Wireless Distributor Plare?

Tom Wesenberg

Tom Wesenberg

Well-known member
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My friend wants me to rebuild his distributor using a wireless NU-REX upper and lower plate. As the picture shows, there is little to no clearance on the right side of the brass contact leading down to the lower plate. I'll have to remove the brass strap and grind away 1/8" more on the right side of the thick steel plate. Also, the top plate fits a bit loose in the distributor body, so I'll have to peen the tabs and center hole for a tighter fit. When the two parts are installed in the body, there is almost no spring tension on the brass connector, so I'll bend the lower brass contact up for more tension, and add a bit of electrical grease. Brass corrodes, so grease would be a good preventative against poor contact.

I like original points, so this is the first time I've installed the "modern points". Has anyone else seen these potential problems when using the NU-REX plate?
 
I like the modern points, but throw that set up away. We tried as hard as we could to get that particular set up to work for 6 month, and it SUCKS. the brass strap moves around and doesnt make good contact. It is not something to put on a car that is going to be driven. Like i said i like the modern points, but only the one with the insulated wire connecting the two plates. Its a good idea, but a poor product.
 
Once you've had a "pigtail" problem, two things (should) happen: (1) You recognize the symptoms, and (2) You add "pigtail" to you periodic "checkup" list.

Correctly installed and maintained, the original setup is extremely robust.

Restore your distributor to original specs (OKAY... add two piece shaft and the drilled upper shaft for lubrication) and ENJOY!

JMHO
 
To elaborate a bit, years ago I was on my way to a parade when my "A" stalled when I advanced the spark. Replacing the pigtail was a 10 minute job, and we made it to the parade on time. Just one of those things we should remember. (Once, when I was 10, I watched my dad and two uncles keep our boat from running aground by replacing an outboard motor fuse with a strip of chewing gum foil wrapper... but that's another story.)
 
Interesting - I have built two of these. The first one which I think was from Brattons required no modifications. The second one which I can't remember where I got it from (maybe Bert's) required opening up the hole in the upper plate to accomodate the Brass terminal as Tom has pointed out. Too bad my car is in storage or I would check. I'll have a look in a couple of months.
 
I've never seen on in person. The first time someone posted something about that design (about 10 years ago) I suggested it would likely fail from arcing over time. Less than a year later someone reported they had a failure as I described. I suspect those that haven't failed are in cars with limited use.
 
On points, I think the situation has changed in the last few years.
For a while it was hard to find Model A (and reallydamnhard for Model B) points of any quality...cardboard and tin was what you got if you simply ordered without doing some searching. Condensers tended toward the shoddy too...NOS was getting scarce, most did not know that Echlin and Standard still made decent ones, and repro was generally garbage that led to a walk home.
"Modern" (note that the that the cars that used them are all AACA legal now!) points from the corner car parts store tended to be decently made and fully usable..
Now, you have to shop around for usable modern points and condensers...garbage is readily available, and even the good main line dealers like NAPA now sell 2 levels of quality, so you have to be a knowledgable and determined shopper.
Good A points are still available at NAPA, and most suppliers offer the option of decent quality repro ones, and good condensrs as well. It is just as easy to get good (or crap) Model A points as 1960 Ford...and the Model A ones are clearly easier to adjust.
 
Years ago when the lower plate mod was offered by suppliers I modified two distributors with the mod, thinking this was a sure cure to Henry's flexible wire. One distributor I put on the Vic, the other under the back seat. About 1200 miles into a tour (the distance from LA to Salt Lake City) The car began to miss at cruising speed and it was becoming hard to start. Finally at a gas stop it refused to start. After some amount of trouble shooting I replaced the distributor with the one from under the back seat. The car started right up and ran fine.

That night at the hotel I took the removed distributor apart and found a burned carbonized trail on the lower plate the contact slides on each time the spark handle is moved. A predominant burn mark was at the fully retarded position and another at the normal cruise position.

When I returned home I took the replacement distributor apart and found it was going down the same road as the first one. Both mods were discarded and since then when rebuilding a distributor I install the original style fine strand wire offered by Bratton. If you are careful to install it correctly it will serve you well.

Tom Endy
 
i have the new style brass ground . never had a problem so far . a friend has had the strap come loose & had no fire . i seem to be lucky in that ive had one for 2-3 yrs with no trouble . daily driver also ......... steve
 
Tom: Check your personal e mail account for a message, I think there is another version of the modern plate that has a different electrical connection that side steps this issue.
 
I havn't even looked at my pigtail in 40 years, I knew that the wire that was being used was not the proper type, I took wire out of a dist I found in the trash behind a Sinclair station ---it had what seemed like 100 strands vs the original with 10 or so, no matter how many times I bent it it wouldn't break, that and a NOS shaft and B cam, put the old points back in --and they are still there working fine.

I think that many sets of points are replaced just as they are getting seated to match the cam. Some people need something to do in their spare time --that is what all these modern modifications are for ---to give them problems to solve.
 
Tom Wesenberg said:
8e3a378a.jpg


My friend wants me to rebuild his distributor using a wireless NU-REX upper and lower plate. As the picture shows, there is little to no clearance on the right side of the brass contact leading down to the lower plate. I'll have to remove the brass strap and grind away 1/8" more on the right side of the thick steel plate. Also, the top plate fits a bit loose in the distributor body, so I'll have to peen the tabs and center hole for a tighter fit. When the two parts are installed in the body, there is almost no spring tension on the brass connector, so I'll bend the lower brass contact up for more tension, and add a bit of electrical grease. Brass corrodes, so grease would be a good preventative against poor contact.

I like original points, so this is the first time I've installed the "modern points". Has anyone else seen these potential problems when using the NU-REX plate?
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Funny why people want to go from something real good to something real bad. A lot of the break downs when we are touring with the A's are some kind of so called improvement.
 
Tom, Don't use it.
One of our club menbers installed one for our trip to Vancover BC last year. Failed (intermittent short to ground) on the first afternoon. Replaced with a spare distributor with normal wire. Run fine for the rest of the trip.
Regards,
herb
 
FYI, those kits contain an upper plate manufactured by nu-rex. They do not make the poor fitting lower plate. I have talked to nu-rex and they confirmed they do not manufacture a lower plate. When my kit came, I had to spend some time with the bench grinder to get the lower plate to even fit into the distributor body.
 
CarlG said:
What is the advantage of the 2-piece shaft?
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It allows for any slight misalignment of the head and distributor, so it relieves side pressure on the shaft and distributor bushings.

The one piece shaft was some aftermarket way to sell a cheaper part, and it worked, as I see quite a few of them. Turn the collar down to just under 9/16" and the one piece shaft makes a good bushing driver.
 
Thanks for the link to Mr. Falter's website. However, once i got there i wanted to print a copy of the article for my reference file ... only get a blank page. Is the site somehow blocked from printing or the problem at my end?
 
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