Switching to Electronic Ignition

Marcus

Supporter
Hi guys...thinking of replacing the point on my bog standard set up 302 V8. Am hoping for better spark therefore perhaps a few more horses and reliability. Can anyone offer any advise or EI manufacture I could try...
Thanks for any insight...
Marcus
 
Assuming the distributor bearings are not worn, then it will be worth buying a contactless adapter kit. Mallory/MSD make a kit, but you'll need to make sure of the distributor model number before buying a kit. Lumenition also sell a kit I believe. Consider buying a new distributor with points-less ignition built-in. If you go for a capacitive discharge kit at the same time, you'll have a great setup. I have a Mallory/MSD setup which includes a programmable rev.limiter, which has been faultless. Change the HT leads at the same time for wire-wound leads of 8 or 9 mm. I started out with the basic points setup but went through a series of condensor (capacitor) failures causing breakdowns on the road. I also had to check the points dwell angle regularly as well. All that is now a thing of the past. If you're in the UK, it may be cheaper to order American parts direct from the USA using eBay. Get hold of the Demon Tweaks catalog, as well as the Real Steel and Car Builder Solutions ones.
Tony.
 

Marcus

Supporter
Wow Tony fantastic response so very helpful..... I am currently in Cape Town having bought the car getting ready to ship her back to the UK....(I only had a limited budget so could not find a 40 for my budget in UK....!!!)…..getting ready ship her home.....
I am not planning on thashing her (shes only got a humble early KVA set up) but I like to visit the European Classic meets at Len Mans and Spa... The key for me therefore will be reliability and if I get some extra horses then great....?
Quite by chance the shipping company have arranged for me to meet Jean Fourie the founder of CAV (Cape Town's a small place)….I will therefore discuss your kind suggestion as an addition to my little KVA stock set up and get his thoughts....I might be able to source the parts at a good price also due to exchange rate....:)
I really can't thank you enough.....I'm an entry level petrol head fulfilling a life long 40 ownership dream and at least I might now sound like I know what I am doing when I speak to Mr Fourie…..
Thanks so much Tony
 
Marcus,

There is no such thing as a slow V8, so you will enjoy your GT40 on the road without spending a fortune on power upgrades at this stage. Reliability is much more important for what you are planning.

Tony.
 

Larry L.

Lifetime Supporter
There is no such thing as a slow V8...

Obviously you never drove my V8-equipped '72 Ranchero!

But, getting back on topic:

Marcus,

Are you wanting to just convert your existing distributor from points & condenser to a module setup, or convert the whole ignition system over to an entire "black box" system? 'Not clear to me from what you stated.

If you want to go the whole "black box" route, I'd recommend MSD. I've run their stuff literally for decades and NEVER had a problem.

If you just want a distributor module "conversion kit" there are several out there right now. For instance, Summit Racing has several pages of them in their catalog...among which are Accel, Mallory, Fast, Per Tronix - whatever. To wit:

https://www.summitracing.com/search/part-type/electronic-distributor-conversion-kits?SortBy=Default&SortOrder=Ascending&tw=distributor&sw=Electronic Distributor Conversion Kits&page=6

Jeg's (jegs.com) would undoubtedly have the same. You might ask the techs at either company which kit they'd recommend and WHY. They have always seemed to know which brand/brands are currently the most popular and which have proven to be a PITB whenever I've made an inquiry about such things.

I believe both companies ship all over the world.
 
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Marcus

Supporter
HI Larry sorry just picked up this message....managed to get the car down to Cape Town and have it in with Paul Fourie a one time owner of CAV....its a long story.....so my humble little KCC is kindly being given the once over by a top engineer who is pulling no punches...!!!
As the V8 is stock we are adding a new inlet manifold plus Holley 600 cfm. The old mechanical points are being replaced but I won't go full Black Box MSD as the car need to ne reliable for longer trips rather than a track car.....the chassis is not good enough to warrant throwing heaps of £££. We are putting in a new Coil and I will do the HT leads in the UK.....
So far so good two more weeks of playing around out here and she gets shipped back..... Looking forward to going to Spa in May so although an entry level GT hopefully she will do me proud... Appreciate all the advise.....
Cheers

Marcus
 
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