FS Ignition versus Original for touring

[Ezombie]

It has been a long time since I have been on a long (600 mile) tour in a Model A so I want to be prepared. My '29 tudor has been in storage for some time but I've got it up and running and it seems to be fine. That said, I have some anxiety about such a long trip, so I am thinking of changing the distributor to FS electronic to avoid any condenser issues. Would like to hear pros and cons of changing.

[Kurt in NJ]

Get one of the burnout proof condensers, I have 40 years on the same one —- a condenser is easy to change along side of the road—- a failed electronic thing probably won’t be fixed along side of the road.
Take a couple short full tank to empty (250miles?) miles trips, clean the fuel strainers after each trip .
Don’t forget the lubricant level in the steering gear when checking the other lubricant levels
The reliability of the original model is that most problems can be fixed along sides the road.
A modern cars has different reliability, they go a long way but when they break they have to be towed—- too many “ modern” modifications and you have a model A that has to be towed and wait for parts

[Flathead]

Originally Posted by Kurt in NJ

Get one of the burnout proof condensers, I have 40 years on the same one —- a condenser is easy to change along side of the road—- a failed electronic thing probably won’t be fixed along side of the road.
Take a couple short full tank to empty (250miles?) miles trips, clean the fuel strainers after each trip .
Don’t forget the lubricant level in the steering gear when checking the other lubricant levels
The reliability of the original model is that most problems can be fixed along sides the road.
A modern cars has different reliability, they go a long way but when they break they have to be towed—- too many “ modern” modifications and you have a model A that has to be towed and wait for parts

Excellent comments, very true!

[nkaminar]

My car runs better with the manual distributor than with the FS Ignition one. I have a high compression head and Weber carburetor. Some people swear by the FS Ignition distributor. Some people swear at it.

[Bob Bidonde]

More often than not, Model A's with FS ignitions go home on a flatbed when their ignitions fail on a tour. However, the original ignition is a relatively easy roadside fix. For touring, the stock ignition is best in my opinion.

[goldie]

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When I purchased my A just over two years ago I noticed how fast the points pitted. I tried the new and old style points and was not happy with them. I did not want to continually clean and adjust points as others do on our long tours. I have a pertronlx module as used by FSI in the A and another in a 54-year-old Jaguar that has never failed. In both cars I carry a spare module with terminals already attached for a quick changeover, but I have never had to use one. I respect those who believe the original is the way to go, but I have always tried to do what works for me. How many posts have you seen about failed condensers, the module eliminates it. I have almost 7K miles on the A in two years and the car has never failed to start unless I forget to open the fuel valve and car has never been towed or broken down on the road. Not bad for a newbie. I also have the NuRex timing advance and never have to mess with the timing lever and timing stays constant because the are no points or points block to wear. Works for me.

[Ezombie]

Thanks to all for weighing in. I tend to prefer keeping things original but, on our club's last two outings, 2 members had trouble tied to condensers. We were lucky one member still carried extra condensers as most seem to have moved to the FS ignitions. I think for now I'm going to stay original and carry an extra condenser with the hopes I'll never need it. Sure is a lot less expensive route.

[Gene F]

Put a little dab of dilectric grease on that cam of the distributor. Put your oil can in that little oil fitting on the lower outer body of the dist, and give it a few drops. Make sure they are opening about 18 thousanths and you should be ready to go until next year.

[mleder]

The answer is not one or the other. If you want to go on a tour with a group , you should be prepared. That means understand how your car works and anticipate bringing spare parts you may need to complete the trip. Best advise is bring an additional distributor pre timed to your car. You can switch it out in 10 minutes or less on the side of the road. Practice doing it. If you have an electronic ignition carry a spare module and in either case bring a spare coil that is the correct one for your system.You can switch to an original distributor on the side of the road to replace the electronic one but you will also need the ignition over ride cable ( vendors sell this and sometimes call it a get home ignition cable) it does not use a key. Again you would want to practice this at home so you are familiar with it. Make it easy on the other people on the tour, breakdowns will happen but be prepared . On any tour I've been on I see way to few people bringing the obvious parts that are known to fail.

