Havent done these for some time !! The Mallory four lobe was designed as a special coil with dual primarys , one coil runnng two sets of contacts and a special dual primary ignition coil.. ( called double life ) . They worked very well ( i ran one in my old hamb dragster ) This unit will run with the seperate points ( must b set up on a machine to run right ) OR you can wire the contacts together ( can set both contacts at .018 ) and run with a single coil. I still get these in from customers ( many times people over think thems selfs) for some odd reason i got three in just this month alone !!! Heres a couple pics to help ya out and show the problem if adjusted wrong . Arrows on machine must be at , odd arrows show a incorrect firing sequence !!!
Hey Bubba I thought you quit doing customer work? Are you back in the saddle now, I hope so as you provide(d) a very important service!
Good to see you back Jim. I confess, I am just stupid when it comes to understanding those distributor machines. Never worked on any and have only seen one running and it was all messed up
You have to remember that the camshaft (and therefore the distributor) runs at half the speed of the crankshaft,
Hey, Jim! Missed ya. I have a question for you if you are back in the saddle. GM HEI ?? Ok if you are not. Ben
Thanks Tubman... I understand now...I think , unlike the 8 lobe dual point style where one set of points starts opening as the other set closes this set up has one set completely closed before the other set opens ? How would that work being connected together....I need to learn
Look back at the photo. You'll see lower points are angled 45 degrees of parallel to upper set of points. Setting point gap isn't enough. Any change in dwell affects timing. This is why it's set up on a distributor machine.
I have always had problems with getting dual points set right by just gapping them. I finally bought a cheap dwell meter on eBay and it solved my problems. Obviously, the dwell must be set properly before the timing is set.
It so good to see you on here.. I always wanted to take a 8 point dual point and split the points with a three way switch. Connect the switches common to the coil and each traveler to one set of points. When you throw the switch it would change to the other set of points. I wonder how much the timing would change by switching to the other set of points. I always wanted to try this of course the four point dual point like you have here wouldn't work..
^^^^^ Your dwell would be off for coil to work correctly doing it that way. Either run both points or just the secondary point alone.
Would the closed points make the open points still grounded wired together this way on a 4 lobe, there seems to be a constant ground path
From all of my "adventures" with Mallory's, there seem to be three different ways that dual points can operate. The one most of us are familiar with is the kind where the two sets of points operate together to increase the dwell (like a pre-49 Ford). The "leading" points open to start saturating the coil. later, before the first set closes, the "trailing" points open and keep the circuit open a bit longer for increased dwell. The second type is shown above where each set of points operate alternately. Each set opens saturates the coil and closes, generating the spark for alternate cylinders. This setup has one terminal on the distributor, and each set of points operate alternately to produce spark. The third type requires a special coil with two primary windings but only one secondary. I have one of these distributors for my '51 Olds Rocket. This type has two terminals on the distributor, each feeding one primary winding of the special coil. One set of points open and close and energize one primary winding generating a spark to a cylinder, and the other set of points cycle and energize the other primary winding generating a spark for the next cylinder. This is sort of a "poor man's dual coil" with a shared secondary winding. It does away with the special (expensive) cap and rotor required by true dual coil ignitions. Both of the latter have 4 lobe cams. The real indication of which type you have is determined by the number of coil terminals on the distributor. Here are some pictures of the two different Mallory "FlashFire" coils. The first three (the black coil) are of the special "dual primary" coil; notice that it has three primary connectors, one for each set of points, and one for power from the ignition. The last three are of a regular "FlashFire" coil with only two primary terminals, like a regular coil. Also be aware that Mallory color-coded their coils; black coils are 6 volt units, while red ones are 12 volt. Over the years, I would imagine that a lot of Mallory components have been mixed up or lost. Simply trying to assemble a working ignition is more complicated than just assembling random parts. I have no idea where the random "thumbnail" came from.
The Jalopy Journal
