Classic Car Tech-Setting Up A Point Ignition
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- This time around we cover the basic bits and procedures universal to all point style automotive ignitions.
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About fifteen yrs ago my older brother was cleaning his garage and handed me a briefcase containing a comp. tester, vac gauge, timing light, dwell tach, feeler gauges, point files etc. Items I already had. I encoraged him to keep them. He declined. I never used any item in the case..I have my own set.Two months ago his oldest son asked me how to set points / do tune up on a 58 Volks Bug he had just purchased. I told him to wait an hour and I would be over. After arriving I handed him his Father's briefcase. Some things should become family heirlooms. It was one of my top ten days ever... seeing an ear to ear smile on a thirty-year-old man is priceless. Thanks for sharing Tony..Best to you and yours.
good for you!
Now that is priceless :):)
I pulled out a timing light and dwell meter to tune a car a neighbor had inherited and he asked me how it read codes with a needle and scale, lol.
tell him the timimg light is used to read the codes and the flashing is morris code.hand him a morris code book lol.
@@statedace3 I told him the light was to check the timing and the meter was to set the points, he asked how many points there were to set. I guess he figured it was like a 10 minute oil change place and their 17 point inspection.
Watch the needle sweep and count the pulses, then open the code book to interpret the pulses 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Lol seriously?
David Kittle Lol
I learned this stuff in the 70's.Good to see you teaching this stuff to the youngsters.
Ya bro in the 90s here! Hahaha my auto ship teacher in high school wouldnt let us into the advanced class unless you could draw a wiring diagram of 1st gen and pointless ignition systems. He was the coolest guy I've had the pleasure of being taught by. Ran his advance auto class like a real shop. We had him for a block of 2 periods so we had plenty of time to work on the teachers cars and his friends classics. Learned so much from him and UTG. If it wasn't for them I wouldn't know how to even start on these projects by myself. Or have the balls to go out and buy a project of my own.
@@MrT9822 yeah man, I went to Ohio technical college in the late 90s.
The teacher said you gotta learn points or we can't move forward on ignition theory.
Even in the past 5yrs on the job I've had my hands on probably 30-40 sets of points so they are still out there.
Youngsters arent using this stuff. Not that they shouldn't learn how it works. But they've moved in to bigger and better things. Individual coils, that can individually be timed. More saturation time, and more output from individual coils.
As I watch this video I can hear my step dad in my head,"Bump it, bump it,,,,,,,,,,,,bump it, that was too much, bump it".
Hahahaha
Yup, that and "Hold the light right there"
Usually followed shortly with "Pay attention! Can you see what I'm doing? NO, Neither can I! Now hold the dang light right there!"
LOL 😂
condensor is an old word for capacitor. Its 2 conductive things (the foil) with an insulator between them. Usually the insulator is thin plastic film now, but way back when it was probably paper. It stores a bit of electricity, so shock absorber is pretty accurate.
Ya I've heard it picks up and stores electrically energy that was left over from the coil when the magnetic field collapses.
gadget73 it’s engineering term for that time is a choke
Christopher Saylock a choke is another term for an inductor. Capacitors and condensors are the same.
And the paper was coated with electrolyte. A capacitor resists changes in voltage and stores energy while doing so.
@@badbanano A choke? No, that's a coil of wire. More correctly known as an inductor.
Exactly the way I was taught by my oldest brother back in the late 70's.
Points are super reliable as long as you keep up the maintenance.
points are nothing but a switch which removes the gd, as they open allowing voltage to flow into the condenser thru the can to gd the condenser has to match the coil for max spark if it does not match its a weak spark and pitted points since voltage did get thru condenser it flows back thru open points jumps the gap to gd causing the points to pit. condenser are rated in microfareds correct value is very important for max spark my truck uses a 27 microfared condenser this info is avail at dealors old parts books get original part cross ref it to todays part #s for correct value.
When the time comes that I can buy an old mopar I will keep the points, carb and enjoy driving a car I can fix.
As much as people encourage upgrading to electronic ignition, this is interesting to learn!
As much as I like and appreciate electronic ignition's benefits and advantages, points do a surprisingly good job - more than sufficient for most of those cars that are being recommended to undergo electronic surgery.
Can you fix an electronic ignition = no
@@aussiebloke609 Yes they can be amazing reliable , but when they go bunk they cause problems way out of proportion , that would't exist with old tech
@@benwinter2420 you know when points are shutting down on you. Electronic just magically quits without warning.
