You are here: Forums Classic Cars Classic Cars as daily drivers

Classic Cars as daily drivers

552 messages,  Last post on May 11, 2009 at 8:03 AM

You are in the Classic Cars Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright

What is this discussion about? Coupe, Convertible, Sedan

Messages Page 4 of 56 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 56 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

#31 of 552 '78 Ford F-100 by mhall02 May 23, 2001 (10:43 am)
Hi all, I don't know if this is a classic' or not but have a '78 Ford F-100 I bought from my Dad in 1986 that now has 203,000 miles and still running great. Drove it in high school, college and every day to work now, put about 10,000 miles on it per year. Has original engine, tranny (300 c.. six I/ a three on the tree manual), and alternator, who knows how long it will last but its been a great truck. Change the oil every 3,000 miles (Castrol, Quaker State or Valvoline)and make sure it doesn't get low. Burns a quart of 20W50 every 1,000, 10W30 maybe every 800-900 miles. Starting to get a little rust here in the city (moved to St. Louis area 6 years ago), but I'll drive it till it drops.
#32 of 552 Andre by speedshift May 23, 2001 (10:52 am)
Years ago I converted a car to electronic ignition using an aftermarket kit. It saved me from having to change the points and condenser but one day it failed, catastrophically and without warning. On the other hand points wear gradually as they pit, and the gap slowly increases until the spark can't jump the gap. I guess the point (no pun intended) is to use the best conversion kit you can find.
#33 of 552 by Mr_Shiftright HOST May 23, 2001 (12:06 pm)
Part of the charm of old cars is that you can fix them when they break. If you toss away the breaker points, true, you may get more reliability at the time, but when that electronic ignition kit packs up, where are you? I wouldn't expect these kits to have the reliability of factory-designed and factory built systems.   As for gas mileage, that's really a weight and aerodynamics issue more than anything with the car. I don't think a little fatter spark is going to save you. Replies to this message: kens67coupe (Feb 05, 2007 9:29 am)
#34 of 552 by speedshift May 23, 2001 (1:49 pm)
You know I almost suggested carrying a spare set of points and condensor if Andre converted to electronic, but it sounds kind of dumb to have to carry around "obsolete" technology to back up "advanced" technology.   When I converted a '71 LeMans there wasn't any noticable improvement in performance or mpg. The only advantage was one less thing to do during a tune-up. GM points are extremely easy to adjust, and whatever minimal-to-nonexistant gain in mpg I picked up was more than offset by the towing bill when the electronic ignition packed up.
#35 of 552 andre: Pertronix Igniter by kinley May 23, 2001 (2:02 pm)
replaced the points/condenser in my 289 4V Mustang and the idle immediately went up 1,000 rpm. It worked so well the same thing happened to the 77 SeaRay 302 & it goes 4 mph faster, starts quicker, & idles smoother. The Pertronix Igniter has been very dependable & costs less than $60. You install, connecting two wires. Why wait?
#36 of 552 by speedshift May 23, 2001 (4:58 pm)
I'm surprised there's that much demand on the ignition system at idle to show that much improvement. I'm wondering if something else is going on, or maybe they've just come a long way in twenty years.
#37 of 552 Electronic ignition feedback... by andre1969 May 24, 2001 (4:51 am)
Hey guys, thanks for all the feedback.   I'm starting to have second thoughts as to whether it would really be worth it to switch the Dart. As it stands, I've had the car since April '92, and the points have only been changed 3 times...June '94, October '96, and April '97. If I was putting 30,000 miles a year on it like I do my Intrepid, it might be worth it though. Still, even if it's not worth it, I'm tempted to do it just to see what happens.   I also posted this question on a Mopar mailing list I belong to, and 3 people responded back. Two said they got better performance, startups, and mileage, while the other who said to just get a distributor off of a 1970 or newer Mopar, said that there was no real improvement, just less maintenance.   Kinley, thanks for the Pertronix info. I went to their website, and it looks like the igniter is some kind of retrofit for your existing distributor? I'm going to give them a call later (they're on the west coast, I'm on the east, so it's like 5:46 am out there as I write this Do they specialize in mainly Ford applications? Just wondering, because of the Mustangs on their web page. Do they make Mopar stuff as well, or is the igniter some kind of one-size fits all type of fit?   If I went to a different distributor, I was going to go with the one put out by Mopar performance. Now, if it's made my Mopar it can't be bad, can it? Ok, that one's wide open for comebacks!   -Andre
#38 of 552 Andre... by isellhondas May 24, 2001 (7:32 am)
Personally, I think this would be nothing but a waste of money.   Replacing a set of points every 10,000 miles isn't a big deal. You'll never notice a performance increase nor will an increase in gas mileage ever amount to much.   Just my take on it.
#39 of 552 Andre: Get a copy of "Mopar Monthly" by kinley May 24, 2001 (9:00 am)
or some other Mopar mag and see if the Igniter is advertised. I would bet there is an Igniter for Mopar applications. The two sets I installed are just fine.
#40 of 552 Andre by im_brentwood May 24, 2001 (11:08 pm)
Thanks on the Vauxhall!   It's my "baby" ))))   As far as electronic ignition conversions go...   I'd say to pass. You won't get much of a noticeable improvement, and the possibility of total breakdown is greater. I'd also not use one in my boat... too much possibility of damp gettingin there and causing chaos.... not worth it on the ignition system IMHO, but then my boat also does a lot of long-distance open-water crusing (Bahamas runs from West Palm area).   Next time youre down here lemme know! I live just west of Universal!   Bill

Messages Page 4 of 56 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ... 56 Prev Next Last

Go To Msg # Search This Discussion

You are here: Forums Classic Cars Classic Cars as daily drivers