built in, which limits the current in the coil to a safe level in the conditions described above. No ballast resistor should be used with these systems, that would significantly decrease the energy to the spark plugs.

If you left the ignition on for some moments using the Ignitor I w/o a ballast resistor, unfortunately it's quite possible something has gone up in smoke.

Swede is correct. The old Pertronix modules need 12 volts or at least that's what the instructions stated for my 72 Lincoln with 460 CID engine. I bought just the module and put inside the OEM distributor using the Flame Thrower coil they recommend. I did that about 8 years ago and the car starts up fine every time. I put a Pertronix distributor similar or perhaps the same as the OP has shown in my 77 Cordoba and also had to grind away some of the corner of the right head. No problem there's plenty of material there to work with. Lastly, Pertronix warns you about not leaving the ignition switch on without the engine running for over 30 seconds as it will burn out the module. This applies only to the earlier Pertronix I modules. The later units can shut themselves down when needed in this condition or so I'm told.

 

[Dooner]

Swede is correct. The old Pertronix modules need 12 volts or at least that's what the instructions stated for my 72 Lincoln with 460 CID engine. I bought just the module and put inside the OEM distributor using the Flame Thrower coil they recommend. I did that about 8 years ago and the car starts up fine every time. I put a Pertronix distributor similar or perhaps the same as the OP has shown in my 77 Cordoba and also had to grind away some of the corner of the right head. No problem there's plenty of material there to work with. Lastly, Pertronix warns you about not leaving the ignition switch on without the engine running for over 30 seconds as it will burn out the module. This applies only to the earlier Pertronix I modules. The later units can shut themselves down when needed in this condition or so I'm told.

OK. That's cool. I have the Pertronix III module that I put in the distributor. I installed it bypassing the ballast, and gave my engine a good tune up (all new ignition everything). Left the house and she was running so sweet and smooth. Got ten miles down the highway at 60 mph, and POW out of the exhaust and she hasn't run since.
After reading a few forum post and pm-ing a gentleman, I figured that I screwed up by bypassing the ballast and burned it up. I'm going to try and work on it again soon.
I know one thing, I took the Pertronix out and will be getting rid of it.

Thanks for the info.

Harold

 

[ArtH]

OK. That's cool. I have the Pertronix III module that I put in the distributor. I installed it bypassing the ballast, and gave my engine a good tune up (all new ignition everything). Left the house and she was running so sweet and smooth. Got ten miles down the highway at 60 mph, and POW out of the exhaust and she hasn't run since.
After reading a few forum post and pm-ing a gentleman, I figured that I screwed up by bypassing the ballast and burned it up. I'm going to try and work on it again soon.
I know one thing, I took the Pertronix out and will be getting rid of it.

Thanks for the info.

Harold

Did you change the coil? When I converted my car, I used both the module and the recommended flame thrower coil. Pertronix wants battery voltage to the module however, if your existing coil had a ballast resistor, which yours probably did, you leave that in place. Are you sure you didn't burn out the coil? Here's a diagram, which in short shows a resistor in line with the coil but the module gets full battery voltage. I believe Pertronix III has a rev limiter built in which you can program, they have a video to show how to do that. http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/ignitor3/default.aspx

 

[Dooner]

My bad! Sorry guys. I got the Ignitor II. And I used a new stock coil. I'm just going to stick with what I know and trust. I've used the Mallory Unilite a few times and never had a problem. I love them.

Still hadn't had time to work on my car yet. Hopefully this next week.