A problem I have had in following the threads on this subject is the relative lack of rigor in documenting who is using what. Starting with Gompy's (aka BigBoat) thread years ago, I have followed each thread on and off, and I have made a few devices myself.
IMHO, Jake Stewart has done a great job in trying to instill some consistency. He started the RC Universe thread as a "summary," but it soon mushroomed. Still, that first post is a useful beginning. Because of problems in posting programming on RC Universe, he started a separate site. That site is well organized, periodically updated, and most important, there is only one version. However, it does not include much on the hardware. Here is the link:
**broken link removed**
As for the hardware, at this time, it seems there is still a lot of variability. The first few posts in this thread for the 12F1840 give good links, including the one from Gompy that I posted above.
http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1781959
If you go to the end of the thread, you will find some impressive work by Gompy: 4 HP @ 14,000 rpm from 25.4 cc.
In sum, if you are using some sort of PIC control for timing, that has been well handled by Jake. Using the optocoupler may solve the problem with destroying PIC's. As for creating the high voltage (i.e., the 250 to 400 volts for the ignition coil), I would recommend one of the designs using a transistor oscillator. People have tried to use a PIC or 555 to drive a switching transistor(s) with limited success.
John