75 450sl electronic ignition (Petronix ignitor)

[joedee]

Hi, Need to make final decision on Ignitor for my 75 450sl. Just asked the
Classicgarage.com the question and they responded "the 1885 ignitor kit is correct for the distributor you have, BUT you must relocate the small ground strap on the breaker plate in order for the ignitor unit to sit flat." "the ignitor will work correctly."

I've read posts that the ignitor does not work well and need a final decision before I purchase it. I've used ignitor on GMs and they worked well.

Your thoughts for the last time.............

Thanks,
Joe R.
(Maryland)

[ctaylor738]

I put one on a 1972 350SL and it worked very well. I kept the transistor ignition box so that the tach would read correctly. The only issue I had was that the leads were too short.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by joedee

Hi, Need to make final decision on Ignitor for my 75 450sl. Just asked the
Classicgarage.com the question and they responded "the 1885 ignitor kit is correct for the distributor you have, BUT you must relocate the small ground strap on the breaker plate in order for the ignitor unit to sit flat." "the ignitor will work correctly."

The Pertronix 1885 works well on my '72 350SL, but many have said that they have been told that it physically doesn't fit easily into the '75 distributor which has both advance and retard. Maybe it IS the ground strap that interferes, but I hadn't heard that before. I thought it was the vacuum actuator lever.

I would contact Pertronix direct or Retro Rockets who are knowledgeable about these things. The R-R site only lists 450SL up to '74, so check before you buy!

http://www.vintageperformance.com/retrorockets/mercedes.htm

[GaryF]

I fitted it to my '73 which does have an advance and retard control on the distributor, must be something they put on Euro models early. Anyway I had to grind a slice off the arm to clear the magnetic collar but works fine. I too left the original switch box in place.

[ctaylor738]

Carl Dudash (Carl Dudash [retrorockets@snet.net] at RetroRockets was very thorough when I was looking for a setup for my 1966 200, which is another oddball. He had me send pictures and he worked with the engineers to make sure I got the right model.

[Graham]

Originally Posted by ctaylor738

Carl Dudash (Carl Dudash [retrorockets@snet.net] at RetroRockets was very thorough when I was looking for a setup for my 1966 200, which is another oddball. He had me send pictures and he worked with the engineers to make sure I got the right model.

I bought mine from Carl too - very helpful. Link in my previous message gets to R-R site and him.

[joedee]

Hi,

Thanks for all the info. I will go for the Ignitor and hope that I can install it

properly.

Thank you all for the assistance.

Joe R.