The 'E' Type Forum

hello all,

I am in early stages of collecting parts for my series 2 in readiness for commencing refurb in the new year.

about to order new ignition leads as existing ones are badly frayed.
should I replace the rotor etc. with an upgraded electronic kit at same time? am told basic upgrade is around £90. and the 123 kit around £340.
Is either upgrade recommended/worthwhile?. benefits?

Also, any great benefit in upgrading the alternator and starter?

many thanks

Bill

series 2 FHC 1969 US import

Bill,

I recently fitted a 123 system, the standard one, and I am very pleased. If I were to do it again I would go for the Bluetooth system, it gives you more stuff to play with. At the same time new spark wires were fitted. Now if only they had a model to reduce loss of oil...

Go the distance and fit a 123.

Martin

PAN4213 wrote: ↑

Fri Oct 26, 2018 12:36 pm

Is either upgrade recommended/worthwhile?. benefits?

series 2 FHC 1969 US import

Over the last eight years I have tried Pertronics, "Ebay no name Chinese", SimonBBC and an EDIS system on various of my 4 cars.

I have come to the conclusion that for me they offer no great benefit over a well overhauled standard distributor with brand name (Lucas) points fitted.

After my complete restoration, including engine blueprinting with new pistons and balancing, the rebuilder had me run the first 500 miles break in on the stock (lucas) gear (Engine is high compression). After the break in period, I installed a CSI system, and set it to one of the middle maps. There is a difference. The car starts instantly, the mid range ramp and butt dyno seems more linear. Now some of that may have been due to the vacuum advance that goes with the CSI, but I'm very happy with it, up to 100 mph which is as far as I got. As an aside, the tachometer doesn't have the slightest wobble with the CSI, while the points showed a slight jiggle at specific RPMs. Not so with the electronics, so it must be a cleaner switch since the coil current runs thru the tach. (Who's idea was that one?).


Just an FYI short video on how it gets installed with it's black top..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSkgj5nKHRY

send your distributor to the 'distributor doctor' for overhaul. have either points or a petronix module fitted. you don't need anything else.

You need to have your distributor changed to UK spec with vacuum advance. You can do that by:

Sending it to "Distributor Doctor" (often mentioned on here) for a rebuild. £??
You can buy a complete new distributor from SimonBBC for around £90
You can buy a secondhand distributor along with it's electronic module from a Series 3 XJ6 £100?
You can buy a 123 distributor for £340

I was in your position and chose the SimonBBC option initially and have the Series 3 option waiting in the wings. They give you electronic points so the car starts easily, idles smoothly and (if wired correctly) the rev counter continues to work fine. It gets you going and you can move to other options later if you perceive there is benefit and you have the budget. I believe retaining mechanical points is silly, it's one thing the automotive world has moved on over and for good reason but I accept that some folks on here have strong views on keeping them. If you choose an option that gets you a new distributor rather than having your current unit rebuilt, you can always keep your old distributor as a "get you home" spare in the boot in the unlikely event you'll need it. The XK engine isn't a demanding engine ignition wise so whilst it's fun to play with the 123 options on the timing curve there's little real benefit in normal use and there's lots more electronics involved to go wrong if you're concerned about that issue.

The alternator is fine but it's associated separate voltage regulator isn't very reliable. Both items can be replaced by a single modern alternator with a built-in regulator but you'll have to modify the wiring loom. Again there are threads on here explaining what you can do. Costs start at £60 + modifying the loom.

If in good condition, the existing starter motor is perfectly adequate and reliable. You can replace it with a modern high-torque unit for around £200 and it's a much easier job if you have the engine out for any reason. Another decision influenced by your budget and proposed future use of the car.

I use the Simon BBC system, and am very pleased. Cheap option, but does away with the need to adjust points for incompetent people like me. I did also fir silicone leads at the same time, as normal leads, particularly if a bit thin, can interfere. They did with mine and cause high rev cut out.

Repeated and painful experience has convinced me that aftermarket electronic systems are inherently unreliable. Points are not "silly" - they worked well for about 100 years of motoring, and crucially they are repairable at the roadside . If you must go electronic, either carry your old working distributor with you as a spare, or make sure that whatever system you fit can be replaced at the roadside by points

I think that's the bonus with my BBC system (and other similar ones). With one screw removed from the plate in the dizzie, I can replace the electronic unit with another (which I have) or with the contact breakers (which I have). You're correct in saying keep alternatives!

I had endless problems with my distributor which was rebuilt by Distributor Doctor. Nothing wrong with their work, just iffy rotor arms, distributor caps and capacitors. One capacitor lasted only 1 mile.
I gave up on the originality and had a 123 fitted. Brilliant!
I never had issues with distributors back in the day.

For reference on this, we run a basic 123 ignition on our Series 1 50EE and it has always gone well. These distributors are more popular than ever now since a black cap was introduced instead of the red ones they were originally launched with...

Have a look at: http://forum.etypeuk.com/viewtopic.php? ... 23#p101600

+1 for the 123 here. I had one fitted to my Roadster at the beginning of the season on the recommendation of my restorers. After 3,200 miles of touring it's been great. The car always starts first time every time and she goes beautifully.

+ another one for the 123. I installed mine more than 30.000 km ago and it was perfect until about 25.000km. Then it needed a new cap and rotor and everything was fine again.

Another fan of the basic 123 fitted with new leads and sports coil. Would also have chosen the bluetooth version but hey ho.

Much improved starting and runs beautifully. Delighted.

Original Distributor rebuilt and in boot as back up.

cheers
Ash