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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Electronic ignition advice

hi there

I have a 1978 1500 midget and would like to change to an electronic ignition.

Unfortunately, my mechanical knowledge is fairly limited and there i need some advice. So:
1 - what kit should i buy?
2 - what exactly do i need to change? hear a new distributer as well?!

hoping someone can help
Brad
bk dyson

Brad if you can afford it or you think your current dissy is worn then I'd thoroughly recommend a 123 Dissy

see Peter Burgess - http://www.mgcars.org.uk/peterburgess/123.html
Nigel At

I second that!
JB Anderson

so do i need a new dissy then?
bk dyson

the 123 is kinda pricey and if your now dizzy is mechanically ok just use a pertronix or whatever conversion kit in your dist. alternatively if you feel the need to spend a lot , Pertronix (USA) has a complete dist for under US$200....try Summit in the USA.
J. Blow

the bushings in the Pertronix distributor are a bit inadequate, so I can't recommend it. The Pertronix conversion works well, provided you have a good ground to the breaker plate. They do like a good strong voltage...

I love my 123/Mini. Expensive, but it works well, even when your battery is so flat that the guy behind you can't see your brake lights.
David "no point" Lieb
David Lieb

Crane here.
I don't know if it's available "across the pond", but I've had no issues in 4 years and 20,000 miles.
Phil
Phil Burke

Go to Aldon and get one of their 'Igniter' kits.

Failing that, Lumenition works well on the 1500.

The 123 is overkill and pointless on a 1500 (in fact the advance curves it has don't even suit a tuned 1500).
Deborah Evans

But Deborah Dahlin, we WANT it to be pointless ;-)
David Lieb

Hahaha...good one david, !!!

If your going the 123, then id go all the way and get the 123tune, its a sweet set up, its curve is set up thur a laptop, and completely customisable

But.... Buy it only thur peter burguss, if you have issues then peter will give you great customer support, getting it thur ebay maybe cheaper, but those drop shippers will only be able to read the box to you,and the facrory hates being bothered by there customers, so only if your super nice to them, and they feel your worthy, they might return an email...beyound that, your on your own....so peter burguss is your best friend,buy it from him, and know you will be really happy

Prop
Prop

Or get megajolt and then you can leave your dizzy in for the inevitable failures ...........!!!
rachmacb

Hi Brad,

I have one from these guys.

http://www.simonbbc.com/

It replaces the points. I've been very happy with it so far.

Regards,

Richard
r parker


Like Richard, I have one of the Simon BBC ones. 15 mins to install (plus re-timing) Absolutely no issues and if you like originality, it's invisible until you open the distributor. And they cost peanuts compared to the other options - 123, Igniter, Magnetronic (which SimonBBC's kit is a copy of anyway) etc, etc

Before that I had a Lumenition Optronic that was great until the optical sensor failed - but they're expensive. I could have bought two of the SimonBBC kits and bought a round for the cost of replacing just the optical sensor. So I bought one of the kits and bought a couple of rounds :-)

For cost vs benefit, if the dissy is in reasonable condition, SimonBBC's kits can't be beaten in my humble opinion. Since doing mine I've talked two other friends into fitting them too, one of them is a 1500, and both say the car starts noticeably better and runs well.

Hope that helps?
Mark


PS - no connection to the company, just a satisfied customer...
MarkH1

Hi Brad,

You don't not have to replace the distributor to fit some brands of electronic ingition. e.g. Aldon/Pertronix Ignitor.

The points and condenser are replaced with the elec'ign unit.

The timing will need to be adjusted.

sean griffiths

Brad,
Im going through the same process as you are with my 1500 and have also contemplated changing dizzys and also the coil. Im still a bit lost in the world of vacuum advances and how they work with my weber DCOE. 123ignition seems too pricey for my taste but im now leaning towards the lumenition magnetronix including a new coil and hoping somebody can do something clever with the vacuum advance!
Jamie Watt

Brad, the igniters deal with the top of dissy I've had several my last one was a Aldon and it was fine but a Mini specialist I talked to didn't like them as a few of his customer where bring them back and going back to points

I think most problems are from them being fitted or attended to without the high level of care that is needed - the wires are vey thin and olny tiny tie-wrapped

I only know about Luminition, Lucas and Aldon

to deal with the complete unit - the rest of the dissy needs to be in good order and previously well serviced and maintained otherwise it could be badly worn, previous owners may have had the points 'dry' changed and perhaps the odd condensor but as for lubrcating and how warn the bits are below that you can't see

you can get them reconditioned or rebuilt or new complete with igniter head or the 123

my 1275 is mildly tuned and my 123 is set on the lowest setting so I would have thought (but don't know) that a 1500 would have to be well tuned to go beyond the usual 123 but Peter Burgess does the 123 you tune anyway

as I put on another thread I've never been let down by electronic but I have by points and that was when they were made well too
Nigel At

Hi, I bought a replacement distributor with the electronic ignition kit fitted from simon bbc for a 1275 midget, its worked o/k for about 500 miles in my car, if your car is a standard 1500 I think you would find that the simon bbc kit would work just fine... If you think that the distributor needs replacing then a standard distributor with an electronic ignition module is probably the most economiclal way to go.

Alan.
Alan cotterill

hi everyone

thanks for the help.

On Richards and mark's advice I went for a Simonbbc kit. Thanks everyone

Brad
bk dyson

Brad,
just note a note on careful installation

on another thread on here it shows the igniter leads fitted with one with a nick out of it, only one tiny tie-wrap to secure the leads

if I can find it I'll post a link here

I'm sure you'll notice the difference will electronic and be delighted
Nigel At

Brad

As Nigel says the secret to fitting these is careful installation, in particular routing the wires. The vacuum advance rotates the base plate and if you don't route the cables carefully they'll either stretch or fray. It's also important to ensure the flexible connection between the base plate and distributor body is in good condition as this forms part of the circuit. As you're fitting this to your existing distributor the thing you need to check is the auto advance. The problem is the springs stretch and although your timing may be correct at tickover it won't be sufficient at high RPM and the engine will feel dead. You can test it on the car if you have a timing light with advance, I've built a test jig that allows me to set them accurately on the bench.

Bob
R.A Davis

This thread was discussed between 03/08/2011 and 11/08/2011

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

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