Morris Minor Owners Club

Buy from a reputable company and you'll not need to carry and points/condensor/kitchen sink in the boot of your car. Do you drive a modern car and carry spares in the boot incase what if? No of course you dont, you have breakdown recovery. Not sure what anyone else does, but I also have this in case the worst happened with my insurance. I bet none of you nostalgic folk still have the same battery, tyres or bulbs from the 50's.

Old cars have been upgraded for years. You dont know what your missing out on. Dont snooze for too long as you'll miss the boat.

ampwhu wrote: ↑Sat Apr 18, 2020 6:36 pm Buy from a reputable company and you'll not need to carry and points/condensor/kitchen sink in the boot of your car. Do you drive a modern car and carry spares in the boot incase what if? No of course you dont, you have breakdown recovery. Not sure what anyone else does, but I also have this in case the worst happened with my insurance. I bet none of you nostalgic folk still have the same battery, tyres or bulbs from the 50's.

Old cars have been upgraded for years. You dont know what your missing out on. Dont snooze for too long as you'll miss the boat.

I did fit it - it broke. I fitted another, that broke. I refitted the original system that was fine in the first place, and it didn’t break. So I’ve got a reasonable idea of what I’m missing, to be fair. I’ve modified the engine, diff and brakes on my car too - modifications I’m very happy with.

It sounds like the lockdown may be getting to you, ampwhu - smile and enjoy your electronic ignition when we are allowed to drive places again. I will enjoy my car too. Each to their own

You must have been so unlucky then. I'm not aware of anyone else who has had a problem with them.

I've been driving around for weeks but cant at the moment as I removed all the interior to replace it. But as soon as it's all done, I'll be out for my usual weekend drives in the countryside.

Stay lucky (stick to your old system).

I have no problem with upgrading my Morris, but not to the point of making it more complex, as surely the joy of an everyday classic is its simplicity. For example I have fitted Riley 1.5 front brakes and a larger SU carburettor. You may want a more sophisticated ignition system if you are building a race car, but I have had three electronic ignition unit failures and therefore have returned to standard points for reliability, and have noticed no difference in performance.

ampwhu wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2020 8:35 am You must have been so unlucky then. I'm not aware of anyone else who has had a problem with them.

I've been driving around for weeks but cant at the moment as I removed all the interior to replace it. But as soon as it's all done, I'll be out for my usual weekend drives in the countryside.

Stay lucky (stick to your old system).

For myself: The reason I stick with my old fashioned points system is not because I'm ignorant of the facts or stuck in the dark ages. It is because - like Liam above - I too had the experience of being stranded with a failed electronic ignition system some time ago. One of the reasons I choose to run a Morris Minor is that I enjoy running and maintaining an old car and all that goes with it. If something in my points system were to fail during a journey I could almost certainly get myself home. If something in an electronic system fails - as is has before - I could not.
The points system doesn't require any more regular maintenance than anything else on a 50/60 year old car and is reliable. We can jump in our Minor at anytime and drive wherever we want or need to both in this country and abroad, so that suits me fine. Yes, modify things that are genuinely a weakness but don't just assume that fitting something more modern to an old car is necessarily required. This thread is a perfect example of that: Getting the original braking system working properly would have been quite sufficient without the expense of fitting disc brakes

I've had problems with poor condensor and points for years. I must had taken the dizzy out more times than I can remember.

When electric ignition-equipment was introduced, it was like a new era. Finally a proper solution to a problem that can be avoided. 10 years down the line, I've only even removed the dizzy once and that was when I removed the engine to fit another gearbox. It has been faultless ever since.

ampwhu wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2020 2:10 pm I've had problems with poor condensor and points for years.

I think that's the problem here. If people have been plagued with poor quality parts then an electronic solution is a godsend. If you are using good quality parts and haven't had any problems then you probably can't see what the fuss is all about.

Buying poor quality parts will give you problems whether you choose to stick with the original ignition system or change to electronic.
I have kept my cars reliable over the years by purchasing good quality original parts. That way, the car has remained trouble free all these years. There are plenty of cheap inferior quality ignition parts, brake parts, suspension parts etc etc for those who choose to fit them. There is always a choice. The standard ignition system itself is not unreliable.

Your forgetting the main point. Old system points wear out. You will end up replacing them. With electronic, there are no moving parts so you dont. Maintenance free.

Forgot to mention that this subject on all these old car forums appears alot more than you think. People always ask the question, change to electronic and then end up saying how great it is. You always get about 10% who go on about how bad it is when in reality, it's those that dont try it have an opinion on it. I liken that to people who dont like something just because they have a mate who said so. We've all got a few of those

ampwhu wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:03 pm Your forgetting the main point. Old system points wear out. You will end up replacing them. With electronic, there are no moving parts so you dont. Maintenance free.

