Technical Advice on electronic distributors

Get rid of that rubber fuel line from the pump to the carb ! ! ! Never run rubber on the pressure side of the pump, or buy a good fire extinguisher !

 

Can you really blame her?

 

...she was here less than a hour ago...

 

White -Attack, you have heard from the Hot Rod folks. Perhaps from the purist as well. While I respect all opinions , well, most, some of us have our own, different ones. Your car does not fit the "traditional " hot rod mold, so why try to make it so? It does , sorta, fit the "original" mold of the purist folks. AND ALL OF THEM THAT DRIVE CARS WITH CARBURATORS COMPLAIN ABOUT TODAYS GAS. I don't because my ignition and fuel system is immune to todays gas. See that old straight eight Buick engine on the left? NO carb and NO points. I am HAPPY.

Ben

 

This is a garbage take. Equating a dude running a completely obsolete 390 Cadillac with a Petronix in a stock distributor to an LS swap is complete nonsense.

Those are also pretty tough words for the less mechanically inclined here. Pretty narrow-minded if you ask me, especially since plenty of people on this very forum rely on the business of people who can't do everything to their cars to put food on their table.

This place is getting like the fucking AACA. It's comical.

 

Well said. These ignition threads always turn into a dick swinging contest. Always the same guys too.

 

I agree.

 

@white attack pick up a timing light and a vacuum gauge. Excellent diagnostic tools for old cars.
When you're up and running, checking the timing and advance curve in the distributor will let you verify its running as intended. Advance curve is controlled by springs and after 60 years the springs may not be within spec.

I've swapped some cars to pertronix, mainly on cars where I knew the owner woulda just run it until it quit.

 

My 65 Buick has "rubber" fuel line from the pump to the carburetor and that's the way it came stock. It hauled that 65 Electra around for 40 years without a problem.

 

If you are any where around Scappoose I would help you out getting it to run correctly.

 

Oh Holy Cheese and Rice. You coupled red AND black water bypass hoses together? Never do that on a Nailhead either. Besides, with such a short hose, the water in the bypass will be worn out in less than 500 miles. Change to synthetic water so you don't break down. Wow, how do these cars continue to run.
I love reading these points vs electronic posts. So entertaining.
BTW, love the Nailhead.

 

@White_Attack
Drop a PM to @carbking and get his input on the carb. He may also have some input on your distributor, as he's been around the block more than once. He's a very knowledgeable straight shooter who won't steer you wrong, and bases his responses on fact, not opinion.
Also, give your location so members can offer local help.
Good luck!

 

I never get these threads and the argument. I have a 1954 straight 6 that's points, and I have a 51 flathead that's msd. Are points that difficult to deal with? No. Do I like the msd? Yeah. If the car didn't come with msd I probably wouldn't have added it, but it's definitely easier to deal with. So I don't really hate on either. If my car starts, I'm happy...

But if you haven't dealt with points ever, I'd take the path of least resistance personally. Unless you're mechanically inclined. Then it can actually be fun working on them, like anything else on an old car. Personally, I own old stuff as much to tinker as I do to drive them. I like tinkering with old stuff....

 

If you guys try hard enough, you may be able to convert this forum into "Bitchin' Rides".

I hope not,

 

Might be good for someone to make or find a link of a video showing how to adjust points, how to clean them, maintain them, etc.
Back in the day we learned by grainy reprinted black and white pictures. If that was what I had to use today, I’d give up.
Well, I still pull out a MoToRs manual when adjusting a Ring and Pinion

 

Heck yeah, almost any simple job you could want has a how to video on YouTube. Lucky kids these days. We had to learn by taking it apart and figuring it out, maybe now and then have someone around that would be a helping guide.

 

That would be extra helpful!

 

With all this points talk ,let me throw this out there ; I was always told that filing or sanding( abrading) ignition points was damaging to the points , the uneven surface left wouldn't last long & that the surface had a tungsten coating that was being removed , thus hastening the demise of the points . This is the same reasoning given for not sandblasting / cleaning spark plugs . I know that when the points burn/ pit on AC contactor's that sanding them is a ( very) short term remedy .
Discuss if you wish .

 

My understanding as well. But, we are just extending the life of the part.
Other thing my dad told me was to use a dollar bill to polish them, file as a last resort.

