Dino ignition

I need to replace the (Bosch) ignition in my 246. I hear that the MSD6 is good, but the mechanic is recommending a Crane system. He has used these on other cars (never a Dino) and swears by them. Any input on the Crane is appreciated.

 

Pete - I use Crane optical pickup in my Dino, with Crane amplifier (as part of the optical pickup system), but feed it into an MSD. Crane is fine. I had the MSD before switching to optical, hence I did not purchase the Crane capacitive discharge system. I understand that Crane makes a fine product.

Jim S.

 

Thanks Jim. pd

 

Superformance has a nice replacement. Looks like a dinoplex, but modern guts.

I have one in my car, runs great! Been in the car for three years, no problems.

 

Good to know, since mine quit yesterday coming back from the FCA event. At least I assume that what it was. One moment, the car was purring along in the fast lane of I-26 north of Columbia (130 miles from home). The next moment, it just died and I was lucky to be able to coast to the right-hand shoulder. Fortunately, another FCA member came by with a flat bed truck and bailed me out. Details to follow.

 

http://www.superformance.co.uk/ignitions_a.htm

 

PermaTune works just fine with original points and coil. No complications with tach. Figure that you have to lube the advance mechanism every 10-15,000 miles whether optical or physical contacts. Change the points every 3rd lube. The distributor will be in little pieces and you have already pulled the points to make inspection easier. Just put a new set in and set timing as usual. Use NGK Iridium plugs and you should never have an ignition problem. Optical pickup is just an additional complication. Search through some of my old Dino Sagas. The index outlines the subjects.
John

 

+1 on my Perma-Tune for the last 14 years

 

dinopomodoro,

My MSD-6A failed last year after about 29 years/50,000 miles. It was excellent. I wanted to get serious about "looking original" again so I went with the Superformance Dinoplex look-alike unit and it has been excellent also. About 3 months ago, based on info from this forum, I converted my distributor innards to the Crane-700-0231 optical points replacement system from Summit Racing Equipment at www.SummitRacing.com. $130 total. This system retains the appearance of the original distributor with no hint of modern electronics (it's all hidden). My only comment is, "Why didn't I do this sooner!" Starts better/runs better and I'll not have to mess with points, rotors, condensers and distributor caps again. The biggest disadvantage is that the old Kettering points system rarely would fail completely, rather it would "degrade" with useage. The optical system is electronic so when it goes, it probably will go completely. So, for $130, carry a spare if that makes one feel better.

Try it, You'll like it.

Bill

 

T. Rutlands did my system about 8 years ago. They installed the Perma-Tune electronics in the original Dinoplex box - looks totally original and works very well. Car starts easily, hot or cold, and plugs never foul. The only drawback is one tends to neglect servicing the distributor on a regular basis. As I recall, the cost at Rutlands 8 years ago was about $1200 - OUCH! I've thought about installing the Crane optical points but the old points seem to be maintenance-free with the Perma-Tune - so far!
You might check with Perma-Tune directly. I believe they have an exchange program also for vintage Ferraris; www.perma-tune.com.
Bill

 

Thanks for all the input. I plan to do the ignition in the next few weeks, and will post my thoughts after some miles with the new system. Pete

 

Pete,

Just curious . . . what system have you decided on?

 

I went with the Crane Fireball XR3000 ignition, with optical pick-up. So far so good. The engine is smoother now at low RPM, so it must deal better with the blubbery Webers at the low end. I was at first apprehensive, as the specs on the system noted max revs at 6500, but in fact it revs freely to 7500 as with the old Bosch system (with points). I don't expect to push it beyond that level. Thanks all for your input. Pete

 

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I just found this old post, and thought an update is in order. It’s been 10 years since installing the Crane system. It still works great.


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