I have come into possession of a 1977 CJ 5 with an AMA V8. The previous owner for some reason replaced the electronic ingition system with a points and rotor system. I haven't been able to get the timing close at all, and I think that might be the problem. If I wanted to refit the motor with the original electronic ignition what would I need to buy and where would be the least expensive place to look?

 

You can retro fit that distributor with a nice hall effect system from Pertronix. However, if I were you, I would sort out the timing issue befoer dropping the money. DIagnose the problem first. If you don't, you may not fix it with another ignition system or even another distributor. It could be anything from a loose timing chain to a balancer walking around the inertia ring. Point type systems are very easy to diagnose and repair. Nothin to it.