I only pimp electronic ignition for the sake of the customers. Most people can't even be bothered to change their own oil, let alone gap points once a year or even (especially today) not to use ignition on vs accessory to listen to the radio while they're sitting somewhere waiting for something.
I don't own a car with points and never have but Ive watched all your vids on points. You made it really interesting.
Bringing back stuff I already knew but forgot. I remember my uncle doing this stuff and explaining it to me, but by the time I got my own cars, HEI was the thing. Since I'm a GM at heart, that's what I know. But it is awesome to relearn things.
Also uncle Tony, a condensor is a battery. a friend of mine got on the school bus,(1977) handed me one and asked if I had ever seen one (he was careful to hold it by the base/sides, I grab it by the sides and slide my thumb/finger down the wire, POW, 40,000 volts! You can put the wire in a spark plug wire with the case on the block, start the car,(charge it) and not touching the wire sit it on a table, it will stay charged a long time and bite the first person who picks it up and completes the circuit! He helped his Dad put points/condenser in their '67 Mercury Comet b4 school and thought it would be a funny joke to light up his friend on the bus.
When i first got hired as a parts guy, I had an older regular come up to the counter. I was pretty nervous cuz I'm new and this guy was in here almost everyday from what I heard. He had a fleet of old school Grand Cherokee's and Grand Wagoner's. So he gets all these parts, and finally he says "Oh, I'm gonna need a rotor too." Now, I was nervous, so I didn't put 2 and 2 together so I go "Ok so we got 2 in stock at 45 bucks each." And he looks at me confused as hell. He says "Fuck that's the most expensive rotor I've heard of. They're only like 5 bucks wtf." And I felt like such a dumbass. Hahahahah. Found him his IGNITION rotor for him for 4 bucks, and left the BRAKE rotor on the shelf. Hahahahahha
Well you're not wrong. Ignition rotor is usually referred to as a rotor button so it's easy to make that mistake if he wasnt clear on what he wanted
Hey...If ya didn't know before, ya know now! Sounds like you did well. My husband grew up in the sixties I was born in '68. I would have no clue either lol. He does know.
"Oh, I'm going to need a rotor too"...I honestly was thinking ignition rotor under the distributor cap and not the brake rotor. But I can see the confusion there.
his dumbass fault for not being specific. i hate these old ass retarded boomers
@@pushhrodd01 Well. Think about it. It’s not everyday someone wants just 1 rotor..lol. Now I’ve been on the job 5 years. Most times when someone says they want A rotor. I look up an ignition rotor right away. Just to find out they are being cheap as hell and just getting one thinkin the other side isn’t as warped lol. They always come back a few days later for the other side.
Being 20 driving a 1976 chevy luv as my daily commuter and telling the older folks that i just adjusted the points puts a smile other faces keeping classics on the road is not for the faint hearted no power steering no air bags and or automatic transmission you gotta be a real man to drive old vehicles
That`s true for using old Ford tractors for your farm work to! Most of the other farmers think at 65 were a little crazy to actually farm with our antique tractors all made in 1952 ,but they are simple & fairly easy to work on & don`t cost $10,000 to replace hydraulics!
Hey Uncle Tony,just did the starter on my oldest daughters suv, was thinking of ya,it's 11pm, on the street, up on stands, and I had a cigarette burning the whole time
Did she bring ya tater tots?
@@UncleTonysGarage Uncle Tony, you know a good wrenching deserves a warm plate of tater tots lol!!!
@@UncleTonysGarage HAHAhahaa
I remember being 8 years old, sitting in the drivers seat in my dad's 1973 Satellite station wagon, with my dad under the hood yelling "Bump it...bump it...bump it - Damn It, next time don't bump it so hard!...bump it..." as he tried to get the cam in the correct position. I hadn't thought about those times in years.
Thanks again Uncle Tony for bringing back those memories.
I still have my old Sears dwell meter collecting dust after all these years!!! I love the fact that you still teach the good old stuff for the younger generation!!! Hopefully it sinks in!!!
Good stuff never heard a condenser explained in any way that I understand until today thank you Uncle Tony
I LOVE YOU UNCLE TONY!!!! (in a big brother way,no weird stuff)..