Haha. The one thing you cannot create is a maintenance free Morris Minor. By modern standards a Morris Minor requires a lot of maintenance however many modern components you stick on it. And for myself, the maintenance is all part of the ownership experience. I enjoy it and I understand how it works. Yes, I probably replace the contact set roughly every couple of years. It takes a few minutes and costs a fiver. Even with electronic ignition, you still have to remove the distributor cap and check/clean the contacts and the distributor requires lubrication just as often and will wear just as quickly.... Quicker if you've bought a cheap foreign electronic replacement. It is a very small gain of a few minutes per year isn't it? As for 10% of us saying that electronic ignition isn't a great bonus, it would seem to be about 50/50 on this thread.
Of those owners who say how great it is, I wonder how many miles per year their Minors actually cover?

Of course I accept that original equipment electronic ignition in modern cars is almost completely reliable and requires little maintenance but the whole of the car requires much less maintenance because the whole car is designed with that in mind. On the other hand, anybody who's had to fork out for a new coil pack on their modern car will curse the complication rather.....It also means I can't generally fix my modern car at home and it also means that my modern car won't last 50 or 60 years It is a completely different animal bought for a completely different reason.

ampwhu wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:08 pm Forgot to mention that this subject on all these old car forums appears alot. in reality, it's those that dont try it have an opinion on it. I liken that to people who dont like something just because they have a mate who said so. We've all got a few of those

You seem to be reluctant to accept that all 3 members here including myself who have suggested sticking with the original points system HAVE previously fitted electronic ignition systems and suffered failures!

I don't think there is a right or wrong answer to the question of "should I fit electronic ignition to my Morris" . We are all speaking from our experiences. Some members enjoy altering their cars and some prefer the original design. All of us want a reliable car which will perform well. That can be achieved by different approaches but neither is completely foolproof.

The electronic ignition on my two Minors has been faultless for years. The exact same system on my Austin has been a nightmare, and I’ve gone back to points and condenser.
Doesn’t make any logical sense

ampwhu wrote: ↑Sun Apr 19, 2020 5:08 pm You always get about 10% who go on about how bad it is when in reality, it's those that dont try it have an opinion on it. I liken that to people who dont like something just because they have a mate who said so. We've all got a few of those

This sounds like unsubstantiated nonsense, can you back this up?

Why would I need to? There are plenty of people in life who slate something for no reason other than they dont like it or they cant afford it. I've spoken to people at car shows as well as general chat when I'm out in the classics. One very good example is of the jaguar E type. I couldn't count the amount of people I've heard slag the car off for those 2 reasons I've mentioned.

Theres no doubt all of my cars are better since I've got rid of the old system. As I said further up, why would you want to change a winning formula.

My view? There is an awful lot of profit in these proprietary systems. Just look at the cost of things from China. A tenner can get a fair piece of electronic gadgetry delivered from there. Not top notch, but adequate for many purposes.

So IMO, cheap-end electronic ignition modules should be a lot cheaper than they actually are. Even what appears expensive, to many, as a replacement for a set of contact points and a condenser may not be of high quality - look at the rejects that appear for sale on the net (bang wood?) to be confident about that.

How many actually buy an ‘up-market’ system? ( I only know of Islip Minor who has invested in a better system). Carrying a spare electronic module is not that expensive - and certainly lighter than a full spare distributor. That would be akin to carrying spare points and condenser (and, after all, you replaced those with the expensive module previously). How many carry a spare coil as well?

Modern cars do not break down, so often, with failed ignition modules - but invariably some do and we never hear about it - so why should the electronic modules fail, apparently so often (well, only once, actually) when used in these conversions?

Over-priced for basic circuitry, variable quality control and possibly other reasons. One question might be ‘which brands give trouble?’. Is Pertronix better than Accuspark, etc. I expect there is a difference.

I wonder what PTH uses for his car(s).

If PTH is me I use Lumenition Optronic Ignition for the 1380cc engine.

The Series 2 I had used the standard ignition system and never had any problems over many miles.

oliver90owner wrote: ↑Mon Apr 20, 2020 8:18 am Carrying a spare electronic module is not that expensive - and certainly lighter than a full spare distributor.

I fitted an Accuspark unit which involves glueing the electronic unit to the distributor plate, then letting it set. So not really practicable to carry as a spare. Can't comment on reliability as the car has yet to move more than five metres from the garage...

If that's the little packet with white "glue" in it, its silicone heat sink. It doesn't stick the module to the base plate.

ampwhu wrote: ↑Mon Apr 20, 2020 8:17 pm If that's the little packet with white "glue" in it, its silicone heat sink. It doesn't stick the module to the base plate.

Some time since I did it, but you're probably right. Sticky stuff, though, so probably not much fun as a roadside repair...