Pertronics No Start - '73 GT V8

[Smiley]

v8 Monza's came with them stock, Vega firewalls may need a slight hammer massage depending on how far back your motor is mounted. I used an HEI in my 72 Vega with Hooker front mounts. Usually the trans tunnel needs more reshaping for V8 swaps than the firewall for an HEI.
1st gen Chevy small block V8's 55 and up and big blocks can share distributors.
86 and later roller cam motors use a different distributor gear for steel roller cam compatability

[Smiley]

a little pricey but cool Accel "corrected" cap for HEI, no more crossed wires.

[ol55]

At this point I am still trying to get some Bang out of the Pertronics or a points distributor. A friend came over and found no continuity in the spark plug wire. Replaced that and tried the points dizzy. The distributor is grounded to the engine but I am wondering if the engine needs to be/is grounded to the body. I have 12v at the coil ( three coils so far).

Not saying a new dizzy won't go in but the problem has me puzzled and I would like to figure it out (stubborn and maybe not the brightest bulb).

Appreciate any input,
Thanks,
Larry

[Smiley]

For suppression plug wires,
If the readout on the meter is under 10,000 ohms the plug wires are typically good.
Its always good to have a ground strap from the body to the motor, unless you use solid steel motor mounts or your negative battery cable has 2 leads: the fat one to the block and a thinner one to the body.

[spencerforhire]

Kind of late to this party, but I will try to help. You have tested and found 12V+ at the coil, so what you appear to possibly be missing is the negative pulse from the Pertronix module(or points). Best way to test for that is with an old school test light. If you don't have one, any small automotive light bulb will work. First step is to test the + of the coil(with the ignition on) to the battery -, the body and the engine block. All three should be similar brightness. Then crank over the starter; it's ok for it to dim a little but it should NOT go out. Then test from the - on the coil to the + of the battery; the light should flash when you crank it over. No flash= bad module. Flash but no start or no spark = bad coil or bad plugs or wires.
The10,000 to 15,000 ohms that Smiley suggests is actually kind of high. Most performance wires would be less than 1000 ohms per foot. What you're looking for really is consistency; if one wire reads 1000 ohms and another reads 15,000 you have a problem.

[ol55]

If it is not running, it's never too late to join the party!

Kind of late to this party, but I will try to help. You have tested and found 12V+ at the coil, so what you appear to possibly be missing is the negative pulse from the Pertronix module(or points). Best way to test for that is with an old school test light. If you don't have one, any small automotive light bulb will work. First step is to test the + of the coil(with the ignition on) to the battery -, the body and the engine block. All three should be similar brightness.yes Then crank over the starter; it's ok for it to dim a little but it should NOT go out. yesThen test from the - on the coil to the + of the battery; the light should flash when you crank it over. No flash= bad module.NO flash Flash but no start or no spark = bad coil or bad plugs or wires.
The10,000 to 15,000 ohms that Smiley suggests is actually kind of high. Most performance wires would be less than 1000 ohms per foot. What you're looking for really is consistency; if one wire reads 1000 ohms and another reads 15,000 you have a problem.

Thanks,
Larry

[ol55]

Update: Put in points distributor and had flashing light. Poured in a little gas and it fired. Not all 8 and not the right timing but I'll take it!

Many Thanks!
Larry
540 454 2294

[ol55]

Had & am having wiring issues so I bought the HEI set up recommended by Smiley What wires (locally available) should I use? Anything but NAPA blue as I have had trouble with them.

Thanks,
Larry

[Smiley]

75 to 80 chevy cars with the smallblock V8 came with an HEI distributor so the wires should work.

[spencerforhire]

I've always been a fan of the universal spark plug wire kits that only have the plug end and boot pre-installed and you cut each one to fit and then crimp on the cap end. A little more work, but you can route them however you like and the finished product certainly looks neater. The choice of angled or straight boots(or a mix of the two) is determined by what exhaust headers/manifolds you have.

[ol55]

Not the cleanest install but it works (so far)! On to fuel, electrical, suspension, more electrical, etc..



Should have gone with the cut to length wires but I kept flashing back to high school when I did such a poor job on those. The kits now look like an improvement.


Thanks to all who helped (so far)!

Larry