Congrats Michael on the big step. I had a similar issue with a Pertronix
once and it appears that they can occasionally be touchy. Then again, maybe
some light bounced off Pruitt's shiny head and focused a laser beam strong
enough to fry the Pertronix.
One never knows...
R. Ashford Little II
'70 TR6
CC54994
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-6pack@autox.team.net [mailto:owner-6pack@autox.team.net] On
Behalf Of Campsmith, Michael
Sent: Sunday, July 10, 2005 9:30 PM
To: Six Pack
Subject: TR6 lives again!!!! And a few questions
Greetings fellow listers--
I'm tired and greasy, but there is a big smile on my face--tonight my
TR6 was started for the first time since I shut the engine off on
February 8, 2004 to start a frame off restoration!!!
Never did I think it would take so long to get back to a running car;
but all those responsibilities such as a job and spouse tend to get in
the way of garage time.
I'd like to thank Mark Pruitt of the Georgia Triumph Association for his
assist yesterday with some electrical troubleshooting. First we had to
ground the seatbelt interlock to get the starter to work. Then we
weren't getting any spark no matter what we tried. So today I took off
the Pertronix and re-installed the points. Long story short--that
solved the problem.
Now a question. Could the Pertronix have failed due to my techniques to
resurrect the car? In preparation to restarting the engine I took out
the plugs and turned the engine over to build up some oil pressure. I
probably did this in spurts for a total of 30 seconds max. When we
weren't getting any fire we took off the distributor cap and found a
broken rotor--Mark noticed the cap was wobbly when he took it off. The
broken rotor could have happened anytime from the day I pulled the motor
to yesterday; I honestly don't remember messing with it throughout the
whole restoration. It just seemed weird for the Pertronix to fail like
that. Is it possible the unit is that fragile? It has been on the car
for over 5 years without a single problem.
I like the concept of the electronic ignition, so I plan to replace the
Pertronix. But you can bet I'll keep the points and condenser in the
glove box just in case I need them some dark and stormy night. Also,
I'm running a Lucas Sport coil--which the Moss ad says works with
non-ballasted ignition systems only. What does that mean? The coil was
put on when the Pertronix was installed. Will this coil work with
points and condenser? My engine is a 1974.
The next step it to fix some fluid leaks and get the wheels aligned;
then it is time to put some miles on the car. I'm sure there will be
more questions to ask, so thanks in advance for your collective help.
Michael Campsmith
1974 TR6--now British Racing Green and ready to roll!
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