Electronic Ignition

[jsdieter]

I'm having trouble just finding the answers I want. What gains do you get upgrading to an electronic ignition? Will it start faster, be more reliable ect..
Also what is the best bank for the buck kit. the cheapest I found is here:

http://stores.auto-ricambi.net/-strse-8 ... Detail.bok

But I have ordered a ton of stuff from Vick's and I'm very happy with their service

http://www.vickauto.com/cgi-bin/store/22-1324.html

BTW it's 78 1800

[beachboy]

My opinion is that a breakerless ignition does add some reliability, but you might get this confussed with Fuel injection vs. carb systems, about starting faster and being more reliable. Doing away with points definitely wont hurt and would only help give you a more consistent spark.

[BEEK]

you might search out a stock distributor and coil pack from a spider or brava. the stock distributor works very well for street applications. with a aftermarked module i have used the plex distributir(same as stock but with no vac advance) to 8000 rpm with no breakup, using a msd blaster 2 coil.

[So Cal Mark]

While most owners seek out a used Marelli electronic system from a later Fiat, I'd suggest you check out my new system. The Marelli has some faults, including;
inner seals that leak, ruining the pickup wiring
yearly vacuum advance replacement
pickup units that fail either from broken wires or heat related issues
rather expensive distributor caps.
You might ask how many owners with Marelli units carry almost a complete backup system in the trunk.

No matter what you buy, I don't think seeking out the cheapest system is the way to go. I'd look for one with the best reliability and performance.

I switched my car from points to my new distributorless system. The car starts much quicker, especially cold. Top end performance is amazing, the car just wants to keep revving now. You can expect spark plugs to last longer with a good system. The spark output will be high enough to fire plugs as they wear, while your points system can't generate that amount of spark

[SLOSpider]

I pulled mine out of a used Fiat with coil pack. I never had a breakdown in the stock units and the module is only $25.00 which is a typical chevy one you can find in any backwoods auto parts store. That would be the best deal on a tight budget and not having to worry about points is a huge plus! Your performace is constant through out the life of at least the cap and rotor.

[narfire]

You might ask how many owners with Marelli units carry almost a complete backup system in the trunk.

How did you know, I've had one from day one.
Have to save some cash and make the plunge this winter Mark

[Mathew26]

Price wise the stock electric system from 79 and up is wonderful. You will get all you are looking for in that system. If you can't buy one then an XR3000 or the kit from autoricambi would be the next logical upgrade. I can say that the XR3000 takes most people about 1 hour to install and gives a little bit better performance than the 79 and up stock set up. So with you being on a budget that's what I would recommend get one from a parted out 79 and up car.

Matt

PS I know its crazy I'm telling this guy its ok not to buy my parts..... I must be nuts!

[mbouse]

i've helped numerous Spider owners swap in a used system from a '79+ parts car. Despite what Mark says... there are literally thousands of these units out there; each still churning tens of thousands of miles per year w/out breakdown or failures. i could find a hundred guys at this site and elsewhere that would give testimony to the reliability of the factory system.

and, the cost is d.i.r.t. cheap. i've seen them sell for under $30. Great modification for the money invested. keep your eye on the classified section of the forum for anyone parting out a '79+ engine. just change the control module and the magnetic pickup and you're good to go for a long long time. the control module is identical to a GM overthecounter part, and the mag pickup rarely fails completely w/out ample warning. when the warning comes, it is a five minute job to replace the pickup. if you inspect the pickup wires beforehand, you should have no issues for 40-50,000 miles minimum.

True; simply buying the cheapest thing available does not guaruntee that you will be 100% satisfied in all cases for all things... but at the same time, don't be taken in my someone motivated strictly by profit. Ask a salesman for his opinion, chances are he will try to sell you HIS product. Matt seems to be the exception here.

my dizzy, control module and coil are 30+ years old, and my mag pickup is about 15 years old. my vacuum advance has NEVER been a problem (?yearly?) the dizzy cap may cost about $3.00 more than you are used to paying for a points distributor system... but should last just as long. i certainly don't think that a $17 dizzy cap is an expensive proposition. Compare that to... say, a 1999 Dodge Cirrus, clocking in at around $50.00 ... or a 1990 Accura Legend cap from BWD at $20.00--Fiat stock caps are NOT expensive to replace.

i also run a Crane 3000 system i bought used from Ralph D a few years ago. Put that in my '78, at a cost near half of retail at the time. Love it.

