Original Ignition amp

[Peter Barnes]

Hi, Help please , I am trying to sort out which ignition parts I need. I have the Hi Po distributor, Dual Point, I could keep it simple , coil and ballast resistor , or....

Photos of period cars show the ballast resistor , (4 wires), and some show a box similar to the Boss rev limiter or the alternator regulator , and I believe a similar one , XF-172234 was used but was this for beakerless ?

Any photos would be much appreciated.

Thanks Peter.

 

[Graham Endeacott]

I have the whole set up Peter. In addition to the amplifier and dual ballast resistor, you would also need the special distributor and the wiring loom. It's not all to hand so I can't photograph it for you but it is indeed "pointless"

Regards,


Graham.

 

[Peter Barnes]

I have the whole set up Peter. In addition to the amplifier and dual ballast resistor, you would also need the special distributor and the wiring loom. It's not all to hand so I can't photograph it for you but it is indeed "pointless"

Regards,


Graham.

Hi Graham,

Thank you for confirming the pointless distributor, I have seen elsewhere on the forum the special distributor which I guess I will not find !
If you do have occasion to take photos I would appreciate seeing them.

Best wishes Peter.

 

[Graham Endeacott]

Hi Peter,

A photo of the ignition amplifier, I'd taken this for someone else a while ago.

 

[Peter Barnes]

Hi Peter,

A photo of the ignition amplifier, I'd taken this for someone else a while ago.

View attachment 114216

Hi Graham, Wow, you have 3 ?. Plain that they are regulator units adapted for the amplifier. what is the function of the knob on the left of each item? Thank you.. Peter

 

[Peter Barnes]

Found it diagram, is this relevant to the GT40 ?

 

[Graham Endeacott]

Hi Graham, Wow, you have 3 ?. Plain that they are regulator units adapted for the amplifier. what is the function of the knob on the left of each item? Thank you.. Peter

It's not a knob, it's just a plug.

Regards,


Graham.

 

[Graham Endeacott]

Found it diagram, is this relevant to the GT40 ?

View attachment 114217

No, not enough wires and points in the distributor.

Regards,


Graham.

 

[Rick Muck- Mark IV]

That housing was used for the transistor ignitions on some cars and medium duty trucks as well as the Boss 302 rev limiter (the ones that were removed when you got your car home from the dealer and tossed so very rare today) as well as the ignition system on many 40's. There is a resin repop available that looks like it but is non-functional.

 

[Peter Barnes]

No, not enough wires and points in the distributor.

Regards,


Graham.

Hi Graham, further down the "pointless" road

This diagram better suits, the wiring colours seem to match. ( found this in my files, not sure where it came from !)


regards, Peter

 

[Graham Endeacott]

Hi Graham, further down the "pointless" road

This diagram better suits, the wiring colours seem to match. ( found this in my files, not sure where it came from !)

View attachment 114228
regards, Peter

That's from the GT40 wiring diagram and it does show the amplifier and the wiring loom. I might have sent you this, not sure. To my mind it's debatable whether it's worth using unless you have a spare amplifier! More on that another time.

Regards,


Graham.

 

[Ryan L]

is this the set up that uses the tach drive distributor ?

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

Seems still to have ignition points, though.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

There were some Mercedes/Bosch ignition systems in the early 70s that used low-voltage points current, and then an amplifier to raise the voltage before it was fed to the ignition coil... this system might be similar. The points lasted longer because they were only carrying two or three volts, as I recall. However, a breakerless system is better.

 

[Graham Endeacott]

Seems still to have ignition points, though.

No points with this system.

Regards,


Graham.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

i'll look again. I was looking at the schematic- looks like it shows points.

 

[Jim Rosenthal]

The first schematic shows points. The second one, which I imagine applies to the amplifiers you have, does not have points, right.

 

[JimmyMac]

Peter
I doubt that you will get the internals of the original 255 magnetic distributor into your HiPo points unit, even if you could the find the parts that still work.
I don't think that the HiPo 'chalice' cup is deep enough.

l

 

[Peter Barnes]

The first schematic shows points. The second one, which I imagine applies to the amplifiers you have, does not have points, right.

Hi Jim, The first drawing claimed to be GT40 but I think was only used on cars of the period. The second drawing has been confirmed as GT40,
best wishes, Peter

 

[Peter Barnes]

Peter
I doubt that you will get the internals of the original 255 magnetic distributor into your HiPo points unit, even if you could the find the parts that still work.
I don't think that the HiPo 'chalice' cup is deep enough.

l

Hi James. Thanks for you input. I do not think I can acquire an original distributor or internals, it would have to be a modern set up.

The amplifier would be easy to reproduce, the circuit is basic. The diagram has been simplified, there are a couple of capacitors, one large one that can be seen in the part photo, another transistor and 2 diodes, The curious part is the "plug" on the side of the amp, (what does that look like and I wonder what it was for.....adjustment or possible monitoring) ? Looking from the inside this part looks more like an electronic component bolted to the case, This is my guessing without seeing an actual amp box.

Best wishes Peter.