I want to convert the points in my 322 nailhead to electronic. Looking on Summit Racing and Speedway I can find Crane kits for Chevrolet but nothing for Buick. Will the Chevy kits work in a Buick motor? I also have a '63 Pontiac. Will the Chevy kits work in that?
Call @hotroddon and he will supply you with all the electronics you will ever need. Its been a while but I think tat Buick used the same points so it would have the same points plate. But that information is sketchy at best. if I could actually see the distributer I could answer that or you could look up points for both cars and see if they carry the same part number.
Bossman Ryan used the PerTronix in his nailhead Rivi and wrote a report on it - seemed pretty happy with it!
The thing is GM changed their distributors around 1957. They added the window to adjust the dwell and moved the advance mechanism above the points plate. My 322 is a 1955. So I'm not sure if a kit made for the 1957 - 1974 Chevy will work in my 1955 distributor.
Nope different animal. I'll bet that @hotroddon or @GMC BUBBA can still hook you up with something that will work if you ask them specifically. OK that's as much spam as you get its up to you now.
The 57-74 Chevy kits will Not work on the 55-6 style dist with the advance under the breaker plate. PerTronix offers the correct one for you. If you are running 12 - ground use a 1183 kit for the origianl style Ignitor, or 91183 for the Ignitor II. If it is 6V - ground at N6 to the end of the part number. If it is 12v + ground at P6 to the part number. Make sure you get the appropriate coil as well.
I have used Pertronix in all my nailheads for years and the only problem I ever had was when I left the switch on too long without the engine running and burnt it up. The instructions say not to use the resistor but I found the coil got way too hot so wired it using the original resistor on my 55 and it worked great.
Doesn't even have to do that Jim, I posted the part numbers for him!!! But if he wants to check it out, the correct web address is Pertronix.com
The 322 distributor is different than the subsequent ones. The vacuum advance is really expense to replace if you need to. When I converted I bought a later model distributor and had the electronic crane unit installed. Talk to Russ at Centerville Auto. I am real happy with mine. http://nailheadbuick.com/
I put a Pertronics in the 54 Buick Special I had. Worked great, idled smoother and had more power, also started much faster than with the points. And yes the points were new and set correctly.
Sounds like you got lucky. But I no longer need one as I upgraded the distributor and put in the electronics. Works great for me.
Remember back in the day when we ran a Mallory dual point and no vacuum advance! We had that good leaded high test gasoline and fouled a set of plugs in a few thousand miles? My old beater had one of those mighty Mallory decals on the rear side glass. I still have a couple of those Mallory dual point distrubeters.
Why? What is wrong with points? They powered millions of vehicles for a hundred years, helped us win wars, and so on. And they will never mysteriously die due to a nearby lightning strike or other oddball electronic mishap.
I have been running full mechanical advance ever since then. I must say that mechanical advance is way easier to tune with electronic than with points. We both had at least one of those decals. That was also when I learned that too much octane was as bad as too little. I had a '57 Chebby that would run real well on a mix of mid grade and ethyl. Foul a set of plugs just leaving the station on pure Ethyl. hey help me out, I don't remember the 3 names of gas. We had regular and ethyl but what was the other one called? Was it called mid grade? I don't think it was? While I am thinking about it remember when they brought out CD ignition? it was an add on with your points, it was the go fast wave of the future. I think we have just had electronic so long that we think that points are a problem. Like drum brakes if you keep points ignition up to par they work just fine and sometimes more than just fine, just ask @squirrel. he drives from track to track and goes really fast on a set of points. The same will eventually happen with computers, electronic distributers will become a thing of the past. Guys like @Old wolf and me will be says on a forum, hey remember when we used to run electronic distributers.
It was regular- premium and high test. Everyone would get excited about when their car (Chalked) the exhaust pipes. When it was simply the lead residue from the gas coating the inside of the tail pipes. That lead got cooked to the spark plugs. Almost every station had a little sandblaster rig that cleaned the plugs. When you pulled the cyl heads every exhaust valve was white in color.
I just picked up an old hot rod that I owned 30 years ago It has a 1956 Buick 322 in it with a generator. Can. I convert the points distributor to a pertronix conversion, or run an electronic distributor and still keep my generator?
Hey Larry, should start a new thread, in the mean time search for threads about using the points to trigger boxes. I’ve not done it, but seems the proper way to go to extend point life.
@Low Buck Larry , your rod with generator: Is your battery 6 volt or 12 volt? Which battery post is grounded, positive or negative? @hotroddon , can Larry run Pertronix with a generator, or can that cause a problem? Thanks.
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