Reason I always Loved Big Block Mopars,distributor at the front..My 360 I changed to points on my '78 Magnum was a pain leaning over at the back ,never took it out but man it sure woke that 360 up to a tire burning hot rod ,it really did...No lean burn junk for me!
GREAT VIDEO!!! Keep them coming!!!
I appreciate you sharing your knowledge with us Uncle Tony, the video was great!
Great video brother I learned about points growing up my dad made me go outside and watch him and help but I love your videos brother one of the best mechanic and car tech series on TH-cam keep up the good work bro
Absolutely!!!
Hey Tony
Great video!
Heres something to try:
While you have the distributor distributing that high voltage spark at the plug, remove the capacitor lead and youll see that hot spark get noticeably weaker.
Maybe so weak it wont light the mixture of fuel and air under compression.
Gasoline is not a conductor for electricity so you’re adding a lot of resistance especially under compression.
A good capacitor will prolong points life but also gives a higher voltage spark to start the combustion process.
In a pinch I would gladly ruin a new set of points to get me home if I didn’t have a replacement condenser/capacitor in the glove box.
That combustion chamber is a harsh environment for the spark plugs to operate in and really cant be duplicated by grounding them to metal chassis or vice.
I want the hottest spark I can get and the capacitor is a big part of that equation.
When adjusting point gap to achieve correct dwell it's relevant to know that there is an inverse relationship between them; I usually check dwell with the motor running after setting gap. Also, if you are setting points with any regularity, a good eye should get the gap close enough to "get you home." By the way, this is one regard where the "regular" points type of distributor might be considered superior to the "unipoints" type as it's usually a lot easier to see or feel the gap with the distributor in the motor.
This was another electrifying episode. I found Uncle Tony's presentation shocking. Tony really sparks my interest. This really does ignite the conversation.
Way ahead of spontaneous combustion. Thanks Uncle Tony.
Hyundia had points until 1986. I had a stellar and the points screw constantly loosened. I got so quick at setting them by eye that I even set them at a stop light while waiting for the light to change. Finally I used loctite to hold them in place.
You are my favorite teacher other than my hot teacher thats only a few years older than me, shes extra fun
I use "Red-n-Tacky" to lube. Always lasts the 8k or so between check/service intervals I use. Also, I use a Q Tip to add just a smear on the cam. I then use a toothpick to "pile" a small amount actually ON the forward side of the wear block. What happens is that it will perpetually lubricate as the block is eroded.
Great idea!
Wow the dwell meter brought back memories
I’ve had 3 vehicles that have had points. 68 /6 cuda, 70 dude truck, and my hearse. The 70 I never had any problems with. The hearse I ended up putting a pertronix convention in (afterword I found that I couldn’t use my first gen msd 6 box with it). The only problem I had with the cuda was the condenser. I remember telling my dad that I couldn’t figure out what was going on with my radio. He asked what was it doing. I told him there was so much static you couldn’t hear it while the car was running. He went to the tool chest and came back with a grungy cylinder with a wire sticking out of it. That’s when he showed me how to work on points. And that took care of the static.
My first truck @ 16yrs old was a 1970 DUDE Maroon and white.
I blew up the motor and mom sold it. A very rare ride.
Hi Uncle Tony,
I am Chuck in Wildomar, California. Good job Sir! I have two 1930 Ford Model A pickup trucks with original engines (Inline 4s). Also a 1974 Triumph TR6 (Inline 6), and a 1947 Chrysler New Yorker (Inline 8). All have points. Another bit of information for people new to points/condensor/coil ignition systems is that you ALWAYS adjust point gap BEFORE adjusting the engine ignition timing. Point Gap affects Ignition Timing. Cheers., Chuck
It's nice to see you speak without a cigarette in hand. Never forget your ability to influence. I was in my early teen's when I watched the guys tool or drive their muscle cars. I don't remember anyone smoking cigarettes. I learned that bad habit form other sources.
Thanks for the great videos!
Those horrible Lucas relays also used to go bad, ad they are nothing more than a small coil with a set of points. Add a condenser to the hot wire in, and they last a very long time.
Thanks for the tips!
Lucas: the prince of darkness.
Ask any brit car lover 🤣
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention. The young dudes at AutoZone and O'Reillys did not know what I was talking about when I asked for points files. They didn't have them. The dude at NAPA knew what I was talking about and had them.....they are cheap. Cheers. Chuck
Napa can still get it done.
