Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

Were it my car, I'd stick with the conventional points & condenser ignition. Pertronix is the commonly available system for these cars and in stressful starting conditions the battery voltage can drop below the triggering voltage needed by the electronic ignition and give you a "no start" situation. Five or 6 folks I know who used Pertronix on 6-volt Packards subsequently removed it and went back to conventional ignition and one reseller of the units no longer offers them. That said, you might install it and never have an issue but really all you save is a bit of maintenance every 10,000 miles or so - not much extra work for the potential added reliability.

If you go ahead and convert, I suggest you keep all the parts needed to go back to point/condenser in the glove box should the need ever arise.

The disadvantage of points are two fold.

Firstly, there is the inability of the system to absorb the primary side voltage spike from the collapsing secondary field. This causes points to burn and condensors to wear out and open.

Secondly, as the lobes and bushings wear in a point system the dwell angle changes enough to cause preigintion. This results in overheating and engine damage.

So getting rid of the breaker points as a load bearing circuit is advantageous. The rotten location of some distributors notwithstanding. Additionally, a little engineering could develop a solid state voltage amplifier to use a modern ignition control module on a 6-volt car.
Problem is the market is shrinking.

Tim Cole. Are the bushings in your distributor worn and need replacement???