JD 60 electronic ignition conversion tune up

SB in IA

Member
This is a huge multipart question so feel free to answer some or all of the questions you wish. I'm considering updating my '54 JD 60 to electronic ignition. If I do decide to convert it I would go all out and get the electronic ignition kit, high voltage coil, resistor, and new plugs & wires.

What are your thoughts on the pertronix ignition kits & flame thrower 40,000 volt coil? Also I have heard of a Thundervolt III 55,000 volt coil, anyone have experience with this?
I have not yet gone over the distributer itself but will do so before installing. Anything to look for other than a worn shaft?
I read an interesting tidbit from Denny's Carb Shop website stating that: "a spark plug manufacturer representative informed us that all of the spark plugs made today have a resistance gap built into the plug, mandated by the EPA. We physically cut apart a spark plug and it is on display at our shop. You can see the gap! The voltage has to jump this gap. Solid copper core spark plug wires make it harder for the spark to do this. Our spark plugs wires have a spiral wound braided steel core. This insures the voltage to the spark plug. Also, we have researched spark plugs and a hotter plug is not necessarily better. Voltage comes from your coil, not your spark plugs."
Everywhere I have researched (forums and vendors) say that solid copper core plugs are the way to go. Any advice on this conundrum? Thanks in advance!
P.S. I have attempted to link the source for the Denny's Carb quote.
Dennys Carb Quote Citation
 
Anyone who thinks braided steel wire is a better conductor for tricity than copper should have stayed awake during class way back in high school.
 
There has been a lot of bad things written on forums about Denny's. So I'd use extreme caution in dealing with them.

As far as the electronic ign goes I don't bother with converting them. As long as everything is in good shape there is no need to.

As far as the spark plugs a simple multi meter will tell you if it has a resistance plug or not. You can easily measure across the end where the wire hooks to the inside tip where the spark jumps from. I have been running points and cond. with solid wires and autolite 388 spark plugs (which are resistor type) for years without issues.
 
(quoted from post at 07:47:16 05/17/16) ...Also, we have researched spark plugs and a hotter plug is not necessarily better. Voltage comes from your coil, not your spark plugs."

The heat range of spark plugs has nothing to do with voltage. It is a function of the length of the tip of the plug.
 
I have converted 2 tractors and my jeep to electronic ignition with the pertronics setup and would not switch back. I was told the usual, if points fail you can usually clean them up and get home, vs ei failure. I carry a set of points and condensor in my jeep just in case. One of my tractors has been using the ei for about 15 years with no issues. The other one is going on 10 years. Both of mine are 12 volt negative ground. One of my tractors had an issue burning points and fouling one plug. I have not had to touch the distributor since the ei conversion and have had no plug issues. I have my plug gap set at about 45 thousands, I don't know if that helps but they start great and run well. The EI changeover costs more than points and condensor but they are getting expensive also so if you use your tractor it will pay for itself over time. Some advertisers say you will get more power, I don't think you will get more power but since it doesn't get out of adjustment they sometimes run better. If you do convert FOLLOW MANUFACTURES INSTRUCTIONS WITH THE UNIT, if you run into problems call them. The units can be messed up by hooking up wrong ground. As far as distributor, check to see if it has any slack in it. Check that advance mechanism is free and working. I have found it easier to do the ei conversion with distributor off the tractor.
 
Several issues with Denny's butchering of the language. It's called an auxiliary gap and NOT a resistance gap. It's no more harder to jump with real wire than carbon/resistance wire. Their wire is therefore NOT superior. You don't need real wire unless you are running a magneto anyway. Copper core spark plugs remain the same thing they always were before Denny opened his door.

No experience with thundervolt III, IV, V, VI or ten. You trying to fire off a tractor or a nuclear device? Solid copper core spark plug wires do NOT exist, you have real wire which is multi-strand, tin coated copper and you have carbon/resistance wire - the ONLY two choices you have. You no longer are tied to the real wire when you upgrade your ignition source from stock magneto to EI. It IS as simple as that.