Even if it's a kid I'm like lemme see that computer I know it's in there I have a stack of Napa parts books from the 90s I already looked before I came to the store. 🤣🤣
I'm a delivery driver for two local NAPA stores. Our counter people are much more professional than some of the other parts stores that hire people based on the ability of computer look-up skill and credit card processing. I'm not saying unqualified people in these positions are bad since they're not supposed to know the mechanical aspects of vehicles if they haven't had the exposure. The difference is that NAPA seems to hire people with background experience. Just about all I do is deliveries, yet before hiring me my boss cleared me with questions that supported my mechanical background.
@@discerningmind
I remember decades ago just about any parts store you went into most of the guys behind the counter could grab most parts you needed without looking them up in the old books, and most times they would make sure to ask if you needed the little things that you may forget, or not realize you need. Ie, locktite, points file, sandpaper, dielectric lube, etc.
Yes, I recall that too, many years back when I was a kid. Back then there was probably all of ten common engines to remember and nothing emissions or electronically related as there are today.
@@discerningmind yes, sir. So many little electronic and emissions related parts now.
You just reminded me that I have a dwell tach meter my father gave me. I also have the chrome sunline timing light too.
Made me smile when you pulled out the exact same Sears multimeter that I have...purchased new 40 years ago and still stored in it's original box! And I even have a 1974 car that I use it on...although distinctly not a Mopar (Porsche 914 of all things)!
Match book cover? Is there an app for that? 😆
Haha there is a local archery place it has an ad on the radio, the guy says "the internet can't set up your bow properly"
And then you hear a stoned millennial say gaaaaa what dude?
Haha gold.
🤦♂️
The condenser is a capacitor, it absorbs the electrical current when the points open to prevent arcing across the points which keeps the points from welding together.
That's what I immediately thought when I saw the foil and cardboard.
Basically when the distance is low enough between points electricity goes across it and generates an unbelievable amount of heat, the capacitor to ground prevents that. I'm guessing it fills up in the dwell period preventing the current from arcing by lowering the current flow.
Arcing is exactly what you see the spark plug doing to that metal surface.
@@vasilis23456 And Tony is correct, the capacitors these days are poor quality, even 20 yrs ago they were poor quality. I used to buy 5 at a time for my Ford 8N tractor because they would crap out. Some would last for months, some for days. I finally installed a Pertronix ignition system and solved that problem.
Another way to put it is that when the points open, the sudden high voltage potential between them causes a spark to jump through the air between the points, but, because the capacitor is wired in parallel with the points, the energy that would create a spark between them -- were the capacitor not there -- goes instead into charging the capacitor. Thus, the capacitor/condenser diverts the energy that would shorten the life of the points.
@@perillouss3506 every eng is deferent the condenser has to match the coil in microfareds if it does not match this is what happens most of the voltage does not get thru the condenser so it flows to the points jumps the gap to gd pitting the points you can not just put any condenser in and expect it to work correctly you can get proper condeser info from dealers old parts books to get proper part # then cross ref it to todays part#s to get corect value
My Dad had a 1970 Chevy c10 he had a routine of cleaning and adjusting points every 6 months and replacing them once a year. That's how I learned watching dad and when he let me do it. I still prefer Points over electronic any day.
Uncle Tony,
Great video.
As mentioned here by another viewer, condenser ( capacitor) same beast.
The oil in the condenser insulates the two coils (plates) and becomes the dielectric. The substance responsible for storing and releasing the electric force.
I recently suffer from memory loss, so 40 + years of my electric/ electronics knowledge is lost. Sometimes some returns.
Anyway, points used to come with a small capsule with points grease in it.
For me, changing points on my slant six was a bit tricky because of the angle and location of the distributor.
Those points screws are short and small, but I never dropped them in the distributor or never lost any...
I never felt comfortable pulling a dustributor..You have it down pat being in the business..
To each his own. Great info, thanks Uncle Tony!!
I have lost a screw down into the distributor. Thus the magnetic screw driver.
l find the same issue with new points, they just dont hold up, l have a stash of the old good stuff, well l kinda have a stash of everything,
Grandma's Malibu the points contact pads suck ass now. They glue them on. Every time I hit 6500+rpm, the contact pad falls off and the car dies cuz the points gap has opened up.
