Electronic ignitions have been used in automobiles for over thirty five years. They have proven to be completely reliable and to offer a significant improvement in performance over the traditional points and condenser ignition which was created in 1910.  Electronic ignitions were originally designed to deal with ever increasingly stringent emissions laws, and as an unexpected side benefit they proved to offer very significant gains in horsepower and torque.

For the owners of vintage Italian cars, there are significant gains to be made by converting to an electronic ignition system. In addition to torque and horsepower gains in the 10-15% range, there is also far superior starting, increased gas mileage, and reduced engine wear due to a more complete combustion which reduces carbon and unburnt fuel in the motor oil.

Marelli Service has extensive experience with both OEM electronic ignitions and aftermarket conversions.There are five general types of electronic ignitions that have been used over the years: (1) Capacitive discharge control boxes for use with points (2) optical triggers with external conrol box to replace the points (3) Magnetic triggers with external control box (4) Hall effect self-contained triggers (5) Crank fire triggers with external control box.

In addition there are many control boxes that can work with the various electonic triggers. These fall into three general types: Electronic advance units, multiple spark units, and capacitive discharge units.

 

The most common conversions in recent years were done using the Pertronix system, which showed great potential initially. Unfortunately, due to changes in corporate ownership  and management, design faults and unnacceptable customer support, these conversions have proved both difficult and time consuming to service and install.

 

 

From a design standpoint, the majority of owners, up to this point, have chosen  simple conversions with one electronic trigger in each distributor. This  completely eliminates all four sets of points and offers significant performance gains.

The ideal system however, utilizes two triggers in a single distributor with the other distributor being used only for spark distribution. This puts both triggers on a single mechanical advance curve which  results in significantly more  performance gains than using one pickup in each distributor on separate advance curves.

 

Marelli Service specializes in an electronic ignition conversion  using all Magneti Marelli components known as the Marelliplex system. During the 1970's and 1980's The Marelliplex system was widely used by Ferrari, Maserati ,Alfa Romeo, and Fiat in very serious production numbers. Using a compact integrated coil/igniton module and heat sink assembly, this system is supremely reliable, is easily field serviceable and visally unobtrusive when installed on vintage cars.

 

This Marelliplex conversion is available for the following cars:

 

                              All  250, 275, 330, and 365 series Ferraris, both  two and four cam models

 

                              European and US Spec 206/246 Dinos and Carbureted 308's,

 

                              Lamborghini 350 and 400's and the Miura and Islero series cars,

 

                              The  3500 Series Maseratis.

 

In addition, custom conversions are available for any vintage Italian car.  

Whether you use your car for occasional use, regular driving, or for concours display, an electronic ignition conversion is highly recommended to ensure rapid, consistent starting and improved performance.