Case VAC ignition

waceyudy16

New User
I have recently been restoring a '49 Case VAC. It uses the magneto ignition system and the magneto needs replaced. Just wondering if it is better to stay with the magneto or to convert to a distributor and coil system.
 
Both have there good and bad point to them

Good point of a mag is no battery is needed for it to run but if things are not set up just right and you hand start one or should I say try to hand start it can break your arm.
Battery ignition well now days parts are easier to find and there are more people who know how to work on that ignition system but a dead battery leaves you sitting till you charge it or replace it.
 
I haven't done one, as my VAC has factory battery ignition, but I'd guess a right-angled delco will probably bolt right up. See my post below to "Kevin in Iowa" about his new SC and what it appears to have for battery ignition. I've seen other VAC's with Case mags, so a right-angle delco should bolt right up. jal-SD
 
The distributor used on other vac's and other small 4 cyl case engines that mount in the block near the middle will also work. They would be like the original distributor provided by case.ore
 
Magneto is premium ignition, or airplanes wouldn't be using them. I don't understand the reasoning that if a Mag needs servicing it must be replaced. When a distributor needs servicing, it usually gets done. There are Mag shops that service mags.
 
John, if its a Case mag, do you have a source for parts? I have a couple of Case mags that I would love to have repaired, but none of the Mag shops that I have been in contact with can get parts for them. Caps have been especially hard to come by, but were available a few years ago. They now are gone too because they were usually the first thing to go. They crack/break quite easily as they get brittle due to their age. All of the mag shops that I have contacted say "we don't work on them, all those parts are obsolite & no longer available". jal-SD
 
Stay with your mag, you won't need a battery, starter or dist. Them electrick starters are just a fad anyhow, ain't gonna last no time atall. Ain't nobody in their right mind is gonna spend $8 for a electrick starter when you can buy a perfectly good handcrank for 20 cents.

Joe
 
Jal: Points are still available for CASE Mags, but nothing else listed. However professional shops will adapt parts for other Mags into the CASE mag. Caps are definitely a problem. 75% of the time, a Mag will simply need a good cleaning and re-gapping of the points. We have a 1953 DC that I know the history of, and can tell you the Magneto has never been touched. We have had customers that have had the same experience with their Mags.
 
I can honestly say the only time I have had a problem with case mags is when they have gone unused for years.
 

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