Our kit as it came from Pertronix...
Our kit as it came from Pertronix and its recipient, a '70 440 Six Pack complete with a Prestolite dual-point distributor.
When Mopar built a high-performance engine during the supercar era, lighting the fire was most often handled by the venerable Prestolite dual-point distributor. Using this instead of the normal single-point unit gave additional spark output and stability, and at the time, this high-tech distributor was a must if you wanted to optimize the available horsepower in your ride. The downside was the power-arching points inside the cap would burn out, lose dwell or spark, and deteriorate-requiring regular replacement. This would usually happen at the most inopportune moments, such as when you're in the final round and winning by three hundreths of a second or driving down the road while taking your wife to dinner; Ka-blooey! It begins to rain and your points fail.
While Mopar Performance offers one of the best values for ignition upgrades, the need to add boxes and drill holes can be a detriment to those going the restoration route. Pertronix of San Dimas, California, has been manufacturing points-eliminating conversions for years and have introduced an ignitor kit to fit the dual-point Prestolite distributors. They also offer Ignitor I and the higher-performance Ignitor II kits for other Mopar-points-type applications as well as the early electronic units.
The claim is that these replacement parts go in easier than the good ol' points, so we decided to see for ourselves. We ordered the entire kit complete with wires and coil to make the conversion look stock but outperform the OE parts. As you'll see, this particular installation was indeed as easy as stated and, in fact, burned fuel so much more efficiently that the jetting in the primary carb of our Plymouth 440 6-BBL needed fattening up. Follow along as we show how even the novice Mopar enthusiast can "never have to change points again."(tm)
A final note: Pertronix welcomes your inquiries about which outfit will fit your application. While we needed to rejet our carb outfit, every engine is different, and the level of modification already present may preclude needing these changes. In a single word, this outfit is great!
After disconnecting the battery,...
After disconnecting the battery, remove the distributor cap and mark the position of the rotor so it can be replaced in the same position. Once the wire is disconnected from the coil, remove the distributor and place it on the workbench.
First, disconnect the wire...
First, disconnect the wire at the points from the coil and remove it from the housing
Then remove the points. Believe...
Then remove the points. Believe it or not, you're halfway finished!
With the points removed, install...
With the points removed, install the Ignitor unit by locating and fastening it to the condenser-screw hole.
The coolest part of the Ignitor...
The coolest part of the Ignitor kit is the magnet slips over the point's old cam, then clicks in place. Is this easy or what?
That's basically it. With...
That's basically it. With the Pertronix unit installed, you can put the distributor back into the engine. This is probably the quickest, easiest engine improvement you can make.
Reinstall the distributor...
Reinstall the distributor by lining up the marks you made earlier.
Now for added power, replace...
Now for added power, replace the factory coil with the new Flame-Thrower unit from Pertronix. If you don't like the sticker, peel it off or turn the coil over. Pertronix supplies a diagram of how to wire the unit if you have a ballast resistor. Note: If you don't use their coil you must use the ballast resistor. Their coil is specially made for the Ignitor and doesn't require the use of the resistor.
To complete the job, we installed...
To complete the job, we installed the OEM-appearing wires from Pertronix. You can hide the extra wire from the distributor and no one will know.
With everything buttoned up,...
With everything buttoned up, it looks like the before shot: as stock-appearing as stock should be.