I too had a Pertronix ignition conversion failure. I have a 1960 Chrysler 300F with an original Autolite IBS 4011 cast iron dual point distributor with mechanical tach drive that I installed the correct Pertronix conversion kit in, including the correct Pertronix Flame Thrower coil. The module failed while on a controlled access toll freeway. I had the car towed back to my driveway where I reinstalled the original dual point plate assembly and hardware along with the original coil as well. Boom, fired right up. Nobody else that I’ve spoken with has experienced any failures with Pertronix, except you! I agree, I will not be using Pertronix again. As I only drive this car to shows, I’m happy with the factory dual point system. Very reliable. I also do appreciate keeping the car as close to original as possible. I’m glad I found somebody else with the same problem, not that I wish the inconvenience of an ignition failure on anyone!

For anyone interested, the truck is still listed. Everything mechanical has been rebuilt. facebook.com/share/qvMaXtzaS7i2b2FH/

His loss

I'd buy that truck

Love the old shoeboxes!

Pertronix seems to have quite an active fanboy club. There’s no shortage of KZfaq videos with people showing how they’ve been let down, and the comments are usually full of testimonials to how great their experience has been, as if that somehow cancels out your experience. Pertronix are lucky they have such a vocal support group covering for their substandard product.

You should've loosened the transmission mount nuts and lifted it some with a small jack and piece of 2x4 under the pan to give better clearance angle to pull the engine bottom studs out....be sure to do that when reinstalling and it'll go alot easier. The late 90's Outbacks are great, they just get messed up by people who don't know what they're doing. Also, the hood will go back fully vertical, just use a ratchet strap on the roof rack and the hood latch to hold it up....much room better for the lift and working in there. The torque converter bolts are easy without the intake on, but putting the intake on and connecting it up in the car is also a pain. On a manual the starter engages the flywheel, the auto & manual starters are different and not interchangable.

Sweet Shoebox 👍

Love it. I hope its turn is soon! **Now would be a good time to clean up the interior. Strip it and hose it out! So you’re not taking rodents or their mess into the garage. Just sayin’. I’d love to have this one.

At least there's good tunes on the media drive 😁 Also, my 2018 Lexus SUV will have the head unit crap out from time to time as well. Sadly, the head unit also controls climate, gps and all apps so when it goes out, everything is gone

We had one of those, glad to see this happing to it. Love the station wagon, beautiful.

Yep, same issues. I bought a Pertronix distributor with Ignitor 1 and the Pertronix 1.5 ohm oil filled coil. The coil lasted about an hour and then the engine died. I had it mounted to the cylinder head. So, I changed to a MSD epoxy filled Blaster coil and added a .7 ohm resistor to make the 1.5 ohm circuit resistance. It runs with 10 volts at the coil.

Sweet! my first car was a '50 Ford 4 door and later I got a 50 Ford tudor both were customs with the flat head V-8's boy I got to know those motors pretty well. fun car and easy to work on!

That front windshield is a thing of beauty

I'll bet you are using Factory Ford wiring which has 6-7 volts at the coil....YOU MUST HAVE 12 VOLTS AT THE COIL otherwise you will ruin these ignitor systems every time

I can't believe I spot a dual brake master cylinder. No one has such a beast for 66 TBird. Where and how did you find one ? Please let me know. TY

Well I ended up having to pull my Power break booster out to get the unit out from the top of the car as it would not drop out the bottom with out the use of a plasma cutter and believe me if I had one I would have used it. Any way, thank you so much for the video as I watched it like five times and now mine is ready to reinstall. God bless.

My gear box looks just like yours does, I have a '65 Tbird, There are a couple of different gear boxes. I followed my shop manuel and It just would not come out at all. I had to pull my power break booster to get it out! what a pain in the butt.

I had 3 of their points replacement kits fail on me. Hours wasted waiting for tow trucks. Wife hates my hotrod now! Back to points! Pertronix suck!

Those old T Birds were a BEAR to work on! Nothing is easy on those!

Just had the same issue. 70 Mustang with 351w stock distributor with Pertronix ignitor I and 40011 coil. Car was fine before putting away for the winter (Scotland, UK) took it out started great, idled fine then the engine just shut down, I suspected the coil (after reading about failures being common), I have replaced the coil with another 40011, haven’t had a chance to try it out because winter is back (that’s Scotland for you). I have had the Pertronix fitted for nearly 4 years, this is the first issue I’ve had, but I’m not confident in reliability now, I will carry points and a coil in car from now on, seriously considering going back to points but will need to look at this my resistor wire was ‘toast’ so I have a bypass in and 12v to the coil, no idea how long points would last with this. Pertronix has a large following for these cars they should really focus on reliability because they are great systems when they work. I will be interested is any similar alternatives.

Having the same issues .

Replaced points and coil in my 66 mustang 20 years ago with pertronix and their flame thrower coil. Over 100k miles. 289 2 barrel automatic. Never misses a beat. Added a Jacob's to it and the Jacob's quit on me after 1.5 years. Now have an MSD on top of the same old 20 year old pertronix and flame thrower. Works great!