Like clockwork.
@@cruzinezy1968
Yea I was gonna say, I've noticed the rubbing block seems to be lame anymore , weak/cheap plastic.
Mustie1 Hi Mustie 1, I love your channel too!!!
Yeah man, I just got a set of points running on a Honda 70 from 1971! ORIGINAL POINTS! I did buy new ones from China but I got scammed. The pints were crap anyways, the rubbing block when I got them broke as I installed the bushing. The points were a complete opposite of what I ordered. They were flipped exactly to the other side!
The key to new points and condensers is NAME BRAND, Briggs and stratton is better then Rotary, AC/Delco is better then china, Motorcraft, Mopar. You can get a set of points and condenser from auto zone for $5, AC/Delco will cost ya $40, but they american made, higher quality control. Same goes for distributor caps and rotor buttons. I love auto zone, I went to get a distributor /rotor button for a '91 chevy truck, when I took it out to make sure it would fit, I notcied someone had put their old one back in the box and returned it, I looked at the cleark and said, we would prefer a new one.. but even the new one was no where near quality an ac delco one would have been.
I always used the pull tabs off of beer cans on my 72 truck. Probably didn't have a matchbook but I damn sure had a pull tab in the rolling garbage can otherwise known as the bed. Been decades since I set points or rebuilt a carb, something I did with great regularity keeping my POS truck running. Great old days.
Many moons ago, I broke down at a red light in the back end of nowhere with no tools. Popped the distributor cap and immediately realized that the points were pooched. It was back when ring pulls were steel and came off the can, and I found one lying in the gutter and used it as a screwdriver to take out the points and condenser. I knew my Dad didn’t throw stuff away, and sure enough, there was an old condenser at the back of the glove box. I took the points apart, refaced them as best I could with a flat piece of stone, and she fired right back up. Drove it home and ran it like that for months.
I feel like I should be at a tiny desk attached to a little chair with my notebook and #2 pencil. Always a lesson to learn. I was never without a match book and an xtra set of points in the glove box of my exwife' 74 Super Beatle... Thanks UT for showing me how to do it right!!
One thing we did before installing the set was to spray the points off only with electronic cleaner to get any production oil off of it.
"Work like a gentleman" love that!
love the Waffle House hat
love the hash browns!
@@crisprtalk6963 Do they still have about 125 different ways to serve them?
That and "Circle K" and you know you're in the South.
@@mathewm7136 yeah and different size portions too. carb heaven.
The Waffle House Hat made my day!!!
As always, another great video from Uncle Tony and Uncle Kathy. Thank you! 😊👍
Points were on the way out right around the time I was getting a license. Now I run a point ignition in an old Cyclone and never knew some of the stuff I saw in this video. Thanks Tony.
Now to go order up a file and point loob.
STANDARD , Blue Streak , still in new production .
Great video. It brings back memories of setting points, something I do less and less often.
Loving these back to back videos tony! I just picked up a barn fresh 230 chevy and I never messed with points so this helps greatly
My friend Andreas bought a Sun distributor machine as a work of art. Art deco.
It works perfectly.
eric heine sun made some excellent products
@@mikepoint4983 it's all made out of metal. It's blue and red with great graphics. It's got the lightning bolts going through the fist.
It's a big old console with the workbench. And you can dial in your distributor with it. Far out!
So now I know who to blame Everytime I pull a distro cap off and all the guts are gone. Thanks Tony lol. You're right though it's working going and getting spares the new just don't last longer than Patty stayed in hell.
OMG..I have the same dwell meter from Sears..I bought a 1969z/28 in 1982 for $4000..still have the meter, car is long gone 😭
You should buy you a good car so you can use it again
What happened to it? 😞
I have that exact meter and still use it regularly. These days, I use it more to check things like turn signals than dwell, but it’s a solid piece.
djstl100 you got it! that little engine analyzer brings back some good memories.
I can still use the dwell meter on my 83 gti to check the O2 sensor duty cycle.
I would buy Penske high performance points/condenser sets at Sears back the '70s, that's when Sears sold speed equipment and stuff. It's refreshing the way you show how well points work and can be counted on when maintained.
Dwell effects timing but timing does not effect dwell thus once dwell is set check and adjust timing sorry maybe I am getting ahead of ya lol
You beat me to it! Not everyone knows about having to reset timing if the point gap is increased.
