screw it- go with electronic ignition?

[jetboy]

I should post pics i know.. but i have a major project, a 69 with a 1600 engine stuck in it. as far as i can tell, they never actually got that 1600 engine to run. long list of things half done- but one of the big ones is all the wiring having been shredded to all hell, and - - it looks like-- they were trying to bypass the warm up ignition relay system, and just go directly to the main- but everything is so cut up and wires missing, running to weird places, or just dangling to nowhere that....

I am thinking: screw it, just get an electronic ignition and start over.

anyone done this, got any recommendations?

I looked at Allison's distributorless ignition- a bit pricy but maybe worth it. or just go with a fireball? One (probably quite small) complication with Allison's is my car is a 69, with the battery up front, so the coil pack could not mount as recommended in the video- id have to figure out somewhere else for it.

thanks-

[majicwrench]

Tis your car, but since yoiu asked,

You can't get much simpler that a points dist. One power wire running to coil. One wire running to dist from coil. Done.

Look back thru some earlier posts and find all the posts where folks can't get their electronic ignition...both stock and aftermarket....to work.

Sounds like a fun project, looking forward to pictures!

[jetboy]

I hear you- but this car is a bit more complicated than that- with 2 point systems overlapping- two condensers etc with wires that run through various relays and temp switches - all of which are now either missing, suspect or miswired in this car.

if not electronic- is there a point based system compatible that bypassed all that and I can just remove all the extraneous bits? I do not really see the need to have two systems to upkeep with so many components in the chain that can go wrong

[divace73]

if on a budget, get yourself a 2nd hand Fiat electronic unit from the later model car. The only mod you may have to make is configuring the vacuum advance plate to work with the carbie, otherwise it should be straight forward.

If you do have the budget get one of Marks systems.

[vandor]

Neither the 1969 or any Spiders with a 1608 engine had the dual point system. That only came after 1974.
The point system on either the 1438 or 1608 should be very simple, with just a set of points in the distributor, coil and ballast resistor.
That said, the Pertronix electronic ignition is the simplest conversion with just a unit in the distributor with two wires that connect to the positive and negative side of the coil.

[jetboy]

hmm. then it looks like my car is more of a bastard than i thought. the distributor is definitely dual points. someone has tried to put various parts together that do not go together. thus my confusion as to how all this could possibly work.

on the other hand - maybe its an 1800 engine. i am only saying its a 1600 as that is what the PO told me. is there a way to tell? (edit: answered my own question- ill look at the numbers stamped near the oil filter)

[majicwrench]

Just yank one of those sets of points out. Now you have a single point dist. Run a wire from key to + side of coil, run another wire from - to point set. Super simple.

[So Cal Mark]

our system will work with any of the Spiders. The coil pack mounts in place of the original coil, no matter which side of the car it was on. Our system is quite simple; power wire, tach wire and ground. Maintenance free, 60000 volts from 0 to 12000 rpm. Spark plugs will last years longer than with your points or Marelli systems. Spark is strong enough to overcome many driveability issues and you'll love the instant starting when cold

[jetboy]

yep- im half sold on Mark's system just because of the simplicity- AND the realization that the reason my hood does not close properly is because my distributor sticks up too high. not having it do that would save me needing a different hood.

I took the carb off and i have the single wide hole intake- another point toward this being a 1.8l engine. I could not find anything stamped in the engine where others said it was. anyone have pictures of where it is or very specific directions?

[fiat218]

yep- im half sold on Mark's system just because of the simplicity- AND the realization that the reason my hood does not close properly is because my distributor sticks up too high. not having it do that would save me needing a different hood.

I took the carb off and i have the single wide hole intake- another point toward this being a 1.8l engine. I could not find anything stamped in the engine where others said it was. anyone have pictures of where it is or very specific directions?

i have marks , i plan on getting another

[vandor]

> I could not find anything stamped in the engine where others said it was

2 liter engines were stamped in a different place, on a raised boss between the oil filter and the engine mount.
The fact the the distributor interferes with the hood points in the direction that you might have the taller 2 liter engine.

[garion]

If you can find Brad Artigue's "Fiat 124 Spider Engine Maintenance and Modification", it has a chart in there on identifying the different engine blocks.

[azruss]

On a 2L, the marking is on a flat machined section directly below the mechanical fuel pump cover. Directly above a couple of studs for the motor mounts.

[jetboy]

found it:

134A1.031.6
0659931



which seems to be a 1.8l but most all the references i saw only had a .5 not a .6-- but it must be close.

[Zippy]

The 77 and 78 can be 132A1.031.6
This is from a maintanence manual on njfiats.org site