There are too many people that seem to condemn the older technology without giving it a fair shake. It seems that their standard of comparison is to take a system, such as the brakes, and compare an old and worn one on a forty year old car to a brand new up to snuff system on a modern car.
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Actually, I agree with this wholeheartedly. I was offering the Pentronix idea as the easiest solution with the least amount of wire-hacking.
I would certainly be the last person to condemn the 1972+ Chrysler electronic ign. system. It's a reliable, beautifully designed system without any consumable parts. But let's be honest, it's hardly state of the art either, and the original post was using junkyard parts. The wiring harness is bulky, the ignition box is too, and it requires a location that allows it to shed the heat produced by its one large transistor. It's an idea Lean-Burn replacement, but no longer the first chioce for older conversions.
Regarding the subject of failure, I've had experience with two Pentronix systems without any trouble. However, I have seen many of the "available at any parts store-made in China" replacement Chrysler igniton boxes fail. (But rarely the OEM boxes.) If you're worried about getting stuck in the middle of nowhere, points are probably the least prone to sudden failure. You'll probably get stranded by some other parts store rebuild anyways, as happenend to me last week in my /6 '75 Duster (garbage-rebuild starter died in my gym parking lot).
The ignition points serve only to collapse & energize the secondary ignition magnetic field (coil); no more than a simple electronic switching device. In this era tiny electronics, you could probably perform this function on the head of a pin.
There should be more info on the Pentronix system here...
But the system was too busy, so I couldn't read it. (Another modern-tech failure?)
Back to the original subject of points; I've had ignition point systems in several of my old Mopars, and these have been some of my most reliable smooth-running vehicles. My '61 LeBaron sits for months at a time, yet always fires right up using points that were last serviced in 1996. This is in outdoor, Michigan (i.e. crummy weather) storage.
The only "real" problem with points (not to say that electronic isn't an improvement) come in high-RPM applications, at engine speeds not friendly to any stock big-block Mopar. This is a result of the mechanical system not being able to to switch on/off fast enough. It should never be an issue on a '59 Imperial.
Nice to see that in this ever-changing modern world, the debate between points, disc brakes, tube radios, etc. rages on. Comforting in a way...
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to finish the innercooler retrofit to my LeBaron 'vert (SMEC port-injected-turbo).
Carmine F.
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