Points Gap

Bruce of MN

Bruce of MN

Well-known member
I drove my '31 Coupe to a local car guy gathering on Friday. When I tried to drive home, it wouldn't start. The owner of the shop we were at let me leave it inside, next to a '22 Rolls! Anyway, this morning I went over to the shop and he had driven it, but it ran poorly. We talked about a new condenser and I was going to put in an old one I had in the toolbox, but I thought I would take my time and re-time it and check the gap. That was the key; I had to turn the adjuster at least a full turn to get .020". One funny thing was that during the last few drives, the gears would grind while upshifting, even with a nice leisurely shift. After adjusting the gap, it was back to nice smooth operation.
 
Patrick L. said:
A full turn, thats quite a bit. The rubbing block must be worn a bit. Grease ?
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Sometimes can be caused by a loose, wobbly point pivot post. Remove the plate & TAP-TAP-TAP the lower end of the post with a fairly blunt center punch, to tighten it.
When they're loose, the rubbing block doesn't fit squarely against the cam lobe & causes rapid wear of the block & PFFFFT, the danged thing DIES:eek::mad:
Bill W.
 
When was the last time you changed the points? The rubbing block can wear significantly within the first 300 miles. Lube distributor cam with Vaseline every 500 miles.
 
One thing that happened to me once was that the upper bushing in the distributor got dry and the friction made a lot of heat. The points closed up twice in less than 100 miles. I guess the rubbing block on the points couldn't take the high heat and just wore away. Might be a good idea to make sure your distributor is oiled and not dried out and about to lock up like mine was. :(
 
You will want to check the point gap frequently to see if the points you are using are the kind with a bad wear block. Also if the upper bushing is worn and allows movement of the cam you get premature wear. Just pop the distributor cap and try to move the rotor sideways to test for wear in the bushing, and frequently oil the upper bushing.
A new set of points will need to wear in.
Bob
 
All good points (pun intended), but there was a mention in the most recent issue of Model A News (I think. I can't put my hands on the issue right now) about over-lubricating the distributor and cam, which can lead to problems, too. FWIW
 
mhsprecher said:
All good points (pun intended), but there was a mention in the most recent issue of Model A News (I think. I can't put my hands on the issue right now) about over-lubricating the distributor and cam, which can lead to problems, too. FWIW
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YES,
There should be MODERATION in ALL things!:)
Bill W.
 
to add to the point topic i am working on Ethans A and put in a new distributor with original point set up .. the contacts came misaligned so anyone using these the adjustment block is adjustable just pry it over a little with a scredriver..
 
Mitch//pa said:
to add to the point topic i am working on Ethans A and put in a new distributor with original point set up .. the contacts came misaligned so anyone using these the adjustment block is adjustable just pry it over a little with a scredriver..
Click to expand...




If it was one of the 'new' distributors, I posted before I had the same problem with one. Maybe thats an issue with all of them.
I ended up 'modifying' one mounting hole and resoldering the ends of the primary lead [ open].
 
Patrick L. said:
If it was one of the 'new' distributors, I posted before I had the same problem with one. Maybe thats an issue with all of them.
I ended up 'modifying' one mounting hole and resoldering the ends of the primary lead [ open].
Click to expand...

yea Pat new, but the block pryed right over it was already slotted no modifications needed...
maybe the newer ones are alreadsy modified
 
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A s for smooth clash free gear shifts, a lot depends on the road. If you are going down hill, shifts need to be made quickly or wheel speed gets ahead of gear speed and you get a clash. Sometimes if the shift is too leisurely you will get clash
 
Cam Lube Grease (Summit Racing): $13. for 0.25 oz.
Vasoline: somethin' like a buck a gallon
...am I missin' something here??
 
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