1966 428 Ignition upgrade

[Sammy66]

Hi all,

I have a 66 with the 428 and I'm looking to upgrade the ignition to electronic.....Pertronix, etc.

Looking for input from those that have done it. Engine has a little miss to it right now and I'm suspecting that's part of the issue. I could live with it, but if I could get rid of the points, I'd like to.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

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[64ZCODE]

Hi Sammy

Absolutely. I recently installed the Pertronix III system on the 390 in my '64 and it smoothed out the idle and eliminated a miss that was happening at higher revs, not to mention better starting and better throttle response. The stock ignition on these old FE engines is kind of weak and so you don't get good ignition under some circumstances. Imagine pistons the size of soup cans, that's a lot of fuel air mix to light off.

The Pertronix takes care of that as long as you install the ignitor module and a hotter coil, like the flamethrower III coil. You should also put in some good 8.5mm spark plug wires to make sure all that good energy makes it to the spark plugs. Stock wires have a lot of resistance where as MSD wires, for example, have a lot less hence more juice makes it to the plugs. Once the Pertronix is installed, you can open the gaps of the plugs a bit. Pertronix recommends an additional .007 gap, so if standard gap is .035, you can open the gaps to .042.

One final thing is you should also install the power relay that Pertronix sells. What this does is to provide a full 12 volts to the coil. More juice, more spark.

Recommend you go for the Pertronix III. It delivers multiple pulses to each piston per power stroke, like a spark box would. I bought the Pertronix III, the flamethrower coil, and the power relay on Amazon and the total was around $210.

Happy to send photos of the install I did. It's straightforward and the instructions are good so you shouldn't have any issues.

Doug

 

[johnpaul]

Hi all,

I have a 66 with the 428 and I'm looking to upgrade the ignition to electronic.....Pertronix, etc.

Looking for input from those that have done it. Engine has a little miss to it right now and I'm suspecting that's part of the issue. I could live with it, but if I could get rid of the points, I'd like to.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

I just did that yesterday to my 62. It was pretty easy, search on youtube for "install pertronix ignitor" there is a very straightforward video, only 2:39 long, that guides you right through it.

 

[64ZCODE]

Yes, agreed. The other option of course it to install an HEI distributor which would have an internal coil or separate coil. I looked at that but couldn't find one with the same profile as the stock disty. Some of them stick up above the surge tank and look dorky.

 

[Dlluinstra]

Done to my 61 and 59. Wonderful upgrade.

 

[Sammy66]

Hi Sammy

Absolutely. I recently installed the Pertronix III system on the 390 in my '64 and it smoothed out the idle and eliminated a miss that was happening at higher revs, not to mention better starting and better throttle response. The stock ignition on these old FE engines is kind of weak and so you don't get good ignition under some circumstances. Imagine pistons the size of soup cans, that's a lot of fuel air mix to light off.

The Pertronix takes care of that as long as you install the ignitor module and a hotter coil, like the flamethrower III coil. You should also put in some good 8.5mm spark plug wires to make sure all that good energy makes it to the spark plugs. Stock wires have a lot of resistance where as MSD wires, for example, have a lot less hence more juice makes it to the plugs. Once the Pertronix is installed, you can open the gaps of the plugs a bit. Pertronix recommends an additional .007 gap, so if standard gap is .035, you can open the gaps to .042.

One final thing is you should also install the power relay that Pertronix sells. What this does is to provide a full 12 volts to the coil. More juice, more spark.

Recommend you go for the Pertronix III. It delivers multiple pulses to each piston per power stroke, like a spark box would. I bought the Pertronix III, the flamethrower coil, and the power relay on Amazon and the total was around $210.

Happy to send photos of the install I did. It's straightforward and the instructions are good so you shouldn't have any issues.

Doug

Thanks for the feedback Doug.....it does seem like the way to go.

 

[Hadderz]

Hi, just fitting a kit on my 62, I'd also brought a 12v ballast coil knowing the car had a resistance wire in the loom. Should I forget that and feed a 12v direct to a 12v coil?
Thanks
Andy

 

[64ZCODE]

I would. Pertronix sells a power relay that installs easily. The relay is triggered by your existing ignition wire and feeds the full 12v to the coil.

 

[Hadderz]

Thanks, yes seen this response you'd mentioned before. Didn't know if using a coil that required a ballast and having that 'wire' in the loom did the same thing. I suppose it best to feed it with a new 12v feed as that resistor wire looks a bit crispy 🙁

 

[64ZCODE]

You betcha. Might as well get the hottest spark you can, right?

 

[Hadderz]

You betcha. Might as well get the hottest spark you can, right?

Yep no point letting any fuel get away without being burnt!!