Wiring

Just a quick post.

This is me looking at the previous owner's wiring:

I'm still waiting on a few parts to arrive before finishing the ignition. Other than that, I've ordered a few weather proofing parts and a new dashboard cover. The dash cover may be a bit of a project as the current one is a homemade contraption from the previous owner that will likely be a pain to remove. We'll see. I've also got a sweet new wood shift knob on the way. I'm currently on the lookout for a vintage wood steering wheel to replace my crappy stock one. The interior might be getting a bit nicer soon.

Ignition

I don't know how I got there but at some point during my furlough I decided that a "points" ignition is silly and my car would benefit from an electronic ignition. Easier starting, smoother at higher RPMs, and less maintenance. Seems like a no brainer.

For a description on a points ignition, please refer to wikipedia and then return here to tell me how it works because from what I can tell it's really dumb.

Anyway, I purchased the Pertronix electronic ignition kit and successfully installed it a few weeks ago. The car started and had some trouble idling, but ran very smoothly at higher RPMs. I shut it off and had trouble starting it again so I'm holding off until I upgrade the coil to a Pertronix 12V unit. New spark plugs will be installed as well. My guess is that the timing needs to be reset.

I'm also going to install a recurve kit for my distributor to the non-smog equipment specs. The previous owner removed the smog equipment but did not change the distributor as recommended, so the end result is less than ideal.

Hopefully all of this ignition work I started on a complete whim will pay off and I'll get a smoother, more consistent, and slightly more powerful car.

I do need to learn how to use a timing light and reset the timing. Excellent skill to learn in the year 2013!

Lots of other parts are in the mail. Exciting times ahead!

For kicks, here's a pic of the car fairly recently. Looking good.