[ModelA29]

My car has the regular FS distributor. I also have an FS Zipper distributor for the B I'm building. We've had 3 roadside ignition seminars on tours I've been on. All 3 were condenser issues. 2 were the same guy with the "modern" point conversion.
The only down side I see is the cost of the FS setup vs the cost of points and condensers.

[Russell Reay]

Following this thread out of curiosity. I see that FS distributor has centrifugal advance, and Nu Rex sells an advance retrofit. Why have I not seen any mention of a vacuum advance distributor for As?

[Jim Brierley]

I like point ignitions too, but recently had to switch to an FSI for my speedster that requires a certain advance curve. I found that wiring the FSI directly to the battery is a must, both the ground wire and the hot side which also must go thru a seperate, stand-alone, ignition switch. For normal usage this is recommended but may not be totally necessary but I found that at 3,000 RPM, if not wired as above, the ignition tends to not fire correctly. On a hill climb this is critical. FSI is great to work with, and will taylor the advance curve to anything you want.

[shiver]

99% of petronix electronic ignition failures is the wiring harness it’s attached to.. like Jim says,wire direct, or verify your system. Installed correctly Petronix is fool proof.

[Herb Concord Ca]

I have one on my P/u for years. But you have to do as JB says and I agree with shiver.

[nkaminar]

". . . I have some anxiety about such a long trip . . . "

One thing that should be said is to take a number of short trips first. These are called "shake down trips." That will test your car and point out any failings. Take your Model A to the market or on other errands where you would normally take your modern car.

[shiver]

Originally Posted by Russell Reay

Following this thread out of curiosity. I see that FS distributor has centrifugal advance, and Nu Rex sells an advance retrofit. Why have I not seen any mention of a vacuum advance distributor for As?

It’s really not needed, vacuum for advance handled adequately by the mechanical side, no droop with mechanical, vacuum to retard spark? Not needed till the government started messing with cars in ‘68 ( I liked Nixon except for the EPA)

[Jim Brierley]

Originally Posted by shiver

It’s really not needed, vacuum for advance handled adequately by the mechanical side, no droop with mechanical, vacuum to retard spark? Not needed till the government started messing with cars in ‘68 ( I liked Nixon except for the EPA)

No! Vacuum advance could possibly give better gas mileage, but nothing else.

[nkaminar]

The need for vacuum advance depends on the combustion chamber design. With overhead valves and no squish area, there is not the large amount of turbulence that we have with our flat head Model A's. The timing on the no squish area combustion chamber has to be significantly advanced because without turbulence it takes a long time for the fuel and air to burn. When the throttle is opened the burning time diminishes because of increased turbulence caused by the air/fuel rushing in through the intake valve and the timing has to be retarded a little. Overhead valve conversions for Model A's have to have significantly more ignition advance. With the proper squish area clearance, about 1/16 inch, the timing can mostly be left alone and maybe retarded one notch for low speed lugging and advanced one notch for high speed cruising.

[shiver]

Originally Posted by Jim Brierley

No! Vacuum advance could possibly give better gas mileage, but nothing else.

We both reached the same conclusion, higher efficiency uses less fuel and provides a cleaner running engine. Mechanical precise timing at all rpm’s for me, leave some soot, I’m ok with that.

Well, except maybe for Nixon, some folks didn’t like him

[Kurt in NJ]

Originally Posted by Gene F

Put a little dab of dilectric grease on that cam of the distributor. Put your oil can in that little oil fitting on the lower outer body of the dist, and give it a few drops. Make sure they are opening about 18 thousanths and you should be ready to go until next year.

The owners instruction book says to FILL the oil fitting,most other cars say a few drops,when it is filled ( I stick the spout of the oil can in the hole and give it a few good squirts) and after driving it there will be a little fresh oil on the upper thrust washer which means the upper bushing got oiled.