At that age I'd suspect it's 6V electrics. Could be difficult sourcing a suitable kit.

Have you tried a classic car club, I expect others have done it?

They were 12v-I had one and would suggest Lumenition.Cheaper kits that retain points are not worth it.

IT can be done,but would be much easier if the car were negative earth.

Didn't that used to easy to change over - it's before my time but I recall it seemed to be as simple as changing the battery terminals over and re-magnetising the starter motor.

RT, I suspect a senior moment here or as you said before your time, it happens to the best of us, re-polarise the dynamo not the starter motor. To the OP stick with points and condenser, carry a spare one of each plus a spare rotor arm a set of feeler gauges and a screwdriver, more effort but you will never be stranded if you break down.

I hadn't even gone up to "big school" when I heard it being talked about - so I probably never knew the detail. I "helped" my father rebuild an old outboard motor at around the age of 7, been a petrol-head ever since.

I fitted a kit from Simonbbc to my Triumph and it was a vast improvement over points and condensor. Starting was better, as was the power. It was £25 well spent.

The whole kit fitted inside the distributor and required no other mods so it would be easy to re-fit points if needed.

Their website

www.simonbbc.com/electronic-ignitions/search-by-di...l

has lots of info including how to switch from positive to negative earth

What benefit will the small increase in power that will be achieved by fitting electronic ignition (which will make no disernable difference in performance to a 1953 Morris Minor) compared to the simplicity of the original set-up that should a problem occur can be quickly sorted out by the driver at the roadside?

Fitting electronic ignition on old contact-breaker systems wasn't designed to increase power - designed to give consistent spark and maintain original output - and avoid frequent replacement/adjustment.

Yes but what happens when they give up? and they do. A modern piece of kit that's unnessessary on elderly cars. A previous poster mentioned an increase in power noticed in his Vitesse a much later car and it was to him this part of my comment was directed.

The unit I fitted in the Vitesse gave me no trouble in several years. If it had failed I could have just taken it out and refitted a set of points. When I put it in I didn't even have to adjust the timing. Points and condensor out, fit electronic unit, rotor arm and cap back on and the engine started and ran really well.

Also points and condensors fail or drift out of spec and need adjusting/cleaning.

The power wasn't so much increased, but was much smoother with none of the hesitation I was experiencing with the points.

I disagree it is unnecessary kit on an old car, it is simply a better way of making a spark.

That's fine, each to their own.

Many Fords had a 6v coil and a ballast resistor - during starting full 12v is applied to the coil for extra spark voltage and then switched throught the ballast for normall running to prevent burning the coil out.

8v. actually.

Standard 12v ignition coils have primary windings resistance of about 3 ohms. Any less and the points would get hot due to the current flowing across them. Electronic ignition coil primary resistance is much lower at less than 1 ohm as the switching is done by transistors rather than by a mechanical contact breaker. This means the coil can switch much faster, and essentially the magnetic field builds up and collapses faster. That's the real advantage of electronic ignition. It would be completely pointless to fit a 12v ballast coil to an vehicle fitted with electronic ignition.

Why? We're talking here about conversion kits, not modern coil-pack types.