Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

THe e-ignition fad is not for better performance or anything that has to do with operation of the car. Most people want the e-ignition just so they don;t have maintane the points. I have no idea how this fad got started or why filing or replaceing a set of ignition points is considered such an undesireable effort or expense by the e-ignition crowd.

The e-ignition craze is like radon, pet rock, rare coins, fall out shelters or an array of any other fads over the years. Sooner or later the e-ignition owners will get stuck with replacing $200++ worth of e-ignition parts and expend a lot other resources because the e-ignition failed. THEN they'll convert back to a $6.00 set of points that they can carry on their key ring and spend 15 minutes once every 6 months to file them or replace them and live happily ever after.

Until then, they'll all be dreaming on silver dreams of wonderment.

EDIT: Possible exception is engines over 8:1 compression mite experience bettter performance and gas mileage with e-ignition. Probably not alot until sustained high engine demand is reached such as racing or pulling trailers thru the rockies or running 80 mph all day long on the interstate hiway. Under 8:1 the e-ignition is just fluff and fad in any case. So the V8's mite see some improvement. But any gas mileage economy will be lost to future cost of any e-ignition failures that mite occur.

Bottom line: Noone has a spare 15 minutes once every 6 months or an .018" feeler gauge or points file any more to be bothered maintaning a set of points. But everyone has $200 and a spare week or two to convert to e-ignition and an extra $200 to spend on spare parts to carry in the trunk in case of failure.

SO e-ignition makes perfectly good sense. doesn;t it????

Hey, not so fast there buddy, My pet rocks which I keep in the basement where it's damp and dark, came down with radon poisoning. NOw I have to send them to Mexico for a $10,000 miracle cure made from avacodo pits. The damn Democrats outlawed the treatment here. Have to sell a few more parts at $5000 each to afford it. It's like a conspiracy, ya know, like.

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That is the whole point in a nut shell. Yes I had a problem and the Ford ignition fixed it.

Not only that, the $20 junkyard Ford ignition actually works better than the $400 aftermarket module that was on there, and better than the stock Porsche ignition.

Therefore, I can recommend the Ford ignition for those who want electronic ignition.

Why don't you guys tune in Ford, GM, Toyota, and every other car maker on the globe? Evidently they don't know as much about motors as you guys do, they keep putting electronic ignition on their cars. Tell them electronic ignition is a scam and they can save money by putting points ignition on their cars, they will probably give you a solid gold Caribbean convertible out of gratitude.

Rusty,

What was the problem with the 47 356 that the Ford ignition fixed?? I have driven 100,000 miles in 356's and have sold parts for thousands of them, never encountered any inherent problems. The Autolite system proved ultrarealiable in millions of cars

For sure electronic ignition is more reliable, it can be computer controlled in numerous parameters and in an engine designed for it, yields lower emissions. None of these are benefits that can be obtained, I believe, in an older engine which was designed for points ignition.

I do not think that old fashioned vacuum advance/points/condenser ignition would be viable on a modern engine

A fellow over at the Studebaker Golden Hawk forum did some research and posted a distributor and electronic ignition guide. He also had a picture on how to install it properly in this newsletter.

G'day Andrew Sinclair,
to PackardInfo and for the informative links.

And I invite you to include your Packard/s in the Packard Owner's Registry here on PackardInfo.

Hi 56 Clipper:

You have a legitimate question and maybe I can help.

Firstly, if your distributor has worn bushings, and other worn parts going electronic will only amplify the misfires.
So you need to have a good rebuilt distributor to start with.

On the Packard V-8 routine servicing of the distributor is a pain because it is at the back of the motor so you need to pull it and then retime the motor. Electronic will eliminate that, but you still need to lube the distributor cam and points pivot unless the unit is using a Hall effect switch and reluctor.

On motors with impossible ignition parts like the Stutz electronic will keep old worn out points, rotor, and cap in service.

To test the efficiency of the ignition a five gas exhaust analyzer is needed and a dyno. If you live in a state with IM240 state inspection you might be able to find out if the emissions are reduced with electronic. The result of lower emissions is longer motor life.

I dealt with a Twin-Six that had electronic and it worked great. However, if your ignition system is in top shape the only advantage from electronic will be reduced maintenance and perhaps longer motor life.

Hope this helps

Andrew,
for including your '55 Clipper Super Touring Sedan in the Registry. Looks good!

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I never had a problem with a 47 356 because I never had a 47 356.

I did have a problem with a 1975 Porsche 911. The problem was, the engine would not run. The reason it would not run, was that the ignition did not work. The ignition did not work because the electronic module was burned out.

Instead of buying an aftermarket module for $400, or a Porsche module for God knows how much, I used a Ford module. The Ford module actually produces a hotter spark than the Porsche module, and I assume will be at least as reliable. It is also small enough to fit conveniently into the engine compartment which an MSD module won't.

Hope this is clear.

One more thing I would like to add. The idea of opening up the spark plug gap with electronic ignition is a good one. I did it on the Porsche. Just don't go too far or you might cause a cross fire inside the distributor cap.

If you examine the cap off an electronic ignition car, you will see it is bigger (as on GMs) or had added ridges on the inside for extra isolation. This is prevent the spark from jumping to the wrong wire.

You may be able to find such a cap to fit your distributor but if you can't, don't go overboard on the spark plug gap.