i have a crab style distributer. i am thinking of upgrading to a mallory ,or pertronix point less distributor. i,would like to only install the hei plate ,not a complete distributer. has anybody tried these systems,do they work good. and its not really clear in my mine that they fit in a crab style distributor.

 

Good points and condenser in a crab distributor will last 25,000+ miles. I prefer this to electronic conversions. Points and condensers fail more slowly than electronics. If electronics fail, you are dead on the road. When points get worn, the engine starts running worse giving you warning.

The stock crab distributor has the best advance curve for a flathead. You don't gain anything by using an after-market distributor.

 

I also like the crab distributer. Easy to take on and off if one needs to. On my daily driver for ten years, I just kept two crabs. The backup would be sent to an outfit that could synchronize the points etc. In reality, I only needed the backup once that I can remember. I think I left the key on....

 

A good set of points works wonders, try and find the Standard Blue Streak ones, they're the best on the market.

Sam

 

truck was running bad ,points were 1 year old. i got it running today,seems better. i had forgot ignition on for maybe 10 minutes though that was the cause. i was thinking it could of been a good upgrade.the points and condenser are from napa,sparks are champion. was doing alot of reading last night,and it seems champion plugs are not the best! is this true. motors seems to run rich. maybe thats why it ran bad , clean the plugs ,and dried them because it had flooded. i don,t remember what make napa had sold me ,but i keep the box for numbers. i will get a set of blue streaks , for when i tear into the engine, that will be only in a few years.

 

As 38 Coupe said, points give you a warning that they need maintenance.

Years ago I had a distributor converted to Pertronix. It started and ran great. But one day, nothing. It just failed. Luckily, it was in my driveway.

I'm now back to points. Pertronix replaced the failed unit, but I don't trust it. It has been sitting on my shelf ever since. It makes a good backup because there are no points to corrode while sitting on the shelf.

As for plugs, I use Autolite 216s.

One of the steps in the head puller I made was to remove the innards from a couple of plugs so that I could tap the inside of the plug to install some all-thread. It's easy to remove the innards of the Champion plugs. Then a friend asked me to make a head puller for him. All I had was some Autolite plugs. Those things are VERY well built. After trying with ever more force and bigger hammers and punches, I gave up. Went to the store and bought a couple of Champion plugs. They were easy to work with.

Tom

 

I have heard (but not seen scientific proof) that all spark plug manufacturers have stopped glazing the porcelain in automotive spark plugs. Since the new computer controlled cars don't flood and they burn cleaner, the plug makers see no reason to add the cost of sealing the porcelain (glazing). Plugs in a modern car usually fail when the electrode or ground strap are burned up. The report is the un-sealed porcelain can soak up contaminates and short out internally. I now carry a new set of spark plugs in any carburetor equipped vehicle I drive.

 

As a moderator I tend to be very refrained from comments...but since it seems the general consensus is the same as mines, I would like to offer my IMHO input as well..........
IMHO, what is more reliable than points......certainly not the more popular & common “e-box replacement kits”. Yes you can hear people state "It runs so much smoother/better than when it had points"........in each case that an individual said that in my presence, they had very little knowledge about points and the ones they were running were- old & tired or inexpensive aftermarket replacement units or the individual (including professional mechanic) was unfamiliar with not just setting the gap to OEM specs, but setting the dwell & initial timing to what the engine likes.

But let’s look at the OEM ignition system from the early 60’s….
Original Coil Voltage: 20,000; by the end of the 60’s 40,000 volt high performance coils were common…..by the 70’s 50,000 & 60,000 volt coils were easily available & is what we have today. Did we really gain all sorts of HP/TQ with all this extra voltage…….no, what we were able to gain was stronger support (if you will excuse my terms here) for higher RPM’s- specifically in the 6,000+ range…..enough to power NASCAR engines in the 8,000 rpm range at 200+ mph!