You also don't need a resistor anymore, it just becomes something else to fail.

With so much misinformation at Denny's why does anyone buy his speel? You think it isn't speel? 100% used car salesman there. Get your pertronix kit here.

<a href="http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/40511_Coil-High-Performance-Black-12-Volt-Oil-Filled_1502.htm" target="_new">Flame thrower coil</a>

You will need to find the EI kit by the distributor number that you will be installing the kit into - get to the kit at the upper left Tractor Parts link under Marketplace heading at this site. Be mindful of your ground polarity because it just became a critical issue to match this with your tractor exactly.
 

How does a 60 have enough rpms and cylinders to require such a coil ? An ordinary Napa coil is lots.
In this application the Pertronix's eliminates the mechanical issues with points.
Use spiral wound wires .
 
lots of errors and misconceptions...

copper conducts better than spiral wound steel carbon core.. so from a straight conductivity point and not looking at EMI/RFI, the copper core wires deliver better spark..

Heat range on a plug has NOTHING to do with voltage!

As for coil voltages.. 20k, vs 40k, vs 55k, etc... remember.. the voltage at which an arc jumps a gap is dependent onthe gap and the atmosphere.. so.. if in your cylinder, if your spark plug gap and associated conditions are such that 15kv will jump it.. then it don't matter if you have a 20 or a 40 or a 55kv coil.. the arc is GOING to jump at 15kv!
 
If you use the pertronix unit, they need to have resistance plug wires. It is not the conductivity that matters but solid core wires can cause interference with the electronics in the module. I have seen this more than once with the first time being on Dad's 3020. Called right to pertronix and they informed me of that. It is not in the instructions anywhere. With solid wires it will run great until it stops abruptly. In our case it ran close to a year before it quit. Been running for 20 years plus with resistor wires.
 
(quoted from post at 14:58:08 05/17/16) If you use the pertronix unit, they need to have resistance plug wires. It is not the conductivity that matters but solid core wires can cause interference with the electronics in the module. I have seen this more than once with the first time being on Dad's 3020. Called right to pertronix and they informed me of that. It is not in the instructions anywhere. With solid wires it will run great until it stops abruptly. In our case it ran close to a year before it quit. Been running for 20 years plus with resistor wires.

That is why the spiral wound "solid core/suppression" wires were spec'd.
 
SB Using a Pertronix Ignitor calls for a 3 Ohm coil. "Four & Six cylinder engines require a minimum of 3.0 ohms of primary resistance". Your 60 fires like a 4 cylinder. Just use a 3 Ohm Flamethower coil that way you won't have to use the resistor with the Thundervolt III. Keep it simple. Lynn
 
(quoted from post at 19:26:06 05/17/16) SB Using a Pertronix Ignitor calls for a 3 Ohm coil. "Four &amp; Six cylinder engines require a minimum of 3.0 ohms of primary resistance". Your 60 fires like a 4 cylinder. Just use a 3 Ohm Flamethower coil that way you won't have to use the resistor with the Thundervolt III. Keep it simple. Lynn

Why spend the bucks on an over priced flame thrower coil. An ordinary 12V , 3.0 ohm NAPA coil is lots . Even firing like a four cylinder the rpm is a whole screaming 1100rpm or so.
 
I find these discussions interesting, a coil will not generate more voltage than necessary to jump the gap.

A low compression, low RPM engine does not need high voltage coil.
 
I submit that once there is 'enough' of an ignition system to get the job done, most of the time for most engines in most applications, a hotter plug provides the biggest difference.

Agreed in these low RPM engines, a humble coil is plenty to provide an arc over a .035 or so gap.
 
(quoted from post at 19:16:46 05/18/16) I submit that once there is 'enough' of an ignition system to get the job done, most of the time for most engines in most applications, a hotter plug provides the biggest difference.

Agreed in these low RPM engines, a humble coil is plenty to provide an arc over a .035 or so gap.

Hotter plug ? How pray tell does a spark plug with a tip glowing so hot that it ignites the mixture like a model airplane glow plug before spark occurs is an advantage ?
 

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