Re: [alfa] replace points??

[James Montebello <jamesm@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

There are really only two points replacement devices out there, the Crane
and variants (some Alfa specific), which is optical, and the Pertronix,
which is magnetic.  I've tried both, the Crane in a '78 Alfetta (single
point Marelli) and the Pertronix in a '64 Mini.

The Crane has a separate box you have to mount somewhere, whereas the
Pertronix fits entirely inside the distributor.  The Crane box has a
nice LED on it which greatly aids in statically-timing the thing before
firing it up the first time.  The Pertronix is not at all easy to time
statically (easy dynamically, though).  The Crane mounting system is
fairly cheesy, and took me nearly an entire weekend to fit mine properly
in the Marelli distributor.  Once it was done, it's been quite reliable,
but it wasn't an easy install.  The Pertronix units, when they have one
that fits your distributor, are about as easy to fit as a new set of
points, and the mounting system is generally much more robust.

I've heard a fair amount of talk about people having the Pertronix be
DOA, or fail very early on.  However, if it lasts past the first few
weeks, it will last a long time (years, tens of thousands of miles).
Pertronix phone support and return policy are generally well-regarded.
The Crane I've only heard of failures after a long period of use.

In neither instance did I notice easier starting, or more power, or
better fuel economy.  They also haven't required any fiddling since
installation, either.   Worth it for the lowered maintenance, but don't
expect any other benefits.

jamesm

On Mon, 5 Jan 2004, Crawford, Pat wrote:

> To all,
> I have a 79 Spider with the original dual point set up and I would like to
> find out what everyone's opinon in on replacing my points with an optical
> trigger. What are your experiences? Is it worth the time and money to do it?
> Thanks,
> Pat Crawford
> Dallas
> 79 Spider (daily driver)
> 82 gtv6 (soon to be!)
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