put on new coil. took coil lead off dissy. cranked (by proxy) and watched a cruddy spark jump from the lead. where do I start checking connections and troubleshooting before i upgrade my ignition? silly question, but i couldn't be bothered thinking at the moment.

Start by changing the condenser

Check around - i had to do a mates on the W/E and auto one wanted $30!

He admitted it was probabally a mistake, but i didnt buy it

Peter,
its a good start to change the condenser
-ll- when You change the coil... check the high tension lead... suspect - if a silicon type.. wire type is best... can You check the coil lead with an ohms meter and the voltage to the coil... should be around 12v
the points duration is also a factor....
You will work it out....

Pete, I'd chuck the points and condenser and replace with Hall Cell and electronic control unit. Way better for a performance engine. Constant dwell, hotter spark, faster starting. And best of all no gapping to worry about.
Out of all the bits I bought for my oval over the past couple of years, the Compufire is the best money spent.

so compufire and hall cell is not mutually exclusive? where do i get this stuff (i have recently become the proud owner of a universal high energy ignition kit and programmable unit from jaycar, but these can be used with any trigger unit... they suggest a hall effect. where do i get it? does it bolt in to my 009? will it still retard no.3?
how much is it? where is it?
where do i get it? who sells them ? where do i get these things....
:alien

Pete

If you are running a 009 you dont have any retard

Seriously - the only retardation was the stock 36 HP dizzy. If you have (any taste ) a super you will have a dog house and retardation is not a problem.

I would just go (as i did ) with a Magfire. Cheap and they work. Just cant see the cost benefit of going MSD or those hi out put hi $$$ units

Thanks Blue, I didnt know that about the 009 dizzys. I had the same question as Pete about the retard with the compufire. But I spose it doesnt matter now. Been on the motor for 2 years with lots of use and no problem.

Pete, both Compufire and Magfire are good ones. Boris at VVDS would probably have these.

egad!
of course i have a super... i have taste and class
(one of those statements is 100% true)
no retard? besides the one i supply:alien
i thought the dissy cap might have a slight asymmetry to provide the retard. guess i been labouring under a misconception for a while. are magfire/ compfire hall effect systems? exy?
*toys with pulling out his last hair* BTW blue, you finished that soccer crap yet?
the bonus of the MSD units is they mimic a longer dwell, for more burn, esp at high rpm. stock ignigtion is fine up to a few thousand rpm, but spark energy falls off the higher you go.. next dyno day we should check it out!!!
try stock vs ultra super hipo mega jolt shocky setup. all we need to do is take along a set of points and a reference point and the ability to plug ad unplug wires. should be interesting

Actually, blue: The dizzies all had No.3 retard from mid-1300 on. There even were "009s" available back in the 70s and 80s that had it as well! (as did the version that actually were fitted to Kombis - but they were bloody rare even back then.)

so how did they provide the retard?

Pete , I think the retard is built into the distrubutor shaft. Were the points cam rides. High point moved a few degrees back on no.3.

The reason none of the Hall Cell units dont have dwell is that the spark is triggered by a disc that slips over the distrubutor shaft. The trigger points, magnetic steel bits in this disc are all equaly spaced apart.
Is on my Compufire anyway.