I had an interesting conversation with an owner of an older Aston Martin DB.
After suspicions about EI he has reverted to the original mechanical set up.
His car is now running smoothly and the known repeatable locations where it faltered are in the past. It seems that many owners of AM and other makes have also reverted.
The points are more robust versions from the USA racing scene.
An unexpected solution but a happy result.
It obviously only applies to older cars with a mechanical distributor but has anyone come across this situation ?
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I have done the opposite on several cars,ie.replaced points with electronics and it never caused any concerns.
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I had a 1973 round wheel arch MGMidget that had an EI setup. The car was much happier reverting to the original system. I eventually sold it to a chap from a Dublin who flew over, drove it to Wales, from Oxfordshire, and then on the ferry.
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I'm currently restoring a 1968 Triumph Trophy, and one of the things on the massive to-do list is to junk the points, condenser and mechanical advance/retard unit for an electronic ignition setup.
From the research I've done, it is a big step forward in terms of reliability and ease of starting. Lots of people run these things on Pazon or Boyer setups and they are a doddle to fit, and seem very reliable.
The only downsides seem to be the extra current draw that can cause battery charging issues with the original (marginal) alternator (which I plan to upgrade) and the fact that electronic ignition tends to either work, or not work, so any failure tends to stop the engine completely, with little warning. A points set up has many stages in between running perfectly and a breakdown, so you can often nurse the bike home, or to a more convenient break down point :)
Long way off getting it running though. I've restored and repainted the frame, and have just had the parts arrive today to rebuild the forks. Everything else is in boxes and bags...
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>> Everything else is in boxes and bags...
Oh! That won't take long.
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Good luck with the restoration. My place have just done a job on a B31 with a B34 (Goldie) engine and have a long term Bond Minibyke resto, which I'd love to get my hands on.
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>> Good luck with the restoration. My place have just done a job on a B31
>> with a B34 (Goldie) engine and have a long term Bond Minibyke resto, which I'd
>> love to get my hands on.
>>
Thanks bt. It’s a 68 TR6 Trophy that’s acquired a Bonneville twin carb head and later Oil-in-frame Bonneville disc brake forks over the years, so it’s more Bonneville than Trophy. It was last on the road in 1983 and stored outside under a tarp, so it’s in a pretty sad state.
I’ve spent four weeks around work and family commitments stripping it back to a bare frame, got that cleaned up, welded in a section of the brace tube that had been hacked out, prepped and painted it. It’s come up very well. Forks were seized, but I’ve got them apart, and have a new set of seals, springs and stanchions to go in. The sliders Have cleaned up well, and will be repainted in steel wheel paint then lacquered.
Then it’s a question of which part of the massive list to tackle next. I have a rough goal to have it on the road this time next year, subject to finances. It’s £2k+ in parts alone. OK if you say it quickly. ;)
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Discarding electronic ignition systems. - jc2
