Kaiser running again! Yea!

[84RabbitGTI]

After months of not really being able to take a look at it, I found a broken wire in the distributor.  The break was inside the insulation.  When the advance plate moved, the wire broke contact, the motor died, the plate moved back and fired some, and the cycle repeated again and again as long as the accelerator was depressed.  Amazing what trouble a stupid little broken wire will cause.  I have no hair now.  Took 15 minutes to fix.
Anyone ever get the Pertronix Electronic Ignition to work?  My mechanic told me he even was on the phone with Pertronix themselves and could not get it to work. The parts are labeled for the 6 volt positive ground system of our cars.  I suspect they tried to use the broken wire which is why they were unsuccessful.  Any thoughts on the electronic ignition would be appreciated.

[Doc]

Been there done that with that little wire inside the distributor and fortunately they are readily available at parts houses like Carquest. Have thought about the Petronix on occasion, but I don't put enough miles on the cars to justify it and the original design isn't too bad to deal with given the accessibility of the distributors on the 226s as opposed to other cars where they are jammed against the firewall under the smallest opening of the hood. And the tuneup parts at least for now are easily found at the NAPA, etc.  But on a side note, you always have to be aware of new parts as well. I had much difficulty diagnozing a '66 Ambassador starting problem that turned out to be a faulty brand new rotor whose end contact point was not protruding far enough to contact the cap....very subtle, but that was the problem.

[84RabbitGTI]

It will probably be a while before I try to get the electronic ignition in it again. It works just as it is now, so why mess with it?  I tend to drive my car a lot, at least around town, so I was looking to up the reliability factor some with the conversion. I have heard that the system in those old cars is too weak to make it work on start up, but I doubt Pertronix would get away with selling something that never works. 
I agree with you about new parts. I was talking with one of the crew of the steam locomotive 4449 last year. They were having a main bearing problem on a wheel that was never a problem before they bought a new batch of grease for it.  After replacing the supposedly faulty bearing the problem was not solved. They finally asked the manufacturer of the grease if they had done anything to the formula recently. They said the quietly took out some chemical that used to be in there, but still called it by the same name.  The guy on the phone told the crewman that it couldn't cause any trouble unless they were using it on a steam locomotive.
I always take in the old part (and save most of them until a good replacement is found) to use as a comparison with the new ones to ensure a proper fit.
Sure was nice cruising tonight!  She really drives nice with the radials!

[joefrazer]

We tried installing electronic ignition in a 49 Frazer and it did not work. The car would start and idle OK but at speed it developed a miss that was bad enough to sideline the car. We thought that the distributor was bad so we swapped the parts into another...with the same results. So...we went back to points, etc, and the car runs fine. Moral of the story...if it ain't broke...don't fix it!
Can I tell you the story of the disaster encountered with silcone brake fluid??

[Weaz]

Do tell.

[Logan]

Yes, electronic ignition, disc brakes, Chevy 350, etc., etc. will make our cars more reliable, but heck, what's the fun of having an old car if you don't have a little maintenance every once in a while?  I've been driving the '53 Dragon just about every day now that I finally got the brakes, stuck valve, etc., etc. fixed and it really does a great job, whether it's cruising 70 mph on the freeway or tooling around town.  Today I got a yellow light that I had to speed through and it kicked down when floored and went right through.  Then, at the next light I didn't have enough time, so I slammed on the brakes and locked up the wheels and came to a very quick stop on the bias-plies (really, I'm NOT a reckless driver!).  This car is stock and I am convinced that it can keep up with modern traffic very well without any problems.

[84RabbitGTI]

I'm fine with the "if it ain't broke..." thing, but I'm always looking for subtle ways of improving the driveabilty of the car.  When it comes to "hard drivin'" I only worry about metal fatigue.  Anyone think this might be an issue on our cars?  I haven't personally had any problem with it, but...... ya never know....
I'm probably unjust in my fears, but my wheels seem to flex quite a bit.  The hubcaps make noise when you first start out.  I thought it was the wheel bearings, but removing the hub caps makes the noise go away.
I have only myself for a Kaiser-knowledgeable mechanic, and that is scary!  I get no help from anyone directly here, which is why I'm so grateful to have this and other forums available to me!