Jim Yergin Posted October 28, 2011 Report Posted October 28, 2011 Earlier this week I picked up what I thought was a set of points for my Plymouth from AutoZone. Last night I installed them but found I could not close the gap to spec. On closer examination I discovered that rather than a "set of points" I had only "a point". The point was missing from the arm. Returned it to AutoZone no problem, should have a replacement by Saturday. This time I will check it before I leave the store. Jim Yergin Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 28, 2011 Report Posted October 28, 2011 they were having a half piece sale... Quote
greg g Posted October 28, 2011 Report Posted October 28, 2011 Jim did you also notice that the rubbing block on these modern things looks like the plastic they use to make disposable picnic forks and spoons, did you notice the little wick for lubrication of the cam is missing, and that ion most cases the spring is a seperate piece that gets pushed in and is not integral to the assembly. When I looked for new points prior to makig our trip to Vermont, I rejected, two sets from NAPA, One set the box said maid in USA, but it was printed on a sticker, under the sticker the box said made in Mexico, the other set from their "premium line" was so obviously junque I just left it on the counter. I did nto eve look at advance or auto zone, because 90% of thier stock comes from China. I went to a CarQuest nearby, and lo and behold pints with an integrated spring, a bakelite rubbing block, and a wick for the cam lube. But 14.00 list price (paid 8) I saved my old points set, cleaned the up with a points file and installed them in my travelling back up distributor (yes ther is a complete dist ready to drop into place) in my travel kit along with the aformentioned head gasket. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 28, 2011 Report Posted October 28, 2011 what was the brand name of the set with the phenolic cam? yers ago when to move to plastic began I recall KEM (yellow and white box) was the solitary holdout on phenolic.. Quote
greg g Posted October 28, 2011 Report Posted October 28, 2011 Don't know they were in a car quest box. I think Bosche is still making them the oldfashioned way if you can find a supplier. Quote
Plymouthy Adams Posted October 28, 2011 Report Posted October 28, 2011 our car quests are now far and few between here in this area..number of them has closed up...next time I go by one will drop in and see if I can score a quality set of points.. Quote
Rodney Bullock Posted October 30, 2011 Report Posted October 30, 2011 Hi Jim, The one thing I learned from Andy B was that our cars have two types of points dist. I.G.S is what I have napa pn. or standart AL- 4556P The rotor is AL- 62 The points you have are from the other dist. The Studebaker I have has points in it that you can replace just the arm. the "pedestal" stays bolted in. The guy at NAPA let me look at his book one day and I discovered that alot of points are interchanged between 6 cly motors however They could be construd as wrong. I was buying that "arm" for my studebaker however when I needed the whole points assembly it did not work. I wrote these numbers down so I would not get confused again. I am not the sharpest knife in the draw however I have made so many mistakes I had to start really paying attention to the different types. The best points I have ever seen was a type called "Blue streak" they have a all copper base and arm. I have had them in my chevy truck and they lasted for about 8 years. I found a set for my Stude but I did not need it so I have not installed them yet. Be on the look out for some of these. Quote
desoto1939 Posted October 30, 2011 Report Posted October 30, 2011 Since most of the newer car collectors do not have any information on their cars in regards to the correct point, rotors, caps and along witht he various other items such as gen, regualtors, carbs wiper motors, horns I have been copying all of my manauls that covers our cars and trucks onto CD's. This is a great way to know what specific parts are used on your car and also on other cars that cross over. The cost for the CD's are $15 and include shipping. So take the guess work out of trying to determine the correct part. Go to the store with the specific Autolite, Kem, Blue Stream, Standard etc part number. This makes it much eariser for the guy behind the counter to get you the correct part. Also so whn you go to a swap meet you also know what parts to purchase from your vendor and you can also get good old USA made in AMERICA parts and not the crap China or made in Mexico parts. Contact me for a listing of the various catalogs that I have. I cover most cars and trucks fromt he early 30 upto the mid 50's. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com Quote
Rusty O'Toole Posted October 30, 2011 Report Posted October 30, 2011 Points don't wear out as fast as you might think, they can be filed or dressed on a stone, adjusted and used indefinitely or until the rubbing block wears out. If you lube the cam properly it is possible to get 50,000 or 100,000 miles out of a set. The reason we threw them away at tuneup time was that new ones were cheap and it wasn't worth the time it took to service them. Now it seems the old points are worth saving. Flea market vendors often have NOS points of the old good quality. Might be worth while to find out the part #s of various brands and pick up a few sets. Vendors usually have no clue what their parts fit. Quote
desoto1939 Posted October 30, 2011 Report Posted October 30, 2011 Points don't wear out as fast as you might think' date=' they can be filed or dressed on a stone, adjusted and used indefinitely or until the rubbing block wears out. If you lube the cam properly it is possible to get 50,000 or 100,000 miles out of a set.The reason we threw them away at tuneup time was that new ones were cheap and it wasn't worth the time it took to service them. Now it seems the old points are worth saving. Flea market vendors often have NOS points of the old good quality. Might be worth while to find out the part #s of various brands and pick up a few sets. Vendors usually have no clue what their parts fit.[/quote'] Rusty, This is why I have been copying the various manufactures atalogs and scanning them to my disk on my computer and then I copy them to a PDF format and I am selling them to the club members. This is so that every member would be knowleadgeable about their particular car or truck. So that when they go to a swap meet thy would know the correct parts that were made by the various manufactures and could buy them at a decent price and also would not have to rely on a NAPA store or AutoZone store that does not have the information at their counters and then give you Made in China junk. Rich Hartung Desoto1939@aol.com Quote
michael.warshaw Posted October 30, 2011 Report Posted October 30, 2011 on a side note, a firend told me i should get petronix for my 59 cadillac fleetwood. After the 30 minute install, now i have no more worries about point and the condonsor working, simple peace of mind for cheap, the kit cost me 80 dollars. Quote
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