After 10 years of a billet 2 flame thrower in my car I ended up taking off the cap and it is all rusted. Except the ignitor 2! I ended up trying to take some of the rusted parts off and working on them. The one thing that came to my attention was the lead ground. I basically just fell apart. I was having some starting problems and throttle problems. This was the the biggest problem I have seen with it. Check the lead ground connecting the ignitor to a base plate.

Thanks for the Pertronix info ! My new Pertronix distributor & Coil on my rebuilt 289 just left me stranded and I hope I can return this crap to Jegs.

Thanks for the Pertronix info ! My new Pertronix distributor & Coil on my rebuilt 289 just left me stranded and I hope I can return this crap to Jegs.

Instance 1: 1.5ohm coils are normally used when there's a ballast resistor in the ignition system, do you have a 1.5 - 1.6 ohm resistor in place for normal running? (bypassed when cranking). If not, you need a 3 ohm coil, otherwise the coil will blow. What's the resistance of your old coil? 1.5 or 3 ohm? (just test across the two main outer terminals). Instance 2: The HT leads needs to be self-resistive to prevent unused current from the plugs bouncing back into the distributor and cooking the EI module. If low resistive copper-core ('sport') HT leads, that will cook the EI in no time. Another point, it's always worth using a silver finish coil - which will keep it cooler than a black body coil. BTW I've not used any Pertronix gear yet, but might be more wary now!

What failed in the distributor? Wiring seems to be the culprit. When the vacuum advance is moving back and forth it has the propensity to pull the wires going to the module. With your skill level I'm sure you know this already, but thought I'd throw it out there. They are using a GM style mechanical weight system. I don't run vacuum advance on my Pontiac. So this would not be an issue for me. Did you run a full 12 volt source to the positive side of the coil ? Just a few questions, I like to give & receive information. Good luck.

What B/S .. thanks for the video.

I daily drove a 65 Malibu, 300 miles a week for 9 years! Only a few small repairs needed the whole time, alternator, carburetor rebuild, a vacuum advance, and tires. Then I got rear ended.

I commuted to my job in my 1968 Camaro. Who cares, I bought it to drive it and I loved it!

Are there any other electronic’s you would use in its place???

Go to Uncle Tony s U tube channel for a detailed explaination of why Pertronix on Fords MUST be modified to get 12 volts to & frm coil to car It s solvable if you re curious Gary _/)

(Apologies in advance for the long post.) I just bought a '65 Mustang that came with an Ignitor with original coil. There is some yellowing on the Ignitor label, but the swap is probably more than 20 years old. (The Mustang hasn't seen more than 20k miles since the 90s from what I can tell.) Otherwise, there is nothing I can point to saying that the system needs attention. I really want to upgrade the ignition system, however every MODERN option has negative reviews as well as people who claim positive longterm experiences. From what I can tell, most of the reported problems are a combination of increased failure rates due to lower quality assurance standards (I've seen this apply to every country lately) combined with the expectation that the configurations are 'plug-and-play' with no modification, maintenance or monitoring needed. But this certainly does make the case to go back to and use the original ignition setup. I am keenly aware of the fragility of the pertronix but I have had experiences with distributor components and coils failing in all electronic ignition setups. (MoPar guys have long had to carry an extra ballast resistor in the glovebox.) I have been learning what specific conditions cause premature failures, and have been performing tests to see if my current setup may have a risk. But so far everything looks good. I do though think it is a good idea to carry backups on these old cars just as someone would have many years ago.

Are you still running the factory resistor wire from the ignition?

Old fireman speaking, I would disconnect the negative side of the battery especially post incident. Bad crap happens when we are away. This is a worst nightmare scenario. Why do you carry a gun? Why do you have fire extinguishers?✌

My favorite galaxy Galaxie is 64

Now what?

great find good luck with your new project, I agree the distributor should be the second thing to go right after the tires

You have nothing to be embarrassed about! The ole girl is still getting broken in. Doubtless you will have a list of odds and ends to take care of over the summer as the car gets settled in. Keep up the great work.

Loved the EVOC splices!!

It takes hard work. I have learned that it takes patience as well keep up the good work

Woo hoo!! We have ignition AND no fire. Congrats sir.

Fuel line connections cause more Fires, than Ex Girlfriends... 😔😔😔

Definitely could have been worse. Just a bump in the road for hot rodders! Keep up the content!

Great news that Hagerty is stepping up to the plate! You got this. Such a testimony to being prepared for disaster in your garage. For that, well done.

Stick wagon. Cool.

Great wagon! I saw a 68 Country Sedan wagon at a car show a few months ago it was sold new in Mexico, and all the stickers under the hood and the owners manual are written in Spanish! It's an all original car, including the paint. Anyways, I'm going to subscribe so I can follow your wagon build.

Great work! Major accomplishment getting all this done. Love this car, wagons are so fun. Bravo

That's a cool wagon you'll have the bug's worked out soon, and cruising it this summer