'73 BB Stock

Ok, so I went to install the standard points and condensor and the condensor on the car looks nothing like the standard stock. There is no wire coming out of the end. It looks to be screwed in to the points bracket. Can I just install the stock one's that I picked up at the store? Anyone know what points and condensor set this is?

Thanks,
Ryan

 

I don''t know what those points and condenser are, but you should be able to use the stock condensor. It should have a hold down that screws to the distributor plate and the wire connects at the same place the black power wire connects.

 

That's just an aftermarket set that has points and condenser mounted together and already wired. You can remove that and install standard [separate] components or find a similar unit to replace it. The function is the same. Lars recommends a specific brand and model of points and condenser, but you would have to e-mail him for that info {V8fastcars@msn.com}.

 

Thanks guys...I will reach out to Lars

 

I use the Accell points and condenser. They are well made and have the separate/correct points and condenser. Looks like yours are the so called uni-points.

 

Also watch out for that little short black wire going from the points plate to the dizzy body, it's a grounding wire, very necessary or you will have nothing but troubles with start/running.....

held by two screws....they are available, and made from really thin stranded 'flex' wire, ordinary wire will not last long....

 

they're often referred to as "UNI-POINT" & they're AOK for most folks.

NAPA sells ECHLIN brand ignition and it's very good. Pretty sure Accel ign parts made by Echlin.

Other stores sell STANDARD IGNITION brand ignition ... it has a premium segment called BLUE STREAK that's very good. My hunch: Ryan's unipoint is blue streak DR-3575CX.

fyi ... standard sells the thin ground wire (DDL-21) ... & dang near every other small ign part ... they have a quirky but useful online eCatalog w/pics but they do NOT sell online ... get em at your local parts house.

http://www.standardbrand.com/Online+...g/Content.aspx

 

I test a heckuva lot of distributors on my SUN distributor machine, and I run stuff on the dyno. Here is my recommendation:

The NAPA/Echlin CS786 points with the RR175 condensor will accurately fire the plugs beyond 6,000 rpm with excellent reliability and outstanding service life. The NAPA/Balkamp line sells a GM distributor hardware kit with the points and condenser hold-down screws for those distributors that have had the "UniPoints" installed and the hardware discarded... I don't have the part number handy at this posting - if anyone needs the part number, e-mail me and I'll get it for you.

If you are spinning your engine beyond 6,000 rpm, run the Mallory 102 points. I just ran one of my engines on the dyno with these points in a stock distributor triggering an MSD 6AL system, and we ran it past 7,000 rpm with no misfire at all. The Mallory points do see a little more rubbing block wear than the CS768 points due to spring tension, so you'll need to check dwell at least every 10,000 miles...

("Oh, Gawd... "points" are SOOO unreliable.... I'm going to switch to "PerTronix" so I don't have to do all that MAINTENANCE once every 5 years.")

If anyone posts that, I'll call you a *****.

Lars
V8FastCars@msn.com

 

Now I'm curious...I bought my car from bubba 7 years ago, knowing nothing about old cars but planning to learn. I have stuck with the condenser setup on the car when purchased. I seem to have that 'integral' condenser installed near the points, AND an 'external' condenser mounted on the side of the coil mounting bracket, with a black wire going to the positive (?) side of the coil. Are both necessary, or is this bubba? Please forgive my ignorance :o

 

There should be a single condenser only - not two. The wire should go from the condenser to the points. There is a second wire that goes from the points to the "-" side of the coil. The "+" side of the coil goes to the ignition switch. There should not be any wire from the distributor to the "+" side of the coil.

 

Followed by 'it's so much fun swapping the points back in after getting stranded on a dark and stormy night'.

BTDT, still got the greasy old t-shirt

To save myself time, I pre-swapped my points back into the dizzy to save myself the trouble later on.

 

The condenser on the side of the coil bracket going to coil + is a radio suppressor. It keeps pops out of the radio (AM I believe).

 

Shame on you , this supposed to be a family friendly forum.

 

Aha! Since I have no radio whatsoever, and since I clearly have a condenser built in to the distributor, with a black wire coming over to the coil, I don't need the 'extra' unit attached to the coil bracket. I shall remove it and see if there is any noticeable effect. Lars, I suspect the distributor wire does indeed go to the negative side of the coil, I'll check when I get home though.

 

Sorry, I misread your post - I thought you had 2 condensers installed in the distributor. If you have the Unipoints with an attached condenser in the distributor, that's fine. From your points, there will be a single wire to the "-" side of the coil. On the "+" side of the coil will be a radio noise supression condenser along with 2 wires - 1 from the starter "R" terminal and 1 from the ignition switch. You have nothing to gain by removing the noise suppression condenser on the coil.

 

Lars if you really knew your Echlin ignition line you would go for the CS89 or CS7860 points sets both have higher tension springs than the CS786 points.

That being said, I'll keep my Pertronix!

If anyone really loves points and high RPMs, I have a NOS Sig Erson Delco pionts cam for high rpm use, $75 to the first bidder (should be stable through about 7500-8000RPM.)

I even have a NOS Delco Z/28 Camaro high RPM breaker cam, guaranteed to burn any points set within 3000 miles just like my old Camaro did back in the 70's before I went to a K-66 TI unit triggering a MSD box. Finding that the MSD box was voltage sensitive and moved the timing around, I then did a Perlux Ignitor conversion on it in 1982 which was on it and still working strong when I sold it in 2004 (yes it would run to 7000RPM on new points but, I don't want to go back there!)

I even have some vintage NOS Echlin points sets in my Echlin Service cabinet if I can find them (last time I checked they were around $20 a set, I used to sell them for $4 back in the days.)

Me, I'm going to run a MSD 6AL-2 Programmable unit using a crank trigger on my "bullet" that is presently going togehter, I have too much time and money invested in it to trust it to anything else.

 

I installed a brand new set of Delco points in my LT-1 and couldn't get it to run stable or adjust the dwell past 25. I replaced them with a cheap $6 set of Borg Warner points from Advance Auto and it runs fine with full adjustment of the dwell. No more Delco points for me.

 

I have tested all of the Echlin points, so I know them quite well - I have an inventory on hand of all the part numbers for GM distributors. Yes, there are points with higher spring tension than the CS786, and those points will spin beyond 6000 rpm. However, those points also see much faster rubbing block wear due to the high tension, and most street engines do not produce power beyond 6000, so there is no "point" in using them (pun intended). The CS786 points will reliably fire the plugs up through 6000 and see very little rubbing block wear, allowing them to run without maintenance or adjustment for 20,000+ miles. For most collector cars, that means they will last the lifetime of the vehicle with complete reliability.

I've never had to carry a PerTronix system in the trunk as a backup in case my points failed...

Lars

 

I am ready to do the points & condenser, I have no high temp lube for the points, what should I ask for at the parts store, high temp cam lube? Is there a similar product that will suffice?

 

I had a Pertronix unit crap out on me...good thing it happened in my driveway...that being said we used Blue Streak HD points way back when and they performed great, I dont even know if they are made anymore...