Prestolite Distributor Upgrade

[droyo]

I would like to upgrade to an electronic ignition.<br />I currently have a Prestolite with points. I've heard that ESA (electronic shift assist) doesn't work with an electronic ignition. What's my best choice??

 

[JasonB]

Re: Prestolite Distributor Upgrade

I have a prestolite on my Mercruiser with an electronic upgrade from Pertronix. There is a module you can build for about $5 at Radio Shack to show how to fix the Electronic module/ESA problem. The instructions are on Pertronix's site. I built one to solve a different problem with my tach and it was pretty easy.

 

[droyo]

Re: Prestolite Distributor Upgrade

Thanks for the replay JasonB. What't the difference between the Ignitor and Ignitor 2? Did you use the stock coil?

 

[JasonB]

Re: Prestolite Distributor Upgrade

I used an ignitor 2 because of the feature it has of shutting itself off if your leave the key on while the engine is off. I also installed a Pertronix flamethrower coil and a new set of Magstar 8mm marine wires. I would also get a fresh set of plugs (esp if you get the coil since you will need to bypass the ballast resistor/wire and get a full voltage to the coil)and add .005 to the gap. If your gap is .030, go to .035. <br /><br />The upgrade really made starting my '76 not-completely-stock carbed Ford 302 much easier.<br /><br />If you want a pic of how it looks installed, shoot me an e-mail (addy jason at kimandjason dot net, just reformat as a normal address) and I will send you a pic and some other info. I'm don't have the stuff I need with me to resize the pic and post it.