Installation of Pertronix Ignitor II
by Bill Elder


I had been experiencing problems with the stock Auto-lite distributor in my 300 G. This led me to investigate an electronic conversion using Pertronix components. I had used a basic module in the distributors on my 300 C and Ram K. For the Ram K, I had also used a billet distributor with mechanical advance. I had not experienced a failure. This subject has come up many times on our Club's List server. I went to the Club's Tech Page and watched the fine video from Carl Bilter, on the subject. He outlines possible causes of failure and he also had to modify the module mounting to obtain a reasonable air gap between the module and a magnet sleeve that slips over the stock eight-sided block that triggers the stock points.

I thought that I should investigate the more advanced Pertronix units to see if there were any design differences. I saw that the Ignitor II system consisted of a complete replacement base for the upper and lower breaker plates. All that was required was to mount the electronic module to the new upper plate, install a ground strap between the upper and lower plate, thread the two wires from the module and connect them to the coil.

A piece of cake. Not so fast! There was no clearance for the arm on the vacuum advance. Of course, I didn’t realize this until I received the module from Summit Racing. The unit that I purchased, 9138SL-S, was designated for Chrysler V-eight engines and a check showed that they would work on 413 engines from 1959 to 1965. Pertronix failed to mention the problem with the vacuum advance arm. The first step involved a trial fit to draw a rough outline on the mounting block of the area that I would have to remove to gain clearance for the arm.

There were a couple more trial fits and additional trimming until the proper clearance was achieved. After final mounting of all of the components, I used the Mighty Vac to check the vacuum advance operation. I also rotated the distributor shaft past all eight high points on the point activation block. I got very consistent air gap readings of .016” between the Pertronix module and the points block. I installed the distributor and the matching Pertronix Igniter II coil, bypassed the ballast resister for a full 12 volts and the engine fired. I will be sending a note and pictures to Pertronix regarding the vacuum advance arm. Hopefully they will be more forthcoming with any future literature and instruction sheets.



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