Electronic ignition.

[B8WLY]

Gents.

Has anyone done the 123 electronic ignition conversion that has the Bluetooth option (Available on line / from Rimmers) to fit the Sprint.

I know it’s not cheap but I would be interested to hear anyone’s story and if it was money well spent, or the problems incurred.

Cheers.

Richard.

[Carledo]

The only person I know who has done this is Mahesh of this forum. He IS still around, but a bit busy with other stuff ATM.

The install is noted in considerable detail with lots of pics in his resto thread "newbie, I know the car deserved better!" in the restoration section here.

He also had some extra convo parts made though he may have sold them all by now.

We used the setup on his car during the 2018 RBRR and it behaved faultlessly throughout. The (otherwise fairly standard) car also returned a pretty amazing 43+ MPG over the 2166 miles covered that weekend!

Steve

[B8WLY]

Hi Steve.

I took a look. It reminded me something more akin to open heart surgery !!

I was looking for something more plug and play. There appeared a load of work involved with fabricating sections etc.

I will drop Mahesh a PM to understand if it was really worth while. By the time you have purchased the distributor, new coil and leads plus a bit of fab cost that’s got to be close to six hundred quid !!

Unless there is something really special delivered by the 123 that’s a massive cost.

Cheers.

Richard.

[cleverusername]

Hi Steve.

I took a look. It reminded me something more akin to open heart surgery !!

I was looking for something more plug and play. There appeared a load of work involved with fabricating sections etc.

I will drop Mahesh a PM to understand if it was really worth while. By the time you have purchased the distributor, new coil and leads plus a bit of fab cost that’s got to be close to six hundred quid !!

Unless there is something really special delivered by the 123 that’s a massive cost.

Cheers.

Richard.

To be fair it depends what you're trying to do. If you're building a race car or a road car to achieve massive horse power, having something with that level of customisation might be worth it. Lets be honest, if you're in to that kind of thing, you have to have deep pockets.

However if you just want something more reliable than points, no point spending more than £100. The cheaper options will work perfectly well.

Personally I am very cynical about tuning up cars, unless it is done by someone who really knows what they are doing. People think they have got extra power, until their car is put on a rolling road and the horrible truth is revealed. Properly tuning a car to get more power is a skilled art.

[B8WLY]

Cheers for that.

My car will never see a race track or likely have the nuts knocked out of it, I am just looking for the best upgrade possible that is reliable. The car already has twin 40s, a high lift cam and a stainless sports exhaust.

So open to suggests !

[new to this]

Cheers for that.

My car will never see a race track or likely have the nuts knocked out of it, I am just looking for the best upgrade possible that is reliable. The car already has twin 40s, a high lift cam and a stainless sports exhaust.

So open to suggests !

Why not try coil packs

[Carledo]

The 123 is, I think, the ultimate you can get in a distributor. and the programability (whether from your phone or plugged into a laptop) gives ultimate control over your advance curve and guarantees it's always right. It's several hundred times better than bobweights springs and a vac advance unit in terms of accuracy, so far less chance of engine damage from dizzy faults (like holed pistons) and will work with robot like efficiency forevermore . More efficiency means you get that rare double, more power AND better fuel economy!

And THIS is the real point and advantage of the 123 over ANY other EI system. ALL the others only make the spark, they don't have any effect on the advance management which still depends on the stone age bobweights and springs.

As you say, it's not cheap and complicated by there not being one actually made for the Sprint's 44D4. So you have to make it up as you go along. Fortunately for you, others like Mash and Jeroen have done the donkey work to develop it for you.

Which is why, if I was doing it, I'd be looking at a crank sensor, EDIS and coil pack.

It's a shame you can't scrap the dizzy entirely, but you need SOMETHING to drive the oil pump!

Steve

EDIT, YES £600 IS pricey, but a fully reconditioned and uprated 44D4 from the Distributor Doctor is closing on £400 now and that still has bobweights! Something to think about!

[B8WLY]

Cheers Steve.

I agree it’s a very good upgrade. I do intend to have the carbs off and rebuilt this winter so when they are off would be a good time to do it.

I will drop Mahesh and Jeroen a PM to get there advise this week.

If it’s as good as you and the guys say I guess it’s worth doing. It’s one of those jobs you only do once.

Thanks for the advise.

Richard.

[TFN]

Good evening, I made the conversion to 123 Bluetooth. It is the single best modification I have made, but it is expensive and fiddly.

I took a slightly different approach to others but I'm pleased with the results. I have been trying to find my adapter drawings for another member but can only find the bottom and side views.

Here's a picture of the finished dizzy.

[killysprint]

I have an Aldon non-vacuum distributor on my Sprint.

The engine was bought from Jigsaw around 12 years ago, and the distributor was put on by them. From what I understand they tailored the springs and weights inside the casing to suit the engine, modifications and intended use. from what I gather from their website they are still available for other applications. I run it with an accuspark electronic ignition kit and a top entry cap (from an ambassador)

Obviously technology has moved on since then, and the 123 system may be the best available tech today - but the aldon works ok for me. Revs cleanly right the way through too the red line, no popping, farting or perceivable flats pots, starts spot on and that's with DMS2 cam and 45's.

might be worth a look and more cost effective.

[cleverusername]

The 123 is, I think, the ultimate you can get in a distributor. and the programability (whether from your phone or plugged into a laptop) gives ultimate control over your advance curve and guarantees it's always right. It's several hundred times better than bobweights springs and a vac advance unit in terms of accuracy, so far less chance of engine damage from dizzy faults (like holed pistons) and will work with robot like efficiency forevermore . More efficiency means you get that rare double, more power AND better fuel economy!

And THIS is the real point and advantage of the 123 over ANY other EI system. ALL the others only make the spark, they don't have any effect on the advance management which still depends on the stone age bobweights and springs.

As you say, it's not cheap and complicated by there not being one actually made for the Sprint's 44D4. So you have to make it up as you go along. Fortunately for you, others like Mash and Jeroen have done the donkey work to develop it for you.

Which is why, if I was doing it, I'd be looking at a crank sensor, EDIS and coil pack.

It's a shame you can't scrap the dizzy entirely, but you need SOMETHING to drive the oil pump!

Steve

EDIT, YES £600 IS pricey, but a fully reconditioned and uprated 44D4 from the Distributor Doctor is closing on £400 now and that still has bobweights! Something to think about!

To me one of the joys of a classic car is its simplicity. I can service a standard dizzy on the bench, freeing up bob weights and making sure the vacuum advance is working is not very hard. Sure SU carbs and mechanical dizzy advance isn't as good as modern systems based on sensors but if you want that, just buy a modern car.

Besides which, modern systems as hardly bullet proof. Trying to find out which sensor is out of spec and causing power loss on a modern is no fun. Especially if the fault can't be picked up with a standard code reader. Neither is the bill for replacing said sensor when it has failed.

[yorkshire_spam]

Normally I'm in the "keep it simple" camp... but I've been stranded in the past due to the atrocious lack of quality with new points/condenser sets. So on the Spitfire I run a "points replacement" electronic ignition. Nowhere near as fancy as the 123 dizzy etc. but it's lasted over 10K miles and 6 years without the need for adjustment or any problems. Obviously there's screwdrivers, feeler gauges and a spare points/condenser set in a box in the boot, but so far (touch wood) I've never needed it.
The last "new" condensor I fitted before that lasted under 500 miles.