jensenracing77

Has anyone used this style points conversion. I had never heard of it before but it uses all stock wiring unlike the Pertronix. Appears to just brake a magnetic signal for a trigger. I am not looking to buy one but would like to know what people think of it that have used it. Not to many comments come up when I google it.

https://www.lectriclimited.com/break...nversion-85627

joe_padavano

I can't speak to that specific kit, but there are really only two styles of electronic triggers, Hall effect and photoelectric. GM's HEI and Pertronix are Hall effect - a magnet generates an electric current as it passes a sensor, which triggers the spark. This appears to be a photoelectric system - an LED shines at a photocell and those tabs on the "chopper" wheel break the beam and trigger the spark. Back in the 70s, when these systems were first appearing on the market, I installed a similar system made by Borg Warner on my 68 Vista. It worked great - until it didn't. Of course, parts availability for these systems is non-existent. In my case I had to revert to points (I had kept the old points in the glove box), gapped them with a matchbook cover on the side of the road, and was on my way.

jensenracing77

I have points in all my cars at this time. When I restore the 4 speed Jetfire I was considering an electronic unit but I likely will not do it. The distributor is in the front and the points are simple to get to if they ever need adjusted. I also have a couple sets of the old GM points from back in the day so they should be reliable. I just never heard of this system before. If I ever do another electronic swap I will likely try this setup.

66-3X2 442

I believe this setup is made by M & H Electric/wiringharness.com. I have one in my car and it works outstanding. It's over 4 years old with absolutely no issues like with the Pertronics. I talked to the owner of
M & H and he told me that his unit has 3 built in safeguards against voltage spikes & such. It's a one wire hookup and does not use a resistor and with the one wire,you can't tell it's even in there.One thing he told me about this unit,it requires a Delco coil,no cheap Chinese crap.He said to use the older coils because the newer Delco coils are junk.

VC455

I used the M&H unit on my 1970 442 for 30 years without problem.

I used an M&H rebuild of the GM TI amplifer on my 1970 Corvette for 35 years (it lasted much longer than the stock GM amplifier).

I've read that the M&H units are the most reliable of the aftermarket points replacers.

I'd have it on my Vista Cruiser, except I wanted a rev limiter. In 1983 I installed a 1966 UHV distributor to signal a hidden MSD. And that's worked flawlessly as well.

You might get the impression that I've been done with points for many years, and you'd be correct!

Destructor

I considered converting to Pertronics ignition but decided to stay with the points. I accepted the fact that I just need to spend the time to change or file them and adjust accordingly. My car runs excellent with a descent set of points, along with a properly adjusted carburetor. I've been reluctant to change to something that may just plain die and get me stuck, though I would have no problem keeping a stock style GM solid state ignition had the car come with one as they have proven to be very dependable.

oldcutlass

With electronic ignitions, it isn't a matter of "if" it will fail, its "when". I've found that most follow Murphy's law and it will be at the most inappropriate time usually when its cold and raining. The most reliable as said above is a good set of points. There are tradeoffs with any system, when I run solid state I prefer an HEI, parts are available at any auto parts store nation wide.

83hurstguy

I have the Breakerless SE on mine. It's worked great so far and the timing is incredibly stable. I had an issue with the stock replacement style Crane coil (supposedly made in USA - it died in about 10 dyno pulls and 10 miles on the road). The replacement FAST coil (they bought Crane) has worked fine so far, but I have a new NAPA one in the trunk for a backup. Make sure you use the resistance wire and correct coil with the Breakerless system, finding high quality stock-type coils is the harder part (which you need for points anyways).

I have yet to find someone with a legitimate complaint about the Breakerless... I saw a friend's car have a relatively new set of points unexpectedly come apart halfway down the quarter mile, causing the exhaust to load up with fuel, then fire one more spark and grenade the exhaust. That was fun.

Incorrect - this setup is not photoelectric, it's Hall effect. The Mallory unilite modules were about the only main company still doing photoelectric as far as I know.

joe_padavano

Yup, I see that now after visiting their website. I've just never seen a Hall Effect system that used a chopper wheel like that before. Seems like an overkill. The system I have on my 62 didn't even need an chopper - the Hall Effect sensor simply senses the peaks on the cam that operated the points. A much easier install, frankly. I'm more curious about the "one wire" design. How, exactly, does this system power the electronics? That one wire is on the ground side of the coil, and the points (and electronic replacement for points) needs to open and close that wire to ground to generate a spark. I can only guess that the electronics have some sort of capacitor inside that is charged from the current passing through the coil when the circuit is open and gets discharged when the circuit is closed to ground. Either that, or the electronics are low enough voltage that the current generated by the Hall Effect sensor alone can power it. I guess you can do that, but it sure seems like an extra risk in long term viability. Of course, for a car you only drive on weekends, maybe that's good enough.

66-3X2 442

Tom Marquez is the owner of M & H and I've had some very long discussions with him about different subjects. He one sharp dude when it comes to wiring and things electrical on cars. With me,getting rid of the points was a good thing & I love this setup. It has performed flawlessly and wouldn't change it for anything. Now,the Pertronics is a different story. I have a buddy who is like the local guy for carb & ignition work & he tells me he has cars come in on the hook constantly with failed Pertronics. Next time I talk to Tom,I'll ask him about how it works power wise.

jerseyjoe

Hi All, I just made this change a couple of weeks ago. I had a set of new Delco points/condenser in prior. I tried the dwell at 28 and 30 trying to get a nice idle and some decent performance. The timing has been between 7.5 and 9 as well. I just was not happy with way the engine performed or idled. I have had a lot of experience with the olds 350 engines over the years and my 68 just felt sluggish. After I switched I was surprised how far off the base timing was. It was a little over 25 when I first tested after the conversion. I brought it down to a little under 9 (timing did not bounce around at all, which I expected) I reset the idle mixture and things were much smoother. After it warmed up I took for a drive and honestly immediately noticed it was more responsive. The real proof was that prior I could barely get the rear wheels to break loose. Now they will spin for a couple of seconds before hooking up.
I understand that this should not be the case and the points should work just as well except under high RPM's, but it definitely is significantly improved across the rpm range. I don't know, maybe something was up with the points but they were a new out of the box Delco set.
The conversion was well thought out and fairly simple to do. To Joe's point, not sure how it is powered with the single lead but it works well. I would definitely consider this one if you are going to convert and yeah points and condenser are in the truck....just in case.

Note: mechanical weights were working prior to conversion.

Joe

66-3X2 442

My buddy who is a carb/ignition guru says to stay away from the point/condenser combo,use the separate pieces.

Fun71

I worked at several different auto parts stores back in the 80s and from what I recall none of them had a high performance uniset, but all of them had high performance individual points and condensers.

oldcutlass

I've used both the separate items and the combined uniset over the years. In normal driving conditions except racing, they both work adequately for a cruiser with stop light to stop light performance.

Destructor

I don't use unisets because the quality of newer condensers is inconsistent. My condenser is mounted on the coil and is very easy to change. I keep a spare along with the tools to change it in the trunk. I recently got a NOS condenser at a local parts store, it feels significantly heavier and is of different construction than the new junk.

jensenracing77

The condenser on the coil is not that same as the one in the distributor.

Destructor

The condenser on the coil is not that same as the one in the distributor.

On my car it is exactly the same. I relocated the ignition condenser to the coil bracket. no need to remove the cap to get to it.