Points were used in NASCAR up through the late 1970's, running speeds of 200mph+.........Cale Yarborough did lose a race one time because the ignition points broke. In a street application, if you look at the data very closely that is provided by these more common e-box companies, in street applications (where max power-band RPM is around 6000), when the standard dyno deviation is removed (5% standard per every dyno mfg) there is less than 1% improvement in performance. Further testing by independent aftermarket DIS (direct ignition system) manufacturers verify this through their own testing- there is little gain over an ignition points system until you reach 4000 rpm…then you begin to see a slight sustainment of ignition delivery above what points can deliver but it doesn’t even begin to compare to what a “modern”, real e-based system can & does deliver in a real world street (and race) environment.
I am not promoting this product but their analysis is very demonstrative of actual performance results. link: http://www.compu-tronix.com/MightyMo...risonGraph.pdf
The other item is, in a street vehicle, if you wait to see improvement until 4000+ rpm, the race is over.
Here is a link to a back to back ¼ runs- comparison of points vs a couple of e-box conversions……..no discernible difference PerTronix Track Test

These e-box “conversion kits” have literally the same design limitations as the “conventional points”- because they are essentially using the same delivery system (rotor, cap, wires, etc.) and they are subject to the same inherent design impactors of which there are numerous….including ozone that is produced within the cap…..none of this has by miracle “disappeared” and in fact when compared in true recorded data-frame analysis, the benefit will be gone by 5800 rpm and the loss, although slightly less, parallels that of points. In racing conditions that could very well make a difference, but in a street application, you could literally change brand of fuel and see that level of improvement or degradation. Additionally, there are companies such as ProComp whose “High-Tech Multiple Discharge Ignition Systems” are nothing more than re-boxed low tech conversion parts purchased in bulk from other companies- mostly Chinese-based. Check out this pic procomp ignition box?? of a “new” ProComp e-ignition system- it’s a glued together GM part stuffed into a pretty aluminum box. Considering they were sued in 2006 by MSD (and prohibited as part of a settlement from using/distributing any of their parts), I’m not surprised by anything I see with their crap….but this includes much of the e-box aftermarket industry- a lot of PR documents which physics does not play any part!

Very good quality ignition points/condensors are available and when set properly, are very reliable and provide excellent performance. There have been no less than 5 people who I personally knew were going to get e-boxes, then I had them get a good set of points/condenser, a high voltage (40k+) coil, and installed them showing them specifically how to do it......the engines ran smooth and strong. One person did end up buying an e-box, why, because he said he just got tired of not being "cool", after spending $500 for a distributor, etc (he went “Popular” high end), a year later (when he asked me to help him fix something) he admitted, it was a waste of $...it didn't run any better than after we put the points in.

While many state the positives of e-boxes (and there are certainly many positive attributes), there are conditions which reduce an e-boxes effectiveness & reliability....to start with the circuitry and handling (container vessel shipping) of it from China (which is where 90% of the more common/popular e-box company's products originate). Any aspect including temperature control, static safeguards, moisture can & will cause both detectable and undetectable damage which may not show up until after you have subjected the installed component to real world vibrations, heat, cold, moisture & grease/oil. Yes, all of these damage e-components, but the systems (based upon a variety of factors) are suppose to be prepared to endure these exposures but that is based upon many, many assumptions. Including proper handling & q/a.......given all of the 3rd party involvement in the final product, it is unrealistic (IMHO) to believe that e-boxes have an increased reliability as compared to their mechanical-based counterpart. And in terms of “Dwell Control” I won’t even go into that in detail but I will say, what the “kits” provide is a joke…..you can actually get more control over the dwell by having an understanding of how to set timing versus dwell setting with points than the most popular e-box conversion kits can provide…..which makes for a very smooth running engine- this is not just IMHO, but well known among the "higher quality" aftermarket engineers whose systems reflect this ability to "tune"!
If you need to say I got rid of my points…ok, that’s fine, but if you are really serious about actually upgrading the ignition system then do so……although it has been scrapped by the OEM’s in favor of more advanced, effective systems, there are aftermarket DIS units (yes the same as Ford used in the 90’s & developed by Porsche in the 80’s) whose cost is within reach of most buyers and will actually perform as stated. And yes, I concur- Blue streak is the best points/condensor's available!

 

great read, and thanks for the heads up! i will stay with points.

 

Thank you.....