308 points conversion

I recently installed the Petronix Ignitor II 9MR-181A in my single distributor car along with the Flamethrower Coils. Also installed new NGK iridium BPR7EIX plugs. After installation had backfiring. Turned out to be ignition wires. Replaced Cavis wires that were probably 10 years old but looked almost new with Magnecor 8.5mm kit. Car now runs great.

 

Looks like this is not an easy installation .... I thought it was just install and set timing, but no 😞. I have bought the parts if anyway can share the steps how to set up the Petronix Ignitor II will be much appreciated ...


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The pickups should be mounted to the plate right where they need to be. Once they are installed you still need to make sure both distributors are indexed right when reinstalling. The forward one needs to be set to #5 cylinder TDC and the rear obviously to #1 TDC.

Did the mechanic check the advance mechanisms in both distributors?

 

Search "pertronix" and there's one in there somewhere.

If you don't want to DIY, return the parts and have Don King do it for you. Not only will he install the unit, he will rebuild your old dizzy so the advance works correctly.

Elite Auto
141 1/2 Arena Street
El Segundo, CA 90245
310-606-5695

 

I'm surprised that all the talk here is about Pertronix.

BSM no longer makes their kit. I e-mailed them multiple times, and finally got a reply.

Nicks Forza sells a kit on E-bay, where you install an optical trigger wheel and pick up off the main crank. This is the kit I will probably install when I convert my car to electronic ignition next year.

Ferrari 308 Mondial 328 Direct Coil Ignition System | eBay

 

Why? Plenty of folks here have done it with great success and only for a system that will be better than new.

$1,650 is a bit steep for an ignition system.

 

On top of this , with pertronix kit it keeps the original look ..


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Thanks for the info , I am not sure I will check with him again and get him set the TDC according to your msg. Forwards one need to set to #5 cylinder TDC and rear to #1TDC . Thanks


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Thanks Sean , I have search the forum again. all the info I get was the rear distributor act as slave to distribute the spark only. Now I have new info on the setting of TDC , I will try that.

I will keep the Don option open for now , due to I am not in USA and to ship my two distributors round trip my already cost me a lot




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He only rebuilds one as the new igniters fire off the single dizzy. The second dizzy OS only distributing spark and it's advance is bypassed.

 

There are some caveats with Ignitor setups. The 308 Ignitors i had on the test rig had a variance of up to 5º-6º between cylinders due to the magnetic sleeve design. 1º-2º are somewhat ok (this is similar to a points setup) but 5º-6º is not. You might want to check your Ignitor converted distributor on a distributor testing machine before installing it back on the engine.

Ignitor I based ignitions have a very simple electric circuit and don't support dwell control (dwell is based on the distance of the magnets to the Ignitor pickup), also they also don't switch off if the magnetic is in the on position, which can overload and damage the Ignitor I and the coil if the ignition is switched on with the car being stationary.
Ignitor II do have overload protection and dwell control according to Pertronix.

P.s. here is my approach using Lumenition and Bosch parts for converting a double distributor setup to a single advance curve, or converting points based S159 and S127 points setups to a high performance electronic ignition:
http://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/308-328/453748-bosch-ignition-s159-double-distributor-setups.html

 

I know the second dizzy is just the spark distributor for the slave bank, but is there a method for setting up the position after the master dizzy is dialed in correctly? I just eyeballed it and the car seems to run fine, but how do you know where to lock it down? I have always been kind of confused on if the advance is bypassed, how much slop can the rotor and cap withstand on the slave dizzy? Thanks in advance for any advice on this

 

She is in Singapore.......

 

Don used to have an old cap with a hole in it so you could get the rotor exactly in the right place.

I can't recall exactly how it is set up so you may have to do things twice to be sure.

1. The PM 1_4 mark on the flywheel corresponds to the small mark on the distributor (there is a red mark/dimple on the distributor). Set the rotor pointing to this point when the flywheel is at PM 1_4.

2. I'm pretty sure that you have to turn your engine to the 5_8 TDC mark on the flywheel and set your rotor for cylinders 5-8 to fire at the mark on the that distributor.**

3. If the car starts and runs smooth, you've got it close. Got to step 6.

4. If it does not run smooth, not, roll the #1-4 dizzy until it smooths out.

5. If it still runs rough, turn off the car and move the rotor one spline (may have to try both directions) Go back to #3.

6. Once you have it running smooth, set the timing on PM 1_4 at the -7° mark with your timing light and the mark on the flywheel. (Birdman Ferrari has a tutorial on this - note that the picture is for an '81 car, they early carb cars were 7° not 6°).

7. Once you have #1_4 set, put the timing light pick up on #5 and check that the timing at idle matches up with the PM 5_8 -7° mark on the flywheel.

8. If the TDC 5_8 does not match, roll the #5_8 dizzy until it matches. If it is really off, you may have to stop the car and move the dizzy a spline.

9. Go back to #1 with the timing light, and check the advance with the timing light matches the marks on the flywheel.

I suggest painting red/white/yellow on the flywheel to make it easier to pick up the marks. They are very hard to see.

AS LONG AS THE ADVANCE on #1_4 cylinder hits the marks, the #5_8 cylinders will be the same b/c the dizzy with the Pertronix controls all firing on all cylinders.

Again, you may have to do things twice to make sure everything lines up

** For some reason I recall that I had to set them both at the red mark when the flywheel was at PM 1_4 but that does not make any sense at all...just be aware my old memory might actually be correct here.
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Yes, Don King did all this when I sent him my Dizzy. He rebuilt the dizzy and make sure the weights/advance all worked correctly before he sent it back to me.

 

Thanks Sean, your response was perfect. I am amazed I have a running car with only doing step 6. I must have gotten lucky.

 

Sean, one more question. Does it matter if my master is on 5-8 and slave is 1-4? Do I follow the same procedure or do I do 5-8 first? Thanks

 

If your master is 5_8 then I would start on that side first since it will control everything.

Also, even though you got it running only doing to step 6, I would still check the other side and also the advance on the control dizzy.

 

Well I suppose theoretically at least if you never pulled the distributors off the car then you should be able to plug the pertornix in and it would be close enough to at least run.

 

Ufortunately this is not something you can rectify with the advance setup, it is the different distance between the magnets in the Pertronix sleeve which lead to a variance in each individual cylinder advance. This is why i changed to a Lumenition optical pickup as the chopper wheel has a much better precision.

 

no, he rebuild the dizzy, then he installed the pertonrix and check it all to make sure everything, including the advance curve, worked correctly. The advanced worked per OEM specs when it was delivered to my door with the pertronix units installed.

No, I cannot change the advance like you can with an electronic system and optical pick up, but I don't feel it's necessary to mess with that on my car so I'm not worried about it.

 

Sean, I am thinking of doing this next weekend and upon further review, I have confused myself. In your example, assume the 1_4 is the master and 5_8 is the slave. I am good with your process until step 8. If the firing command comes from 1_4 how does rolling the 5_8 distributor change anything? I must be missing something basic here.

Thanks a ton, Paul

 

You still have the rotor in there that has to point the right wire. Doesn't have to be perfect but not TOO far away.

 

what he said. You can't have the rotor pointing 90° out...you'll never get fire on the slave side....or you will on the wrong cylinder.

 

OK, Thanks guys. It is kind of what I thought that rotating the slave has no effect on the timing unless you are so far off the rotor is in the wrong position. I wonder if there is a more accurate way to set it up or if just eyeballing it is just fine.