Does anyone here have any experience converting from points to an electronic ignition? What is your opinion on comparing the two? How did you do it? Thanks for any help you guys can offer.

 

I forgot to mention this is on a 62 F100 with an inline 6 223.

 

Points and condenser work fine, it's just they definitely need periodic adjustment and/or replacement, and there is an art to it. Would recommend finding NOS points from 50s or 60s if you do decide to use them, the modern stuff is junk.

About the time I would be getting a little fuzzy on the procedure (dwell set then the gap, first, or last??), the truck would need a tuneup again. Back in the day tuneups were a regular thing - plugs, wires, batteries, points, etc. it made a huge difference, modern vehicles don't need carb adjustments or hardly any routine maintenance compared to the old days.

Anyways what clinched the deal was, on Y blocks the distributor is at the back of the engine by the firewall, If the distributor was up front or easy to access I wouldn't have made the switch over to Pertronix necessarily but on Y Blocks ya pretty much hafta be a contortionist.

 

Pertronix!

 

Not familiar with the 223 so if members do not have an answer may want to post question in the appropriate 223 engine forum, possibly issues with electronic ign. and that engine?? Having said that, went to Dura Spark ll on the 65 with the 390 and found there was a significant improvement, no longer a pain in the backside trying to start on a cold winter morning. As dsrtjeeper mentioned the Pertronix possibly the better option, understand matter of installing components in existing distributor and both cost about the same. Suggest run a search under electronic ignition and narrow the search to the appropriate engine forum and see if there are any threads on topic; if not, post the question??

 

In general, the drop in conversions are neither good nor bad. They will mask wear in a distributor which may provide a noticeable difference. If the distributor is rebuilt and functioning properly, I don't think you will notice a thing.

The most significant benefit will be low maintenance. Some cons. If it goes bad in the middle of nowhere, you probably won't get a replacement easily. The notion that you can just swap the points back is not entirely true depending on which conversion and coil you use. If you use a coil that will work with the points, you'll probably be fine, but you're upgrading things for a better spark, right? So why use a points coil and not something that will work better in conjunction with the electronics? And, of course, you can always carry around a spare points coil, just in case, which brings me to another point, if you feel like you need to carry a backup, why have it in the first place?

If you definitely want to notice a difference, convert the distributor to an electronic trigger, like Duraspark and use an external box or controller of your choice. The downside here is $$$ but you get what you pay for.

I don't know if Duraspark is even an option for a 223 but, some oem trigger like that is a great idea because you can get replacement parts pretty easily and if you set up your wiring right, you should be able to use virtually any oem controller to get you home, should your oem or aftermarket box fail.

Based on my experience so far, a choice between a drop in conversion and points, I'd choose points.

 

Millions of Pertronix units have been sold since the 70's. The VW crowd swears by them. I personally have had nothing but great service out of their units. I'd hop in and drive across the country and never worry about it. Any company that sells as many units as Pertronix has will have some defects or returns. How many Duraspark boxes died over the years? Coils? Condensors? Agreed that points work just fine if maintained. Easy to replace and carry a spare. JMHO

 

Ran a search and came across a similar thread from couple years back and from what I can gather there's not much in the way of E.I. for the 223, not clear to me if swapping 223 dizzy is an option? Not sure I would be interested in a 'dirt cheap' configuration link in the thread, if it does not come in a kit I am not that knowledgeable to make something up??

https://www.ford-trucks.com/forums/1...300-223-a.html

 

i've been running this for a couple years. love it. works on *any* points distributor.
Points to Electronic Ignition Cheap & Easy - ADVrider

i took it one step farther by removing the resistor wire and running a TFI coil.
100% Ford, and the parts are on the shelf at any parts store if you need them.

 

Yeah.. The Pertronix is drop in replacement (5 minutes) and reliable. I carry a set of points and condensor in the glovebox just because. Probably 30k+ miles on the unit, lots of backroads and wilderness and extreme conditions.

 

I did the Pertronix conversion on my 390 with the old dizzy. The timing marks where way off, so I got a rebuilt dizzy and no problems now for 4 years. You may want to upgrade your stock coil for a hotter one. The hotter spark means that you can widen the spark plug gap, which in my case went from .035 to .045. I recommend the conversion. Good luck

Kurt

 

Put the Petronix on my 292 and the idle picked up 50 rpms so it must of liked it. Takes 5 minutes to install and comes with a plastic feeler guage to set the gap. I kept the old mustard top coil because of my preference for the stock look.

Now I alway know my gap is correct and do not have to deal with working on the rear mounted distributor. I do not carry a set of points but I am never more than 15 miles from a parts store.

 

I've ran the Pertronics ignitions in two vehicles and their great, absolutely no problems. And they made a world of difference in how they ran. Hope this helps.

 

I put a DUI on an old 390 several years back and loved the heck out of it. Smoother running, lower maintenance, easier starting, more power. All for $385, new distributor with one wire hook-up. I would do it again. Unfortunately, I don't see an application for your 223.

 

223 cancelled at the end of the 1964 model run.

DuraSpark Electronic Ignition introduced in 1974, but not all vehicles came with it until 1976.

All FoMoCo vehicles w/DuraSpark: 1974 module is 1974 only; 1975 module is 1975 only.