If I buy the Flamethrower and Ignitor combo... Do I need anything special considering my truck is a 6 volt? Does this mean I should wait until I make the whole system 12 V first? Or is it totally separate? Thanks so much! Any tips for putting that combo into my 1954 Chevy 235 (3100) are greatly appreciated! Looks like a simple fast way to get some good reliability!
6V and 12V systems use different parts, so if you're planning on upgrading to 12V, you'll want to do that first.
X2 on the 12V conversion first. Testimonial here - the Pertronix setup in my Chevy lights off the blown BBC with fury! Very hot spark.
Convert it to 12 volts first, then install The Pertronix. I can’t say enough good things about Pertronix, we have 8 engines with them. Trucks, Hot Rods, and tractors. Make sure to pay attention to proper coil resistance based on number of cylinders. I will get stoned for saying this, but I would also use an alternator. Sent from my iPhone using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I'm not intending on derailing this thread but I am also thinking about installing a Pertronix with coil in my stock 272 Y block. Do I need to use a specific plug wire or will the reproduction Ford wires work fine? Do I need to open the gap on the plug? I've seen some people here recommend bypassing the ballast resister and others say leave it, I'm inclined to leave it. At what point would I want to consider using the ignitor II or the ignitor III?
Unless they've changed it, the better Pertronix units have an 'auto shut off' feature that shuts off the ignition if it doesn't read a signal for several seconds. Without this, you can smoke the module if the ignition is 'on' and the motor isn't running. As to plug wires, some of these ignitions don't like solid-core wires (like the OEM wires) as the RFI messes them up. Ask that question....
If you are looking for tire smoke get the Ignitor II If your just driving to cruise night the standard Pertronix is fine.
I would get on the phone and call Petronix. They are more interested than you are in making sure your installation is a long lived success.
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