[mbouse]

oops, sorry. did not answer all of your questions. Start faster? not necessarily. Don't forget that you are keeping the carburetor system. Float bowls go empty, chokes need to be set correctly, fuel pump check valves leak....

as far as reliability? shoot, that is the reason why i dumped the dual points on my '78 for the crane system. i've not had to maintain two sets of points in that car since...ever! electronic systems are fairly maintenance free, especially compared to points systems.

[So Cal Mark]

well, your experience seems somewhat different than mine, but that doesn't surprise me. Used Marelli units typically sell for $150-$200. Add in $60 for a hard-to-find vacuum advance, $35 for a pickup, $25 for a module, $25 for a dizzy cap, time and cost to replace the lower oil seal and I wouldn't describe that as dirt cheap.
Add in the cost of carrying the extra spares in the trunk along with the initial investment. I'll agree it's an upgrade over the points system, but by no means is the best system available.
IMHO, the Crane units are just a substitute for points and offer nothing in the way of increased performance. If you can prove otherwise, please do.
As for my motives being strictly profit-driven I would say that's your opinion. While some of my products are expensive, they offer great performance and value for the price. You can buy cheaper, but not better.
As for some vendors postings not being motivated by self interest, that made me laugh.

[BEEK]

im going to check the advantages of marks system for my next build up. mainly because i have never used one,i was thinking crank fire a msd box. but. my only reason for recomending a used oem setup as i owned a fiat junkyard for many years and the parts were readily available , at least to me. at no cost i would lock out the vac advance set the timing for maximum advance and let it rip, as idle timing was of no consiquence to my application. nor was emissions or under 2500rpm performance i think the setup mark is selling might be the ticket for total reliability and lower cost over many years of use. less replacement parts. but as for myself and my 77 spider 10 years ago i put a oem setup, and have changed nothing, not even the cap, yet only driven 5000 miles though. the vac advance is not even hooked up. probably should be but the car runs fine.

[brunorahl]

First off, WTF is a dizzy cap? Are we playing with children? I have a distributor cap on my distributor. Dizzy is what happens when children spin around real fast and then puke.

The electronic ignition conversions are all improvements over stock points. Your car will start faster and burn cleaner. You will make more power and feel the difference right away. Using stock parts will work fine if you can find them in decent shape or if you feel like rebuilding a worn unit. The Crane conversion kits will get you slightly more spark than the stock electronic ignition but require the installation of their control box. It's not ugly, but it doesn't look stock. Crane uses an optical trigger sensor and is near bullet proof in use. You can try the replacement unit from Mark if you've got the $$$. It's a distributor replacement system similar to crank fire. Should you feel like getting creative, Electromotive offers a crank fire system with trigger wheel that you mount to the crank pulley. It's quite a bit more work as there isn't a bolt-on kit, but you would have control on your timing and wasted spark. It's the biggest bang but also the most $$$.

By far, the easiest systems would be finding all the stock electronic ignition components, or keeping what you have and simply installing the Crane. Unless you plan to race the car, other units will be silly.

[jsdieter]

OK all these dizzy caps crane ect in confusing me and sounds expensive. Would there be an improvement if i converted it to a single point instead of the dual points?

[So Cal Mark]

what are you trying to accomplish? Less maintenance? Better performance? Better reliability? Less cost?
How is the car used? Is the motor stock? Condition of the motor?

[Mathew26]

Jsdieter,

Ease of stock set ups, performance, and reliability. Would be as follows

1. Stock Electronic systems
2. Single Points
3. Duel points (half the time it never even switch to the second point when its supposed to)

Points are annoying to adjust every so often to keep them working perfectly. As long as you put in you magnetic pick up in an electronic sytem correctly it is a wonderful and almost maintenance free system.

Matt