I have heard pros and cons about the
Pertronix kit to change old Mopar distributors
over to electronic. I like the idea
that it is all hidden.
What sayeth the old master?
Well, it is better than breaker points in that
the sparking, arcing, contact points are
banished. But it ain’t great. There have
been several revisions and redesigns, and
they all do work OK, but they all share
the same flaw: Since they use the stock
breaker-point cam for triggering, the
timing is far from precise. A stock magtrigger
Mopar distributor uses a reluctor
with sharp teeth, making the triggering
point reasonably uniform and consistent,
although it does change a tad with temperature.
The Pertronix has this accuracy
problem to a much larger extent, plus, if
it craps out on the road, your chances of
procuring parts nearby are nil.
Other than the preferred crank trigger
DIS system on many
Mopars from the mid-’90s, a
distributor-based system would
ideally be either optically or Hall
effect triggered, but the 1970s
Mopar magnetic system was quite
good, with newer repros even
more accurate (mostly from more
precise bearings).