As I recall, the larger the points gap the smaller the dwell (coil saturation), and every thousandths of an inch in points gap is a degree in ignition timing.
Uni-points were an option but, dad preferred separate points and condenser. They always had the allen head adjustment screws...gm you know. We had Buicks and Oldsmobiles. Have a 70 Cadillac now. Love the 430 powered funnycar posted it on faceb. Going through all your videos now. I've always liked MOPAR but, I was weaned on B, O and Cadillac.
Uncle Tony, thank for making easy routine jobs look easy. so mane others make it look like a magic trick.
Unk Kathy??: keep on recording this crazy m-f-er, the world of cars will forever be changed, at your gain. he shows the world how to work on pre-obd2 gas engines like lawn-mowers! keep in coming.
Thank you for this video it has been a very long time since I have gapped a set of points I needed a refresher
These are the words for today “ work like a gentleman “ 👌
Brings back a lot of memories, great job. 👍
I am happy that I don't have any cars with points or carbs. New plugs and wires every so often and. Your good to go.
But, Uncle Tony is spot on with this video. I will add only that while you have the distibutor out, ckeck for wear on the shaft and be sure the felt oilers are lubed or you will be buying a new distributor more often than needed.
Ive got a few vids on how a points ignition system works.
The condenser is matched to the impedance of the coil windings so that when the points open and the magnetic field collapses the "back EMF" (a voltage that flows back out the low voltage side of the coil) oscillates back and forth between the coil windings and the condenser that produces a lot more energy at the coil than a slow decay of the magnetic field in the coil if there was no condenser. Which is why a poor condenser will cause hard starting due to low coil energy at cranking.
The oscillation can be seen on an oscilloscope which we used to use to tune ignition and diagnose faults.
The oscillation can be seen on both the primary and secondary side of the coil on the scope because of mutual inductance which to put it simply is that what occurs on the primary side of the coil is reflected on the secondary side.
"Back EMF" I refer to is a voltage much greater then 12 v on the primacy side and if you want an example of that hold your finger on the 12v terminal (from the ignition key) of a starter motor as it is cranked and when you release the key to stop cranking you will get a shock from it that is a lot more than 12 volts, and that is what back EMF is and it occurs when 12v is released on any coil winding including relays
.
In relays you can simply use a reverse bias diode to divert the back EMF to ground to protect its contacts however if we used a reverse bias diode on the points to snub the back EMF it would stop the points burning, but the coil would have low output hence why a condenser is used to increase coil output.
My brothers 1970 Duster 340 had a dual-point distributor
Keep the good work Tony.. 👍👍
I remember using a match book cover to set the points in a pinch.
Tony, back in the day I owned a 68 charger RT. It was running very rough one time, I discovered the points were stuck closed. It's interesting to hear this 45 years later. BTW, I bought that car for 500 dollars. Oh well.
If you adjust the dwell while you have the camera pointed at the spark coming out of a plug, will it visually change the way the spark looks as you are adjusting it? I have never tried this, and since you have it set up..... Great video as always.
At the extreme ends of the range you would see a difference
Great video! I'm a younger guy and I'm restoring a 56 Chevy and I wanted to know how points work and how to set them.
Merry Christmas Tony Hope you have a great and wonderful Christmas my friend thank you for the videos The Nevada Gamsby‘s
Used to be everybody had match books, every hotel, bar, whatever, Those were the days, and they were usually quality matches too.
This helped me learn. Thank you!
I run a set of '60s vintage points on my '72 302 Ford in a '60 Comet. It actually runs a little bit better than it did with a Pertronix setup.
hey tony, my buddy "The Tool Store" (60402) he has a lot of new old stock tools, Its worth the drive. lot of it was pre barcode.... was just thinking about my lil flat blade that twists to grip the distributor screws.... most my tools are older than I am, even my boxes lol I have a lot of old products too, Yesterday I broke down and used my 60's bug spray in my project, can looked like a gimmick, yet one spritz and the birds fall out the sky lmao
You got it Tony Great Old Knowledge!!!
Put that on a shirt 'WORK LIKE A GENTLEMAN'😂 To many times I break my back from being lazy
Uncle Tony, thumbs up 👍👍 also saved in my reality list😎
Great info. Please do a part 2.
