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[rikera]

I have a 78 Spit w/ a 76 (1260cc) engine.  It has sat in the garage for 13 years and now I want to get it running again.  I did a quick test and here are the items on my list to fix. 
1. Clutch fluid turned to powder, so a full rebuild of the clutch is in order
2. I am not getting a spark, so I am looking for suggestions about what is best for fixing the spark.  (hence this post)
3. I pumped the brakes and they went to the floor, I have broken brake lines, so they will need fixing.
4. I guess I'll need to flush out the gas tank, and I might need new rubber on the tires, but over all it isn't in bad shape.

This leads me to ask about the ignition.  It has the coil on the firewall, as well as a little ceramic resister (I think).  When I was testing the spark, by turning the engine over, the little ceramic part started to smoke.  A electronic smoke, like a single little line of smoke coming up from it.  I'm guessing this is not right  So what do you think?  Does anyone have any good advice?  Should I just buy the whole electonic kit?  I think there is any reason to replace the distributer, maybe just the coil?  or can I just replace the little ceramic thingy?  When I investigate I am getting conflicting info about the 76 engine I have (6 volts vs 12 volts).  I am wondering about when the previous owner had the engine swaped (in the '80s).  Did they swap the coil as well?  All I know is it seemed to work fine, because I drove it quite a bit in the late 80s and early 90s.

Please share your advice concerning electronic ignition.

Thanks,
Alan Riker

[SpitNewb]

Hi Alan-

Do you know if the distributor is the original, or aftermarket? Same with the coil?

When I first got my Spitfire,I had some smoke coming from my ballast resistor too on occasion...seemed to happen more when I cranked the ignition a little too long, although I am not convinced that was the only issue. I found some melted ignition wiring under my dash, as well as at the coil, which I have since replaced. Hasn't happened in a while now, so I'm not overly concerned.

The PO of my car swapped the stock distributor for a Mallory Dual Point. Although I appreciate the money he spent on it, I plan on converting the Mallory to electronic as soon as I have some extra $$$. They make some nice electronic ignition set-ups for relatively little money, and you may not even need to replace your distributor to get in to one. I just figure if you aren't going for originality, it's worth the money to convert to electronic and not have to worry about points any more.