54oldsmobile88RW

Picked up a pertronix D71100 flamethrower II from speedway. The book and the tech said this will fit my 54 olds 324. I have the oil pump shaft out and it is round with a flat side. The end of the pertronix distributor is a standard gm hex. Any input? Thanks

oldcutlass

That distributor does not fit your car. It is for the next gen Olds 260-455

54oldsmobile88RW

ok. Any options that do work? I can still return it for refund. Thanks

oldcutlass

I moved your post to the Vintage section as some installed pertronixI, II, III's in their older gen engines. They should chime in on what experiences they had.

54oldsmobile88RW

Thank you

joe_padavano

Interesting that every single distributor Speedway shows for the first gen Olds motors says "fits 260-455".

Morons.

Your best bet is to simply get a Pertronix points replacement conversion and install it in your original distributor. If you must have a coil-in-cap HEI, this vendor builds custom HEI distributors for less popular engines like this.

54oldsmobile88RW

I've rolled my eyes a lot these past 10 months gathering and cleaning, spending and freaking out. The link to the hei conversion isn't any more costly than the rebuild of points. I converted my Thunderbird to hei from Skip White performance but they do not have one for olds. Thanks for the input. Time to get my $$ back from speedway (rolling eyes lol)

Burd

HEI being bigger, sometimes does not work w/ stock air cleaners. Just went through this on my buddy's 70 Z, I had the numbers PC rebuilt at a Vett resto place, looked brand new. $85. Blasted w/walnut shells, new correct wire, greased and shimmed shaft, like new.

oldcutlass

There is no large cap HEI available for this generation engine. One of these points replacement applications will work on your car. 6 or 12v, etc... Disregard the full size distributors the are for 260-455 engines.
https://www.summitracing.com/search/...24%20pertronix

Doug Blake

Few years ago I read in the NAOC someone contacted Mallory, and somehow a person there found the blueprints they had, and made a brand new Unilite distributor for his straight 8 Olds. Looked original, but state of the art inside!

But since MSD owns them they probably threw away all the old books, and tooling?

redoldsman

I was a big believer in Pertronix and had one in my 54 until it left me on the side of the road. Then I went back to points. I keep a set of everything in my ignition system in my toolbox in the trunk. There has been a lot of discussion on this issue on here. If you go back with points just be sure and get some quality ones.

WHIPOLDS

I was about to order the Pertronix for my 56 Olds. I installed new points the other day and now the car will not start. It is not easy any more climbing under the hood. My question is - should the new points be preset close enough for the engine to start then adjust the dwell. Getting a feeler gauge while the distributor is in car is rather difficult. It has been a while since I installed points. Also the quality of the latest point set is terrible. I just ordered what appeared to be a better one.
Thanks for any suggestions.
Rick

joe_padavano

Nope. You must set them with a feeler gauge after installation.

WHIPOLDS

Thanks Joe!
Rick