You mean Part 3...it's coming
Ha! My dealer mechanic friend just asked me what the hell a Dwell meter was! These new guys cant fix a damn thing if they can't plug their scanner into it! Points for the win baby! Just keep a good spare set up in the glove box in case you burn them up because you wanna put 14v through for the MSD Box haha!
Don't forget to keep a spare Ceramic Resistor also.......
Please add one more step on rotors and distributor caps. Although it may be common knowledge, just the slightest crack in the housing or burn on the rotor will affect performance. I remember my mid 70 GM motors having a voltage regulator attached to the cap that would always cause problems
Back in the day in a pinch I remember using the flap of a pack of matches to set my points
Coil = inductor Condenser = capacitor together = a tuned circuit L= inductance C= Capacitance
Hence an LC circuit In a perfect match of capacitor to the inductor the points would hardly ever burn.
When points do "burn" it is normal to see metal transfer from one contact "point" to the other, one a valley the other a peak. when "dressing" the contact points with a file or what ever, your taking off the high peak and getting the metal clean and shiny. Do clean any reside that may keep the contacts from touching. If contacts burn quickly, the condenser is either bad or not grounded, Bad condenser can also cause no spark, always carry a set of points and condenser in a sealed bag.
On really old points it may be worth while to check that they are not stuck on their pivot (they open but will not close back) Been there done that. ALSO... plastic cam contact that can melt if ignition is left on and the points are closed (I think GM's did that?) Many points had phenolic cam blocks that were pretty resistant to heat. All distributors cam lobes need to be wiped down and lubed with about a pencil point worth of lube (any is better than none)
Points plates grounding issues Lost ground during points advancing or retarding (that will drive you crazy lol). Distributor shaft bushing/bearings worn out will cause the dwell angel to go wonky easy check easy but not cheap fix... depends on your inventory.
Don't get me going on plug wires
Great job Tony
Similar to battery charging , with the metal transfer.....
like if the + post has alot of corrosion it's overcharging , if it's the - terminal corroding it's undercharging.
Something like that, I could have the positions reversed I'm going off analog memory.
I have a GM style points tool it looks like a screw driver handle and it has a lond flexable shaft and it has little sockets for the end ones a allen key socket n a flathead screwdriver socket cost me $1.99! Ur dwell meter looks exactly like one of the ones i have i also have a little handheld one also its about the size of a cellphone!
Learned this at the local garage as a 15yearold . Nowadays ??, Still doing it. Why?? 60s cars will always run.
Important thing to remember when setting your old style ignition , you can set your ignition at TDS on the first pot in the firing order & set your distributor/points etc according , but it is 50/50 that you set the motor to fire on the exhaust stroke or compression stroke . . if it does't want to start , turn the distributor 180 degrees in its housing . this why you ideally need to have the rocker covers off to see whether which stroke you are timing to . . as in exhaust/not fire or compression/starting , as in you have two full cycles for an single cycle in four stroke motors . . ok I'v tied myself into knots & need to leave ASAP
Pull the #1 spark plug and cover the hole with a finger while someone bumps the key. When you feel compression, you're in the right place
Hmmm,,,,Got me fucked why you don't just remove valve cover and watch valve timing.
if there not rocking you will be pretty close to getting on fire and not recharge,,
as for top dead centre..should have timing marks on crank,,ifin ya put it back to-gether right,
Dang it, were was this vhs video 40 years ago!! Nice Info Uncle Tony!!
If I ever work on a distributor, I'm going to work like a gentleman.
Ok I am going to set up the SBC I'm rebuilding now on points in honor of this video. I wanna hear your opinion on something, if you will. I got the crank out yesterday, and one of the main caps is really marred! I got lucky and the journals on the block are ok. The crank is trash as two conrod bearings spun. What I was thinking about doing is getting a collection of spare main bearing caps (pulls) that are decent. Then, one by one, install on the block journal that needs a new cap, torquing them down and using a bore mic to check the roundness of the assembled parts. The idea is, yes block and main caps are machined as a set at the factory. But because of limited variation due to statistics and tollerancing, the idea is you can find a main cap that is within spec for roundness when installed in that block. Thus you can avoid line boring which would be necessary with a NEW main bearing cap. Genius or crackpipe?
by the way I can also check the main journals on the block with indicators and a milling machine to verify they're within coaxial tolerance, FWIW
Round is only part of the story. How well the cap fits down in the register of the block is also important. The cap would really have to be trashed before I would consider replacing it. A couple of nicks and gouges probably won't hurt if. Important thing is how tightly it holds the bearing
@@UncleTonysGarage the surface is wavy gravy! I mean I don't think I can get a good enough register on a bore gage to take a measurement I have any faith in. I'll take a vid. You'll like this one. Got some more junkyard GeMs.
