Are points so bad?

It's the one I have. Works 100%. And in 20+ years, you be giving it to someone who never had points before. lol
 
I only use my dwell meter for old GM stuff. You know..... The ones with the lift up door and allen wrench adjustor. One can dial those right in while running.
Mopars and Fords I just pull the distributor and set with feeler gauges.

I put a new set of points in the Admiral today. Along with a NOS set of Champ J-14-Y plugs.
 
Points aren't bad, they work well. A couple of things with points are the rub block wears down and the distributor also wears. This causes your dwell to decrease. If you want to run points use a dwell meter to set them. Just remove the cap and ground the coil wire. About 28 degrees is all you can get. One of the big reasons for going to electronic ignition is the increased dwell, the time the coil gets to charge before firing, measured in degrees of rotation. Also remember that dwell will affect your timing. Reset your timing when you adjust your points but you can adjust your timing without adjusting points.
 
My dad had one of those things!!! drives golf carts around all day now..but anyways...
I had points and hated them...it might sound crazy but on bad weather days (humid/rainy/damp) the car would not run smoothly..my dad showed me what was "going on" with the points and I upgraded to the electronic igntion...all that bad weather nonsense went away (now I just have to fuss with chinese ecu's).

so the "gist" of this convo is points good for light duty cars, electronic better for daily drivers?
 
[QUOTE="70_NPORT
so the "gist" of this convo is points good for light duty cars, electronic better for daily drivers?[/QUOTE]

Hey Gary,
The only REAL advantage I see to electronic ignitions is in high rev conditions. (Modified engines that turn over 6K). The "point float" is a factor then. Even my A12's peak power, (factory stock), was around 5600 RPM and it had a dual point ignition.
Mopar ignitions have a reputation for rough running in wet weather. Used to be able to forcast rain with them. A quick shot of WD40 on the cap and wires would remedy that.

I probably log over 25K miles a year in my three old Mopars. All with points in place. A 65 Poly 318, A 69 LA 318 and a 440. I've never been on the side of the road with an ignition issue. The Admiral has logged over 9K miles in the past 12 months pulling a 3200# trailer.

To me the biggest concern is the fuel. 10% ethanol & Lack of lead. I use additives, usually marvel oil, and premium gas when under 3 bucks a gallon.

An extra set of points is easy and cheap to carry and a quick repair if needed.
 
I guess there are exceptions here and there ....but im glad i did it..no more burned or pitted points.
 
I guess there are exceptions here and there ....but im glad i did it..no more burned or pitted points.

burned/pitted points indicate a mismatched condenser. It's why I never mess with the condenser if my points don't show excessive pitting or buildup. Making sure the point contacts are properly aligned is important also.
 
burned/pitted points indicate a mismatched condenser. It's why I never mess with the condenser if my points don't show excessive pitting or buildup. Making sure the point contacts are properly aligned is important also.
Gotcha. I deep sixed that part with the points.
 
My new to me 69 FuryIII uses points. Sure I could go out and spend 100 to 600+ dollars and end up with a MSD outfit but are points so bad? I have heard people saying the Mopar electronic ignition kit with distributor can fail and you should carry an extra box with you etc.
If my current distributor has no shaft play and in good condition it should be fine on a stock 440 shouldn't it? Or do they really run better with the upgrade? I had a 69 Cutlass years ago and sprung for an MSD box. I thought it ran better but who knows. Are there any reliability issues with the stock points setup? If not I could throw some money elsewhere on the car.

of course an electronic ignition is more reliable than points because lets face it, points are old school. however, if your distributor is in good shape and the car starts right up than thats a judgement call. molar performance makes somewhat stock looking electronic ignition boxes that would have come on a mopar with the electronic ignition option NEW Chrysler,Dodge,Plymouth Mopar Performance HI-PO orange ECU Spark Control Box this is a link to the ebay ad
 
Nobody is saying points are better. They are not.
Many of us are saying points in a lot of cases make more sense.
 
thanks fatwagon for your thoughts on this. The other side of the coin I have heard and read is that since Mopar does not actually make them [spark control box] anymore many have been known to fail and recommend you have a spare at all times. I guess they are now all made god knows where and god knows towhat standard.
Some have also said forget Mopar ignition anything and get the GM HEI conversion.
Like this for example. But who knows what quality this is either.

BB Mopar Hei Eletronic Distributor Ready to Run Chrysler Kit Dodge 413 426 440 | eBay
 
thanks fatwagon for your thoughts on this. The other side of the coin I have heard and read is that since Mopar does not actually make them [spark control box] anymore many have been known to fail and recommend you have a spare at all times. I guess they are now all made god knows where and god knows towhat standard.
Some have also said forget Mopar ignition anything and get the GM HEI conversion.
Like this for example. But who knows what quality this is either.

BB Mopar Hei Eletronic Distributor Ready to Run Chrysler Kit Dodge 413 426 440 | eBay
Damn, that would be one huge ugly mo-fo in an otherwise stock engine compartment. Nice concept but definitely not for me.
 
Back
Top