Pagodas & Beer

[dirkbalter]

Saturday morning in San Diego. Great group of guys. And a workshop on how to (properly) install a 123 ignition in 35 min.

[kampala]

Great group of guys.

Just to add, that we also had a GAL (Marisa?) join the event with her silver 230.   Was great fun and always good to give the 250 a 240mile round trip  run. 

Thanks to those organizing great pizza and of course beer. 

[Jonny B]

Yes, Marisa.

She also has a 1974 (I think) custom Lincoln convertible. Build by Ford in house, as a custom.

[Bill]

Question: What’s a “123 Ignition”   Thanks, Bill   ‘67:230SL

[Vander]

Question: What’s a “123 Ignition”   Thanks, Bill   ‘67:230SL

Aftermarket electronic ignition that does away with ignition points in the distributor.

[Mike Hughes]

She also has a 1974 (I think) custom Lincoln convertible. Build by Ford in house, as a custom.

There is another Lincoln convertible like that in the Miles through time museum in Clarksville, GA, reputedly given by FoMoCo to Jimmy Carter upon winning the 1976 Presidential election.

[RAY]

Great turnout, no better way to spend a Saturday morning in the sun.

[Bill]

 Follow up…Is the “123 electronic ignition”  an improvement over the conventional points distributor?  Thanks! Bill  ‘67 230SL

[Cees Klumper]

Most people including me think so for a variety of reasons. Lots of prior discussion on this topic. I installed 123 on most of my old cars and have always been happy with the choice.

[Tomnistuff]

Since I already have and am very happy with my Pertronix distributor kit, I and my scalp scars are much more impressed by the hood latch foam "GLOVE" photo.  Credit where it is due.  That is an extremely copy worthy creation.  My compliments to the inventor.
Tomnistuff

[Jonny B]

As the recent recipient of the install I would say that, while not a night/day difference, I can notice an incremental improvement in performance. Plus I don't have to worry about points/condenser etc. There are enough other things to keep an eye on!

[mdsalemi]

Aftermarket electronic ignition that does away with ignition points in the distributor.

Um, no…123 isn’t an electronic ignition that does away with points. It’s a complete distributor replacement with electronics.

The distinction is quite important particularly for people who don’t know. Ignition issues are common on many old cars including ours. Very often people will attempt to correct these ignition issues with an electronic system such as Pertronix or Crane. These, amongst others are systems that work within and with your existing distributor.

The challenge is, if your distributor itself is not mechanically sound, with some worn parts, no amount of electronics are going to solve your issues. In that case replacing the distributor entirely with the 123 makes perfect sense.

However if you have a distributor that is in perfect condition, installing a small and inexpensive electronic system will do you well.

I had my 051 distributor rebuilt in 2011, and installed the Pertronix at that time. It has been fine for me since then. If and when the time comes that my distributor is worn out it will most likely be replaced with a 123.

[Tomnistuff]

Michael is right.  I should have mentioned that before installing my Pertronix ignition, I had my distributir rebuilt.  It not only worked like new, it looked like new.
Tom Kizer