The Vertex magneto is still in production and there are several shops
that service them. 30-50 years ago it was state of the art and standard
in all forms of racing up to blown fuel.
It has a certain beauty, elegance and nostalgia about it, and undeniably
provides adequate ignition. Most of the Ardun men of my acquaintance
prefer it, and most of the LSR Ardun records were set with it.
A veteran race-engine builder with a shop near me and 40 years
experience just recently told me MSD is a little better today, because
the 50K volt spark keeps your plugs cleaner, especially when using
mechanical fuel injection, than the 18K (don't know what authority he
had for these numbers) volts of the Vertex, and the high voltage spark
helps your engine just start and run a little better in all ranges. The
Vertex is available now, however, with an external coil to boost the
spark, as well as in traditional form.
I think what he said is true, but I plan to use the Vertex on my Ardun
partly because I like the clean self-contained setup without spark boxes
and a lot of wiring that can cause trouble with bad connections etc.,
partly because it is proven reliable and adequate, and partly because I
just like it on there.
Cheers from ArdunBill in the Great Dismal Swamp, Chesapeake, VA
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