Michael Mayben
IHPA Tech Moderator - Retired & No Longer Online
The pertronix iii is a re-born crane xri conversion unit. Crane cams went down the bankruptcy rathole about a year ago. Crane consisted of several separate operations under the umbrella, and some of the operations were transferred to other holding companies, etc.
Their "lobe sensor" breaker point conversion was an innovative item, along with their optical trigger conversions (xr 3000) which were outstanding as well.
Pertronix picked up the xri conversion, has tweeked it a bit (so they claim) and repackaged as the pertronix iii. It is adaptable to only a very few distributor models however, it's most common use is inside delco cast iron sparkers from the 50's/60's/70's.
It is one piece, uses no rotating magnet assembly like the pertronix and pertronix II. It claims to have a built-in rev limiter which of course is useless in IH applications since they self-regulate themselves by running out of breath! It does have to have the "air gap" adjusted initially, from then on out, it is maintenance-free.
However, the p-tron iii cannot trigger any type of capacitive discharge ignition box such as an msd or mallory "six" series, to me that is their only drawback.
Accel also offers a dam near identical piece which I believe was actually a re-boxed crane xri.
Installing any electronic conversion in a distributor that has not been completely rebuilt is a waste of time! Delcos are by far the most bullet-proof units out there, but they also suffer from excessive endplay and that is the key to stable ignition timing with IH engines due to the very accurate gear drive of the camshaft/oil pump/distributor stack.
Their "lobe sensor" breaker point conversion was an innovative item, along with their optical trigger conversions (xr 3000) which were outstanding as well.
Pertronix picked up the xri conversion, has tweeked it a bit (so they claim) and repackaged as the pertronix iii. It is adaptable to only a very few distributor models however, it's most common use is inside delco cast iron sparkers from the 50's/60's/70's.
It is one piece, uses no rotating magnet assembly like the pertronix and pertronix II. It claims to have a built-in rev limiter which of course is useless in IH applications since they self-regulate themselves by running out of breath! It does have to have the "air gap" adjusted initially, from then on out, it is maintenance-free.
However, the p-tron iii cannot trigger any type of capacitive discharge ignition box such as an msd or mallory "six" series, to me that is their only drawback.
Accel also offers a dam near identical piece which I believe was actually a re-boxed crane xri.
Installing any electronic conversion in a distributor that has not been completely rebuilt is a waste of time! Delcos are by far the most bullet-proof units out there, but they also suffer from excessive endplay and that is the key to stable ignition timing with IH engines due to the very accurate gear drive of the camshaft/oil pump/distributor stack.
