Porsche 911T and 914-6 have a contraption called a Capacitor Discharge Ignition (CDI). It is an add-on box with an internal transformer to step up 12-volt battery voltage to 500 volts or more, storing that power in a capacitor that’s always ready whenever the distributor sends a trigger signal.
In addition to a CDI still being on the car (yea!), my father also must have sourced a spare. Both being the 3-pin units variety.
While it is possible that ours is in working condition, and there are ways to test them, I decided to send our unit out for refurb. It is 50 years old and they are apparently notorious for failing without warning. A number of places do refurb and / or offer replacements with more modern components. I ultimately sent ours to Ashlocktech. His surface replaces broken or critical components and adds some surge protection to make the unit more durable. I save a bit by bead blasting the outside of the housing myself. Bob was a pleasure to do business with.
Interesting side note. Cars with CDI do not have a condenser as would normally be found mounted to the distributor.