 

Know what would Really be great? If you guys could post pics of your engines. I am a visual learner and if I could peak under your car hoods to get an idea of what is done, it would be most helpful.

 

I have found from experience with two different cars, a 64 chevelle and an 58 fleetside pickup that it pays to get a genuine delco modual for the dist. when they quit running it acts just like a vapor lock, I fought this for 2 years before reading a entry about the same thing, change out the original modual that was aftermarket in both units and have not had the problem since, going on 2 years now.
I still carry a spare just in case.
Mike Bourg

 

I didn't think GM had ignition modules until 1974 ?

 

I like the idea of coating the bottom of the module with thermal paste instead of plain silicone grease. Thermal paste is what's used when mounting the processor in your computer to help evenly draw off the heat. The same thing you want to do for an ignition module.

 

Since you have to rely on others to perform the mechanic work, it is a difficult situation to deal with. My recommendation is to attend all of the car shows and rod runs in your area and seek out the older guys there that have ANY kind of older Cadillac on display or a Cadillac engine in their vehicle. Strike up a conversation and make some friends among those that have similar interests. Often you will find someone who may help you just because they like Caddys too.
The thing about points is that they are easy to work on ......if you know how, but they often need to be worked on. A decent electronic ignition will give you a hotter spark and is generally much more problem free. Getting the carb right needs someone who has experience with them..........generally some old guy.

I would attack your problem systematically rather than a part here and a part there. By that I mean ....... consider your ignition system and your fuel system separately. First you have to look at the idea that an engine needs 3 things to run. Fuel,Spark, and Air. Usually, air is not the problem. So start with either Fuel System or Spark System. The way I typically do it is to crank the engine over and spray some starting fluid (ether) in the carb and see if it trys to start.
If it trys to run when you spray the ether in it, then it must be getting some spark too. If spraying the fuel (ether) doesn't change the non-start situation, then you probably aren't getting spark...or spark at the right time.

Now you have some idea which system is causing the problem.

If its fuel, I would replace the fuel filter and any suspect fuel lines. Then I would have someone who is experienced rebuild your carburetor. By dealing with people who have similar interests, they will probably know who the local guru is for carb rebuilds. This really isn't the kind of stuff you want to pay a professional business to do.

Moving to the ignition. I would make sure you have current to the system first. Personally I would upgrade to a Pertronix or some type of electronic set up. I'd pull the spark plugs and check them and maybe go ahead and replace them if they aren't pretty new. Might even want to add new spark plug wires if yours are very old. Its often better to just renew all these things at once, because many times problems are cause by several parts that are old and still work.......but only somewhat. Better to do it all at one time.

 

Years ago someone made an extensive test of different thermal pastes, along with a few other substances including pink lipstick, toothpaste and mayonnaise. The only thing that performed worse than dry assembly was chocolate, everything else improved thermal transfer quite a bit. One might suspect mayo and tooth paste will dry out and perform poorly later on, but the test shows that almost anything that fills the voids between two (more or less) uneven surfaces will improve thermal transfer. Thermal paste is obviously the first choice, but if I didn't have any I'd happily use many kinds of grease that don't contain "large" solid particles (such as MoS2) or dries out quickly. You're just filling the voids to prevent an insulating layer of air.

 

Thanks for posting this chart. I wouldn't have even known where to look for this information.

I'm surprised they didn't have peanut butter (smooth, not chunky) or ranch dressing on this list.

 

Well , rancvh dressing sucks & the may have been afraid of peanut allergies !K

 

A little clarification on when electronic ignitions became available.

Quote below
"Due to the limitations and the high maintenance of points ignitions, in the early 1960’s American auto manufacturers started to look at ignition solutions that used transistors in place of the points. The use of transistors for the switching mechanism had the potential to be a much faster and more efficient the rather basic mechanical breaker points switch. General Motors and Ford were the first of the big three to experiment with a transistorized ignition with both having systems available for the 1963 model year."

 

But its still a points triggered ignition , with a CDI box ...

 

The add on kit used points, the factory option was magnetic. Some will argue that just because something was around prior to '66, like airbags, it doesn't make it 'tadeonal' unless it was found in some quantity on hot rods of the day. I stay out of those arguments, 'cause I got a T5.