After my bird sits for a bit, it gets really hard to start, and floods really easily. in an effort to try and make it a little easier and more drivable, I'm looking at getting rid of the points and putting in the Pertronix Ignitor II.

According the the pertronix site, even the stock coil gives a big gain over points. I don't want to go changing the look under the hood too much, so my question is..

Does putting the flamethrower coil in make that big of a difference, or will my stock coil work fine?

Your stock coil will probably work fine. Pertronix instructions tells you how many ohms the coil needs to be. I can't recall the figure. If the ohms are correct, and your coil is healthy, no reason to replace it. Keep in mind the Flamethrower coil is available as a black cylinder, just like your factory coil is. It's a little glossier, but otherwise they really don't look much different. And you can peel the sticker off if you don't want it to say "Flamethrower".

I also believe, only from your brief description, that you might have a carburation issue, and not necessarily an ignition issue. That said, I am a fan of Pertronix and I recommend it.

I have the Pertronix ignitor in my car, the ohms needed from the coil is 1.5 to 4.5, your stock coil isn't gonna put this out.
Get the Pertronix Flame thrower and did you install a wire with 12v to the distributor?
You have a wire that runs from the bulkhead plug to the coil, that wire is a resistor wire, the volts drop down to about 9v when the car starts and is running.
The Pertronix will not operate on this low of volts.
There are a lot of discussion here at this forum on how to solve it, as I did.

That's what I did. Yes if you look real close you can tell it is not stock, but it is hardly noticeable. Also keep the old setup if you are concerned, can always switch back.

Sounds like I'll be ordering the coil too then.

yeah, it's possible there is a carburation issue there too. It's something I'll be checking. It's only hard to start after it has sat for days. When we are driving it daily it's never an issue.

You may have a leaking plug in the carb that is draining the bowl down. Happens all the time.

That would certainly cause what is happening. My carb knowledge is fairly limited, but I like to learn. Is that something relatively easy to check and fix, or should I take it somewhere to check it?

Jarett, to fix the leaking base plugs you need to pull the carb apart and epoxy them. Here is a video of how they are fixed. They start fixing the base plugs around 6mins 25secs in. http://www.spike.com/full-episodes/reh42f/powerblock-muscle-car-quadrajet-rebuild-season-4-ep-418

If your carb is empty after sitting, it takes about 6 - 12 secs of cranking using your fuel pump to get enough gas up & into the carb. Once its full, you should be able to kick it (floor the gas pedal then release) once or twice (every car seems different) to reset the high speed idle, reset the choke to closed and give a squirt of gas into the primaries to start. Another common qjet problem is the accelerator pump inside the carb will be dried up and not pump. Then it wont deliver that squirt into the primaries to aid in starting and acceleration. Easy to check. Once the car has been running, shut off and remove air cleaner lid. With the choke open, look down into the front 2 primaries and move the throttle to wide open and back. If the accel pump is working you will have a full squirt of gas into each primary. If not then that is why is starts hard and needs to be fixed. Most carb kits come with a new accel pump plunger and bottom check valve.

Hey Jarett,
I bought my 'bird from a guy in Port Coquitlam back in 2008. His name is Steve and he is a stock broker for one of the banks there. This car was owned by his father in law in town for many years before. Any chance you've came across it before? It had a white top with rusty ralley II's.

Did you get a chance to see video link above? Its pretty good and could you an idea of whats involved in a qjet rebuild.

I did give the video a quick watch. I'll have to look at it again. what you are describing is exactly what happens, so I'm thinking that the plugs in the bowl are likely my problem.

I can't say I know someone names Steve from Port Coquitlam. lol. I only moved there in 2007, but I don't recall seeing that car around.

Not to be a stick in the mud Jarett, but with as original of a car as you have, I would personally be disapointed if you switched over from points. Keep in mind, its only original once. Yes, you can save all the parts, but with proper carb work or rebuild, I'm confident all your hard starting issues will be solved. Just give it some thought before swapping. Its just too easy to lose things (or have your wife 'clean' the garage for you)