Thread: help with points!

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Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

if you leave the key on it will weld the points and runinng 12volts to them will weld them to

Ahhh, the old points sytems.
This reminds me of 1984 and the old high school drag nights and the Mallory dual points.

[quote=Itoldyouso]How many of you are old enough to remember the old trick of cutting up a pair of points to get a second flat spring from, and doubling up on the one you were running, to get more spring pressure and less point bounce? don [/quote you win you are older then me i just pay for the HD ones how about this one dual pionts dual coils for a 392 hemi

Originally Posted by erik erikson

Ahhh, the old points sytems.
This reminds me of 1984 and the old high school drag nights and the Mallory dual points.

hey i still have my mallory red ADVance key????

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

hey i still have my mallory red ADVance key????

I don't.
I went to the uni-lite and started burning up the modules and the switched to Autotronics.
I think that is what it was called before MSD.

Originally Posted by DennyW

I'm still running my dual point distributor from 1969.

hey them old thing they do not work i was going to keep mine and use it to trigger the MSD box

Originally Posted by erik erikson

I don't.
I went to the uni-lite and started burning up the modules and the switched to Autotronics.
I think that is what it was called before MSD.

i had one of the low buck accels gm module on the outside and used a mopar cap then i moved up to the race accels DIST still in the 50 with the msd with6al btm

Originally Posted by DennyW

The last guy I raced on the street asked me what I used ? I showed him, and he shook his head, said no way, that should have fell on it's face. I'm even running an old Judson Magneto with it. 70,000 volts plus.

dont you love it when you beat someone and they tell you what you have should not work?? hey it beat you

Originally Posted by pat mccarthy

i had one of the low buck accels gm module on the outside and used a mopar cap then i moved up to the race accels DIST still in the 50 with the msd with7al btm

I found a 7al box that I pulled out of my old drag car from more than 10 years ago.
MSD is about like a Timex watch.
"It takes a lickin and keeps on tickin".
I have only had to send two back over the rears.
One was a customers that he had mounted on the fender about 10 inches from the hedder.

Originally Posted by erik erikson

I found a 7al box that I pulled out of my old drag car from more than 10 years ago.
MSD is about like a Timex watch.
"It takes a lickin and keeps on tickin".
I have only had to send two back over the rears.
One was a customers that he had mounted on the fender about 10 inches from the hedder.

hey they are made in texas they should take the heat i keep mine in side of the car under the glove box

Originally Posted by merc53man

well, i think i have it all figgered out. this is my 1st time with this and i have no book to go by so its kinda slow goin. i suppose i am a "stickler for antiquated crap," but not for points. im gonna install them for now, but i will switch over to elec. ign in the near future
and i think my points were 4.99 at kragens

If you go with a petronix unit you might as well pull the distributor and service the advance weights and springs. I would try and find a Chilton's manual for 1956 on ebay and it doesn't have to be for trucks. You also might look in the local library and they might have one in the reference section that you can borrow.
There should be a ballast resistor mounted on the firewall and I would replace that also. It drops the voltage to 7 or 8 volts when the engine is running so that the points don't burn up. When it fails it normally opens, but I had one short once and it will burn up points in a hurry.

There is one thing to be said about points. They keep going and are simple once you understand them.

Points will gradually lose their performance as the rubbing block wears and the points close up. this is lose of dwell time.

Being a DC system the repeated opening and closing as allready stated causes pitting and metal transfer between the points.

But the real big thing I like about points is that no matter what they can keep going and it wont take much work at the side of the road to limp home. With an electronic ignition it is either working perfectly or not. When it quites it quites period and you usually have to wait awhile to get it fixed or buy a new one.

Second thing points are forgiving if you do a jump start or some other weird things with a battery. Try that with an electronic ignition you go nowhere in a hurry !

Just as a passing thought Magnetos deliver AC voltage, the points are generally made out of a platinum based metal and they hardly ever wear out. I run a Vertex with centrifugal advance, no problems. And a Delco Remy distrubitor ( points) will be on the chevy buildup motor.

I don't have a problem with points, just got tired of adjusting them. I have a Mallory dual point on the Mustang that I converted to Petronix, but I carry all the hardware to convert it back if it gives me trouble on the road. Had a Vette dual point on the coupe with a Mallory dual-coil and found out that you don't want to try and adjust the points with the ignition switch on.

why, electro-shock therapy??

Originally Posted by merc53man

why, electro-shock therapy??

You bet about 60000 volts and I guarantee that you will only do it once.

Usually it isn't the shock that hurts as bad as banging your head on the hood as a reaction to that shock.


Don