You're a God-send
God I have forgot more about points and point type ignition systems than most people today know about them! I recall back in high school over 30 years ago in my small engine repair class, my teacher drove a 16 penny nail into a condenser trying to short it out (so the motor it was installed into wouldn't run on purpose for our final test on ONE MOTOR) and for some bizarre reason that even he wasn't sure why, the motor started and ran without a glitch!! Of course I had helped him "short out" the condenser, so when the motor turned over and ran, him and I just looked at each other and LAUGHED that the nail for some reason DID NOT short out the condenser which it should have! But to this day I still think it was interesting that of all the "problems" I have seen with point type ignitions that was the only time I ever seen a condenser that screwed up, and STILL work correctly!!
By the way I have the same EXACT Tach and Dwell Meter!! Kind of funny seeing another one in 2019!!! hehehehe
Great stuff!
Is a dwell meter the same as a mutimeter with the big dial? Or do i need to get a seperate dwell meter? When i got questions i turn towards the experts for answers. Your the man Tony 🤘
No, a dwell meter is it's own thing. Sometimes they incorporate Volts and RPM like this one does
Great video, Uncle Tony. Can you do one on setting up an old points type voltage regulator?
Great video!
I want a car with points now! Any recommendations or words of advice regarding a first or second generation AMC Rambler Coupe for a project? I like the idea of having a rear wheel drive American car with a 100in wheelbase! I love your videos.
when the british air ministry, gave the go-ahead ok for the DH-98 Mosquito to be built, the famous and fabeled..."Mossie"... they had to go back and find and locate all the old-world craftsmen who were scattered about the country, languishing away, and making a living in fine furniture shops. in order to build and construct de havillands revolutionary and legendary "wooden-wonder" worldbeater aircraft...after the advent of aluminium for aviation construction, their antiquated skillsets had not been needed in close to 30 years and been "antiqued" and even outlawed by the entire british aviation industry and regulatory boards, but overnight they were back in high demand and became nationally advertised heroes in england....the U.S. Navy experienced the same dilemna/enigma, several times when they brought our big battleships out of mothballs to defend our country, they had to go back and find all of the serious men who knew how to wrench the turbine-type engines of the day, nobody current knew how to even turn the light on in the engine-room. then again the exact same scenario with the big 16-inch rifles, all 9 of them, they had to search, find and then recall the men who knew how to operate and maintain the guns that would hurl the equivelant of 9 VW beetles filled with TNT... 25 miles and have them all land in a space the size of a football field...this was shown somewhat in the stephen segal battleship movie....now i dont think the smithsonians going to be calling uncle tony over a set of breaker-points just yet, or anytime soon, but it does show why these skills should be relished as well as not forgotten. im sure the boys rebuilding the slant would testify to that...i always get a kick out of seeing ignition points just being used as a "switching device" as you demostrated in the 1st video T, even in industrial applications, or in crazy places like under the shifter-boot of the 1st VW auto-stiks that was discussed in the "stik-mans garage" video.....glad we still have the old-schoolers around, but if you were setting single-point magnetos on 5000 horsepower T/F cars in the late 90s, that shows even in the digital age, we may never fully get away from the original mechanical devices that just plain worked...even our 20mm Vulcan cannons and 30mms on the A-10 Warthog are simply derivatives from civil-war gatling guns...reminds me of T/F and funnies that have the bullet-proof twilight-zone valvetrains, but started using a stock 426 rocker-arm for safety...and how often do we hear in our high-tech world......"hey, did you hear....their goin back to the old method of...........
what are T/F engines making now T...10 thousand 11 thousand horsepower....do they still have to "guesstimate"" them?
It's all about the coil saturation .
A fully saturated coil is the spice of life.
Great video
Because of your videos, I feel 16 again.
I have the exact same dwell meter my Gramps gave me many years ago. Haven't used it in a while, but have used it on some old Jeep's and a Ferd pickup I used to own. Great video brother...show the young guys what's up!!
Work like a gentleman lols