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which cap and wires would you choose if your life depended on it, like if it was the last set you could ever buy?

Civi all the way

If my life depended on them, I would buy the military set up. My life doesn't so I am runing the civilian set as it is cheaper. Early on I had some water problem with the civilian, and I still have a little noise on the radio. Not a problem. As a side note the military plugs (good Bosch ones from Germany last a Long time compared to the civilian plugs.)

So I run the civilian, but would run the military if I had lots of extra money

Soon to have no cap.

thanks for the replys

From what I understand the ONLY reason to get a civi conversion is to save money and make spares easier to obtain. It does NOT improve the ignition at all, in fact the military system is better.

Mine's still Military. No problems in over 6 years. I saw no reason to fix it if it ain't broken.

I suppose if there were EM targeting rockets being aimed at me my life would depend on it, therefore, I would buy the military cap as that is pretty much the ONLY thing it is designed for beyond what the civilian ignition does.

If that threat was out of the picture, the civilian cap and wires are easier to repair in an emergency in the field to get you home.

I have a civilian setup. It works great, waterproof and doesn't lose any spark. It uses fairly large stock car wires with very long plug boots that seal quite well. The engine runs until water is above the snorkel (6.5 feet) or I bury it so deep in mud that the belt comes off (last Sat.)

Lightningpinz wrote:Early on I had some water problem with the civilian, and I still have a little noise on the radio.
So I run the civilian, but would run the military if I had lots of extra money

What did you do to correct the water problem. I think I have the same issue.

norcal pinz wrote:which cap and wires would you choose if your life depended on it, like if it was the last set you could ever buy?

Answer .... C, none of the above... I don't need no stinkin' cap or wires!

The Civi kit is the better way to go and yes, it does improve performance.
As far as waterproofing, a small amount of anerobic sealer between the cap and the adapter will provide the same water intrusion protection as the factory setup For radio noise concerns just use a set of carbon core wires instead of the solid core wires.
With the non factory setup you can quickly diagnose and repair ignition problems with commonly available off the shelf parts. One other sidenote, you can "borrow" parts off your buddies sand rail when he's not looking
Seriously, It can be difficult to diagnose a bad mil spec wire or cap.
The wires usually test good with an ohm meter, but fail under load by grounding internally to the shielding

Didn't Scott bust the water myth. Wasn't it from poor installation

I'm sold on the civi set-up. It's cheaper, more reliable, and does smooth out the engine- especially at idle. The wear and adjustments needed for stock points are problematic... but a pertronix works under water!
The only reason to keep it stock is to... keep it stock. Civi ignitions improved all three of my pinzgauers and have never failed due to getting wet.

I have Pertronix, military cap, and after market wires made by T-Lo, and NGK plugs recommended by Jim. A bit of a combination that seems to work perfectly.
My coil has a slight dent, I would like to replace that someday, but an OEM replacement is WAY to expensive, like $300. My worry is the dent may develop into a short eventually.

Still have all military stuff with Pertronix. Plan on keeping it that way until some part of it fails, then I'll go to the civi for cost reasons.