[T3] Ignition alternatives

[Hal Sullivan <tristessa@pon.net>]

<x-flowed>Well, I've just finished three days of "drive like you stole it" testing 
with the new ignition in my '65 T1.  (1776, Kadrons)

Let me warn you this is a longish post. =)

I've been eyeing some of the points-less setups on the market and keeping 
an ear out for peoples opinions.  Then on Friday I was at the local 
pick-a-part yard, and had a flash of inspiration when I saw the '85 
Vanagon.  I came home with the Vanagon's distributor and associated wiring, 
the module (which I actually grabbed from a Jetta) and coil.  Set me back 
about $35.

The distributor is a dual-advance with vacuum retard and the Hall-effect 
system, AND it fits the aircooled engines.  The wiring harness is a bit 
long, so I shortened it (and took out the plugs for the FI's idle 
stabilizer) and cleaned up a bit.  The distributor dropped in place like it 
belongs there, the module mounted to one of the coil bracket screws, and it 
fired right up after I set the timing.  The biggest sticking point in the 
installation was looking at the new setup on the ground, looking at my 
engine and thinking "Is it really *that* simple...?"

I am in love with this setup.  My car now fires on the first crank EVERY 
time, and it idles, winds up and runs smoother than it ever has.  The 
lag/hesitation I always had with the 009 is gone, the little crackle in the 
stereo is gone, and my mileage has increased.  And I haven't hooked up the 
vacuum advance yet!  I can't wait to see what *that* does for me. =)  And 
find more stuff to put this setup into the Fastback...

So I've been doing some thinking and research about this over the last few 
days.  First, all the parts are standard later-model VW, which makes for 
easy replacement.  The particular distributor I used is from a 1.9 WBX, so 
the advance curve should be well suited to our engines (same stroke, same 
rods).  The module, coil and Hall unit are the same on a lot of the 
watercooled VWs (I checked part #s).  The module is a little black thing 
about the size of a (small) box of matches, screwed to a large-ish aluminum 
plate.

If anyone might be thinking about trying this for themselves, the sticking 
point may be the distributor.  I'm not sure of the whole range of years 
that this was used, though I'm sure of '83.5-'85 (the 1.9 WBX).  '86 and 
later Vanagons are no good, the distributor has no advance mechanism (the 
curve is controlled by the FI computer).  The module, coil and wiring can 
be grabbed from any watercooled VW with the Hall-effect system, with the 
wiring shortened (or lengthened) as needed.   The module is hiding under 
the black splash-shield under the hood.

Maybe this will inspire someone... <cackle>

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