Adding a Pertronix igniton to my CS

jmackro

jmackro

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I have a fairly original 2800 CS coupe, US delivery. It is still running its points, condenser, and black coil, and it runs pretty well. Many might say: If it runs OK, don't mess with it!"

But, sometimes it is a bit hard to start, especially when it hasn't been run in a few days and the poor battery has to crank it over until the mechanical fuel pump gets gas to the carbs. I have read a few postings that reference Pertronix ignitions in E9's, and thought I might do the upgrade. In addition to reading these postings, I have surfed the Pertronix sites on the Internet, but still have a few questions:

- Different Internet sites show different Pertronix part #'s for E9's - both 1867 and 1868 come up. Has anyone installed one, and can vouch that one of these numbers will fit a Bosch CS distributor?

- I am assuming that I will just run the less expensive "Ignitor" version, and not spend the extra $40 (or so) on the "Ignitor II". I am also assuming that I will just retain my black coil + external resistor. Anyone see a problem with this plan for a stock 2800 in a street car?

- Will my electric tach work OK with the Pertronix?

- Who do you recommend buying from? Google steered me to "vintageperformance.com", "carshopinc.com", "ase-supply.com", ... (checking these sites, plus Pertronix own site, is how I got confused as to the correct product #)

- Anything else I should watch out for?

Thanks!
 
I did it to my 2800CS, kept the black coil, tach works fine. Happy. Got mine from Carl at La Jolla (see links) and he can answer any further questions. And he ships real fast.
Might consider a new battery if your is getting tired....

HTH
-shanon
 
i run one in my e9

There are 2 different models for e9's depending upon your distributer. If you check La jolla Independent's website they have photos to differentiate the applications for them. I run one in my 74 cs and love it. It starts easier and just runs better.
Jeff in pdx
 
I got my doubts...

I believe that the reluctance of your 2800, and my 3.0, to start after a couple days is due to the carbs, not the ignition.

Think: the ignition parts are all solid and except for the points, immovable. The fuel system is similar but has more parts, and the fuel seems to seep away after a couple days.

Maybe sometime I'll take my carbs off again and see just how much the castings are warped. That'll explain the hard starting after a few days - all the gas has run away.

Still, if you want to put in Pertronix, you'll need the number of the body of the distributor. As noted above there are two versions of Pertronix, and Carl will give you the right one.
 
Thanks for replies on Pertronix

I appreciate the lead to LaJolla Independent - I live about an hour away from Carl's shop, and should have thought of them instead of mindlessly going to Google. Plus, LaJolla Independent's price compares very favorably with the Internet vendors. And yea, their website explains the "forward" vs "backward" distributors (mine is a "forward"), which probably explains the two part # thing.

My car isn't really hard to start - it just needs to crank a bit to get fuel to the carbs, before it will pop - by that time, the battery voltage is probably diminished (yea, a new battery might not be a bad idea - it now has an Optima that is 3-4 years old). An electric fuel pump could be a good addition as well, but for some reason, I am reluctant to make that modification.

Thanks for the help!
 
save yer money

electric fuel (or is it "fool"?) pumps can be hideously noisy, they aren't cheap, and they don't do anything your came-with-the-car pump isn't already doing.

Only reason for an electric pump is to run some kinda EFI, where high pressure is required.

BTDT. I put a 318i head on a 2002. It was cheap and the '02 head had perforated three of four combustion chambers to the water jacket. It had to go. But no mount for the pump. So we put in a Facet pump, about $40 and wired it to the ignition. Rattled like a sumbitch, full time. We coulda got the more expensive, quieter one, but NOT.
 
Regarding the electric fuel pumps, I think 'where' you put them is directly related to the amount of noise they make. My brother and I both use the Facet pumps but are in different locations in trunk, mine is much quieter, hardly noticable. Once the car is running, can't hear it at all.

A nice thing that I like about them is that (depending on how you wire them of course) you can 'prime' the carb w/out turning the engine over. Turn it on for a few seconds (mine has its own switch) and let the fuel to the engine from the tank. Car usaully starts in one or two tries regardless on how long its been sitting.

...and I like to keep 'sitting' to a minimum. 8)

just my .02
-shanon
 
To add to Shanon's comment if you mount it directly to the body the noise will telegraph throughout. It will be quieter if you used rubber mounts such as the ones fitted to air cleaners in later cars. You should also be able to leave the mechanical pump in place.
 
OK, I got my Petronix installed

I had started off this thread a couple of weeks ago, asking for feedback on Pertronix ignition conversions for E9's. The concensus was: a) they're easy to install, and b) get 'em from LaJolla Independent.

I followed the Forum's advice, and bought a model 1867 Pertronix from LaJolla Independent. Note that you need to determine whether you have a "forward" or "backward" distributor (my 1970 2800 is a forward) - their website explains the difference, which has to do with how the points are mounted.

Installation was pretty easy - the instructions that come in the kit are well written. The only thing that I took exception with was the lack of locking hardware for the single flathead screw that holds the bracket to the distributor - I slathered plenty of Loctite on this screw, because I don't want it coming loose. I also added a flat washer under the nut that goes over the slotted hold in the sensor base. Again, I put Loctite on the two nuts holding on the sensor (even thought they have integral toothed washers) - I really really don't want the sensor coming adrift.

Only other wrinkle is that the grommet that comes installed on the wires assumes a square notch in the distributor, while mine has a round hole. I cut off the square thingy, and installed a conventional round grommet in the distributor.

Checked the timing before taking out the points, and of course again once the Petronix was installed. It was pretty much unchanged - perhaps a couple of degrees advanced. Did Pertronix design it to go in with no impact on the timing, or was I just lucky?

That's about - it took me about an hour and a half, including splicing sections into the two wires to lengthen them, and checking the timing twice.
 
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