Old distributor worked satisfactorily, even though it was dirty inside and outside. After giving it a “good service” it did not work ok. Finaly, according to my strobo it missed cylinders 1 and 2 totally. An 8-step engine was not my goal.
So lets do some shopping. I had read and heard that electronic ignition would be worth the money.
The old one
Some stories tell that these intelligent distributors would not work with an old armored ignition coil. At least some relay would be necessary.
Thanks to sir Markku and his experience of an 123ignition in his Jensen (called Matti) I felt no fear trying this with my Simo.
Installation as I saw it.
Twist the engine to Cylinder 1 TDC or close. I used about -17 degrees position.
At this point the old rotor points near to oil stick. Removed the old one. Shoe box needed.
Pressed the new one to the old collar.
Now just follow the instructions? Not quite, but almost.
At this point the red plus-wire needs to be attached. Instructions tell to use the Plus-clip of the ignition coil. As you know, there is no such thing in Volvo’s armored coil (Bosch). So you need to find another solution. In Jensen it is easy to use the upper fuses empty clips. There is voltage only when ignition power is on.
Now put the power on and turn the body counter-clockwise, until a green led (!) just lights on and tighten it. Wow. Still it was better to do some fine-tuning later on, but this led-system made sure it starts ok. 🙂
Now just wire the black one to the coil.
As a result Simo runs so much better. Could not spend my money much better. Because the outfit is pretty much as the original I see no moral problem with this update even with a museum registered car.