electronic ignition

[pat morrison]

[Admin note - Bounced, multipart html encoded. Pat, please set your
address book in MSOE for "plain text" only for GMCnet. Thanks, Patrick]

Hey GMC'ers I just bought a 74 P.D. Would like to upgrade to
electronic ignition..Whats the best way??? Will the later model HEI
unit fit?? what about the wireing???How about an aftermarket unit?? All
comments wellcomed.. Thanks Pat Morrison 74 PD Orange ugh

 

[steven d. ferguson]

Pat,
One of the simplest and most bullet proof is the Pertrinix unit.
Simply remove your points & condenser & use the same screws to install
the unit. It consists of a disk with 8 small magnets that fits under
the stock rotor, and a small pickup (hall effect sensor) that mounts in
the old points location. It has a two wire hook up. Run the wires out
the existing hole in the bottom of the distributer, the red hooks up to
the positive side of the coil, the black to the negative side. It's
easy to install with the distributer installed on the engine. I prefer
to do it out simply because it gives me a chance to clean the unit up a
bit and also to shim some of the end-play out. If the air gap between
the pickup and the underside of the rotor exceeds the maximum, you'll
have to pull the distributer & use the included shims. The units go for
anywhere from $54 (Northern Parts in S.D.) to $76 (Summit).
An HEI will bolt right in but needs to be indexed one tooth CCW to
centerline it. Make sure the curve is right for your GMC.
Steve Ferguson
San Diego

 

[samuel pickens]

Regarding the retrofit! Drop in a unit like a '75 and direct wire - same as
old configuration practically. Change plugs and cables. It's simple and
runs better.

With best regards; I'm
Sincerely,
Sam Pickens
picksam