Pertronix Flamethrower distributor

[19Walt93]

I've installed Pertronix units in a couple points distributors and been happy with them so I decided to buy a Pertronix distributor for my 351 Ranger. It's shiny billet which doesn't appeal to me but it has bearings instead of bushings on the shaft and was very simple to wire. The problem is the centrifugal advance mechanism. It looks like a GM unit and the springs and weights are under the cap and easier to access than a Ford distributor. But they don't work. Centrifugal advance should come in smoothly and in a linear manner as the RPM's increase and drop back to base timing instantly when the engine returns to idle. My distributor doesn't advance at all until it's been held at about 2000 RPM for at least 8 seconds and doesn't return to base timing until it idles for 14 seconds. If I put in lighter springs it will advance at 1500-also after 8 seconds- and will only drop back when the engine is shut off. I called Pertronix in the summer and described what it was doing, at first I was told it can't do that, then he suggested I see if Summit would exchange it and call him for a replacement if they wouldn't. Summit replaced it without question even though I bought it 14 month prior. The replacement works exactly the same so I called Pertronix again and arranged to send it for testing after I parked the truck in November. It cost $35 to send it and I just got it back with a note :tested good , no details, no comment about the advance, no date or ID of the person who "tested" it. I assume they plugged it in, spun it up and it threw sparks, and put it back in the box.
If I had a good 351 distributor with a roller cam compatible gear I might put a Pertronix unit in it because the Ford advance mechanism works. I don't so I'm looking.
This distributor is a shiny turd and would be perfect on a Chevy small block with billet pulleys and an Edelbrock carb. The folks at car shows who are impressed by bling would love it.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Unpopular opinion... I like points better than Petronix anyway.

 

[19Walt93]

I may be making some progress. After leaving a less than polite phone message I got a call from the guy at Pertronix. He said he sent a description of the problem with the distributor when it went for testing and the results should have been on the sheet so he's going to check into it and get back to me. I was initially going to buy a duraspark distributor and replace the gear to match my roller cam, problem is that I'd be buying a reman at least 33 years old and the odds of it not having the gear replaced already would be slim. Since you drill a new hole through the shaft for the new gear, it's only supposed to be done once before the shaft is replaced. No points for me, thanks.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

Granted it was 10 years newer then but I have had good luck with my reman Carquest Duraspark dizzy. A wire did tear and I replaced the pickup a couple years ago, it wasn't a big deal to do though.

 

[Dirtman]

Im pretty sure we tried a pertronix in the 75' vette we were working on when I was in Georgia. We replaced literally everything electrical in that car. It did something similar, started fine but had NO advance. We ended up going to Napa and getting a reman AC delco and it worked fine. Dunno if my brother in law ever diagnosed the issue with the pertronix though.

 

[19Walt93]

I still haven't heard back from Pertronix. I pulled the rotor and it looks like they had the advance weights off and lubed them so I decided to try it again. After reinstalling the distributor yesterday I checked the centrifugal advance and it's still delayed 8 seconds and still takes 14 seconds to drop back to base timing after returning to idle. I'd be happy to have a Duraspark distributor, the problem is that I need a steel gear. To replace the gear you drive out the laminated roll pin, press off the gear, press the new one on with the pin hole 90 degrees from the hole in the shaft, and drill a new hole through the shaft. If the shaft already has 2 holed in it, it's junk. The newest 351 Duraspark would be from an 87 F250, odds are a reman has had the gear replaced before.
To be continued..

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

O'Reilly's guy handing Walt a reman "87" distributor after he breaks down and decides to try to swap gears...

 

[Dirtman]

O'Reilly's guy handing Walt a reman "87" distributor after he breaks down and decides to try to swap gears...

View attachment 54975

As someone who use to work at advance auto, I felt like that everytime I'd ramble off the prices for parts and say something like "We have a BRAND NEW unit for $100 bucks, or this sketchy used remanufactured unit for $19.99", and the customer gives me a dirty look like hell yea I want that 20 dollar part! I'd cringe a bit and go "Ok good luck".

2 weeks later guy would be back in to return it for another one. Usually after 2 or 3 returns they stopped coming back. Either they gave up or the 3rd one worked.

We weren't really even suppose to push customers for the expensive new parts because the store made more money on the cheap house brand reman garbage, even with the massive amount of returns.

 

[19Walt93]

If I bought a reman and found out the shaft already had 2 holes in it I'm not sure they'd take it back because it wouldn't be defective.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

If I bought a reman and found out the shaft already had 2 holes in it I'm not sure they'd take it back because it wouldn't be defective.

"Well they forgot the rollpin and the gear was just rolling around in the box, what kinda junk are you you trying to sell?"

 

[Dirtman]

I can assure you, half the time they never even look in the box let alone inspect the part. You could return a ham sandwich and say it was a distributor and they would probably take it.

 

[19Walt93]

I'd tell them what I did, I've bought parts and found someone's return in the box before and wouldn't want to do that to someone else.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I'd tell them what I did, I've bought parts and found someone's return in the box before and wouldn't want to do that to someone else.

Warranty shouldn't go back on the shelf.

I haven't returned a matching core distributor yet, I asked the guy at the counter and he didn't care as long as there was a distributor in the box. When I durasparked my 2.8 the feedback dizzy went back and when I durasparked my 5.0 the EFI dizzy went back.

 

[Dirtman]

I'd tell them what I did, I've bought parts and found someone's return in the box before and wouldn't want to do that to someone else.

We use to inspect returned parts, if they said it failed for some reason it just went straight in the returns pile to go back to the factory and not back to the shelf. But often they would bring parts back that they broke, or stole parts off and tried to return it saying "it just didn't fit" in which case we were suppose to just put it back on the shelf. But in all honesty it's hard to even tell whats messed up when your dealing with reman parts that usually look messed up anyway. People would take apart something like an alternator, steal the bearings or pulley to fix their original alternator, put their old broken parts in the new alternator and return it. Sometimes they were super clever about it and even cleaned up and painted the old bad parts and returned them as the new part saying "dang wrong one".

Moral of the story, you gamble with remanufactured parts to start with but you also have no idea whats actually in the box from a parts store. If you ever buy an alternator or starter from a parts store, make them test it before buying it.

 

[Dirtman]

Warranty shouldn't go back on the shelf.

I haven't returned a matching core distributor yet, I asked the guy at the counter and he didn't care as long as there was a distributor in the box. When I durasparked my 2.8 the feedback dizzy went back and when I durasparked my 5.0 the EFI dizzy went back.

No one cares about cores, those go to the factory anyway, as long as there is a "similar" type of part in the box no one gives a crap. But read my post above about how garbage parts end up on the shelves.