1972 Mercedes 250 with spark problem
 

I have a friend who has a '72 Mercedes 250 that randomly quits on him because of a no spark condition. Before he owned the car, somebody had retrofitted the car with a Permatune ignition unit which utilizes the stock distributor for spark operation. We want to get rid of the Permatune unit and install a reliable ignition system. I am not all that familiar with the Mercedes ignitions, but the from the reading that I have been doing, I know going back to stock points and condenser is not the way to go.

I've looked into going with a Pertronics unit, but it appears that they don't make one for this particular car.

I've seen some kits out there that will convert the stock distributor into an electronic ignition system.

I've also seen complete distributors for vintage Mercedes, manufactured by 123 Ignition Systems. From what I understand, these 123 distributors basically drop into the engine along with 2 wires going to the coil and the engine will fire right up. I understand that the 123 distributor is expensive, but it seems to be a no-nonsense way to go. Does anybody know about the reliability of the 123 distributor? Where can these units be purchased?

I'm hoping somebody can give us some insight on what to do.

Thank You

Anybody?