where to buy pertronix?

[bluebenz]

I just installed (actually my mechanic did) a crane XR-700 and a crane PS-20 performance coil on my 73 280C and so far so good. Installation was a bit more complicated than expected but the car runs better and it's one less thing to worry about!

[tivoklr]

I just wanted to respond to this thread to state that I bought my Pertronix from vintage performance and it was shipped the same day. Perfect service.

Thanks, and good luck with your cars.

[ABDow]

I bought mine from retrorockets, per another forum member's suggestion. Immediate shipping, great to deal with. I haven't installed mine yet. Maybe you could post your progress with installing it and the end results? (My pertronix and flamethrower coil are going on a 3.5 euro v8- if anyone has further experience with that engine, feel free to post, too!)

This might help.

http://members.ozemail.com.au/~adow/Ignitor.mht

I'm a fan of the Ignitor. It sits neatly in the distributor, and there is no doubt that you get better performance than the original points - particularly at idle.


Alastair

[reddirtranch]

I'm looking for real world experiences with these two products,
for a 68 280SL with the 051 distributor. The ignitor 1 seems to be the only one available from vintageperformance.com but the "key left on" issue scares me.


Is installation comparable between these two ? Any recommendations and/or experiences are appreciated.

thanks

-red

[Todd Miller]

Carl at Vintage Performance/Retrorockets always provides the best prices, shipping and service on Pertronix systems. I've purchased from him several times and always recommend him to others. I've only used the Pertronix 1 version and never had any issues regarding the "key left on" issue........I don't leave ignitions on though.

[Arthur Dalton]

Cheap Insurance with Pert 1 is to add a switch in-line and hide it..that gets you both moule protection and a Theft device in the same sw.
Problem w/ignitions on older Benz is they do not have an accessory position on the key sw. It is also nice to be able to kill ignition when working on other electrical systems in the car w/o pert. fry concerns.
...and I have seen many fry.

[jas2wa]

ABDow,

Thanks for those incredibly helpful directions you posted. I am going to attempt the installation this weekend. This might be really lame, but the last step is to reset the ignition timing- I have never set the timing on a car if you can believe it- you have the same engine as me, so thought I'd ask you details if you don't mind- Thanks, JAS

[300SDog]

where to buy pertronix?

Tiv, if yer scared of installation yerself completely understandable then spaek with independent MB Techs collecting estimates for Petronix conversion. Compare estimates with raw parts online + an hour labor. And disregard any Indie MB Techs lookin cross-eyed at you as if they've never heard of it.

[TheEngineer]

I tried Pertronix on my W113 '69 280SL and couldn't get the engine to run well. Went back to points. Talking to Pertronix engineer, it appears that the distributor is too small in diameter to get accurate firing. Car runs very well on points and for the occasional driving it works out just fine.

[Todd Miller]

Great idea about the little on/off switch Arthur. I like it!

Jas, I think you'll find your timing will remain pretty close, but it's easily checked with a timing light hooked to the #1 cylinder and the light flashing down onto the marks on the crankshaft pulley (don't let the light hit your fan!).

That's interesting about it not working in the 280sl. I've been using them in little British cars with 1275cc and smaller engines. These are the same size as the MBZ distributor. I haven't heard of other MBZ owners with this problem. Is it common? I haven't converted my coupe over yet so have no experience with them in the MBZ distributor trying to fire 6 cylinders.

[Arthur Dalton]

<>

One the ones I do, I use a single pole/double throw switch and a small 4 pin relay. That way, you can add a Blinking Red LED in the cabin that can be seen by All.. When you have your hidden sw OFF, the LED circuit auto -matically lights/Blinks, letting people snooping around aware that the car is Alarmed/Armed.....it is also a reminder for you that the the ignition is killed .. Cheapo kill sw for theft and Pert protection with a LED Armed warning for about $10.........3 Birds with one stone..........

[Todd Miller]

Nice!

[Arthur Dalton]

Originally Posted by Todd Miller

Nice!

Yeah..
Another neat trick I do on these [ specially if they are manual trans like yours is] ...is to get a VW High/Low beam latching relay and wire it to the Flash/Pass lever on the column... this gives you High/Low beam from the lever while still having Pass/Flash [ which the Euro versions had in your vintage].....the floor high/low sw is a pain w/stick tranny...specially if you have big feet.

That also frees up the foot sw for use as the kill sw in the circuit w/led that I mentioned earlier, as it is a spdt sw.

I have schematics for both of these design mods, if anybody wants them..

[ABDow]

JAS - Here are the timing instructions you asked for. Sorry about the delay in replying.

If you are still using points always set the gap before you set the timing. If you do it in the other order you will alter the timing as you alter the gap, because the gap affects the 'dwell', which is the amount of time the point gap is closed or open.

Use a strobe timer (available at any autoshop for a few dollars) with the connector on the plug lead to number 1 cylinder which is the cylinder on the front right hand side of the engine. The other two strobe leads go onto the battery. As you run the engine the strobe will flash.

There is a metal spike at the bottom/front/centre of the engine above a rotating pulley which is marked with O degrees (which is top dead centre - TDC for cylinder #1 - meaning the the piston is at the top of its travel up the cylinder). Marked on the pulley is +5 degrees and - 5 degree markers on each side of TDC. It pays to mark the 0 degree line with a thin line of white paint or typists whiteout.

The metal spike is hard to find. You will need a torch, and if you stand slightly back from the front of the car so that your eyeline is angled a few degrees off vertical rather than looking directly down it is easier to find. When you find it you should mark that in white as it makes it easier to find next time. If you are really lucky it will still have the original tiny rubber cap on the end of it! Talk about attention to detail.

Loosen the distributor just enough that you can turn it by hand, but not so loose that it flops around. There is an Allen screw on the side of the distributor that holds it in place. It makes it easier if you go to one of the auto parts places and buy the longest allen keys that you can find. I have the correct allen key permanently taped to a long screwdriver to make it easier to use.

Run the engine at 800RPM - which is the correct idle. Shine the strobe down so that it throws a shadow from the spike onto the pulley. At 800RM set the timing at 4 degrees advanced (before top dead centre) by rotating the dizzy. The shadow from the spike will be cast onto the pulley and you will see the timing marks jiggling around. Tighten the distributor when you have the right timing. Take the car for a drive. These engines are VERY sensitive to timing and lots of complaints about tuning can be traced back to ignition timing. If the engine pings (preignites) under load, retard the ignition by a degree or two. If the engine is dead and loads up at low revs, advance the ignition slightly. I'm willing to put up with the occasional ping if it means that the car is nice and responsive at low revs, but it should not be pinging consistently. Getting the ignition timing right on these cars is a critical step towards good performance.
Once the timing is set you should be able to leave it alone for a long time.


Alastair

[jas2wa]

Alastair, Thanks so much for the detailed description of setting the timing- it is much appreciated. When the weather improves, I will get back to fiddling with my SL and I'll let you know how I make out. Cheers, JAS