Vedette Marine BMC Engine - What electronic ignition should I use

[Raymondu56]

I have a BMC Morris Vedette 958 OHV Marine Engine running my Freeman 22 Mk1 cruiser and want to change the old points and condenser system to an electronic ignition one. Some people have said Accuspark and Sports Coil. Anyone have a recommendation and how easy are they to install? Do I also need to buy a new distributor?

[svenedin]

I think the first question would be why do you want to change to electronic ignition? Is there a problem or do you just prefer the idea?

If your distributor is old and worn it will not work particularly well either with points or with an electronic module fitted. The “new” distributors available are far east knock offs not built to anything like the standard of the original Lucas ones (that’s why they are cheap).

Stephen

[chrischris59]

I fitted this unit to my vedette engine It was an easy job using the old D2a distributor. The only things I changed were the plug leads as in the blurb it states using normal HT leads could in the long term damage the trigger head. 14 years on I have never touched it since fitting. The only thing is on the web site it only shows a positive earth unit but I bought a negative unit from them.

https://simonbbc.com/Powerspark-Electro ... arth-K32pp

[simmitc]

There will always be a debate between those in favour of points and those voting for electronic. Both have their own advantages. The usual advice offered is to consult the Distributor Doctor.

[oliver90owner]

There will always be a debate between those in favour of points and those voting for electronic. Both have their own advantages. The usual advice offered is to consult the Distributor Doctor.

This thread does not appear to be a discussion between Kettering and electronic systems.

My reply is there is no electronic ignition system that should be fitted. Personally I would most definitely avoid the cheaper end of the market - for more than one reason. I always abide by the adage of “buy cheap, buy twice”. Most negative comments originate from those who have experienced problems (or occasionally from some that like to hate progress).

[geoberni]

As Stephen has said, fitting an electronic conversion to worn out Distributor won't help.
If the Dissy is the original and the boat is what, some 60 years old, there's a good chance that even if the engine has been overhauled the Dissy was overlooked.
Don't jump into a 'conversion' when replacement might be what's needed.

I'm happy with the Accuspark conversion on my car, but it was already there when I brought him in 2017 so I don't know the providence of the Dissy.
Equally, the engine isn't original, it's a Goldseal, which I suspect was a late 60s one... not many of us are fortunate enough to have detailed histories of our cars.

[kevin s]

over the years the one which I have found reliable is the Lumenition, certainly not the cheapest but I have one in a car which is well over 30 years old has never been touched and still works perfectly.