points or no pints

[RICK-O-SHAY]

Pertronix conversion instead of points for 350 cu in.Good or save your money

 

[Chas]

I converted mine 5 or 6 years ago and have had perfect performance.

Dude, if you went to school in Trenton, you need to send me a private message .....If not, welcome to the CAC regardless

 

[JohnZ]

Points have worked fine for me for 50 years - check/set dwell once a year (takes 2 minutes), new points once every five years (takes ten minutes).

 

[vigman]

Pro & con

Well first off if you change out... your not stock... and if your trying to restore the car to " factory "... well nuff said there.

Now I went with the petronics kit AND MSD blaster ( since I will never be a matching numbers car )....

I have to say, on MY OLD engine that the valve seals are SHOT and I was WAY over carbed ( 750 DP, vac secondaries ) the car started on the first blip of the key...
( provided the float bows were full & 1 squeeze of the throttle to prime the engine ). The amount of spark is insane...But if your cap and wires are marginal... your going to get arcing ( read misfire ) .

If your upper distrib bushing is shot... well the petronics will not help much...
Remember these cars are OVER 55 years old... corrosion, age of insulators & wires, cap ( condenser ) drying out, and cheapo after market parts
all add up to the lack of spark or wrong timing of spark equation.

I would suggest ( if budget permits ) getting a 2nd distrib that has been completely gone through, so you can take your time retrofitting & start with fresh parts ( vac advance,points plate ground braid, bushings, gears, tach drive, weights & springs ) so no marginal parts affect your set-up or driving results.. Points are good and work well PROVIDED everything's up to snuff...

This ASSUMES your going to do the work and have a dwell meter ( if your going to stay stock ).....

read here
http://www.corvetteactioncenter.com...ussion/84317-ot-lost-my-first-set-points.html

Mike

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

If you're looking for improved performance or better gas mileage, forget it. No difference. The pertronixs or similar is simply an electronic switch vs. the points that are mechanical. No change in spark energy.

The ultra-blasto coils have the potential for higher output- but this isn't realized with the stock plugs at stock gap as the coil fires as soon as there's enough energy available to ionize the gap and not at some outrageous value the coil manufacturer claims is possible.

Opening up the plug gap will make no difference in performance on a properly carbed and timed engine so that's a waste too.

 

[Tuna]

I'd adjust the points and then get a pint!

:L

 

[vigman]

Points.....

Under the heading IF.....

IF your points are pitted.. dwell will be off...
IF your condenser has drifted... dwell will be off...
IF your vac advance diaphram is holed... mix will be lean & timing will be off..
IF you cap & rotor are original ( or haven't been run in years ) you will loose spark energy, timing will be off...

AND

I do not see retrofit kits for C-3 & C-4 ( and beyond ) to go to points...
Even later C-2's had optional transistor ignition.. ( to take the current load off the points ) .

Electronic ignition is not ... better, for this application.( assuming 100% stock ) . But it is more stable over a given period of time.
For the record the Petronics will not increase spark voltage ( but will not drift over milage ) ...
Combined with the MSD that will fire once at the proper time and repeat after TDC...
the spark is considerably hotter then stock... Due to poor mechanical condition of my engine, the stock ignition wouldn't work well.

So the choice is your... and it would be cheaper to get e new set of points, condenser, cap & rotor... and set it up PROPERLY..
will work peachy for 10K.... ( under daily driving conditions ) and then a tweak or 2 there after for dwell adjusting.

Mike

 

[Vettehead Mikey]

IF your vac advance diaphram is holed... mix will be lean & timing will be off..
IF you cap & rotor are original ( or haven't been run in years ) you will loose spark energy, timing will be off...

These would still be true even with a pertronics kit.

 

[vigman]

OK...the point

Either way the OP decides to go.....
The distributor system needs to be 100% mechanically and electrically.
and there will be less tweaking over time with petronics than points..
85 bucks VS 20 bucks ( or less ) for points

 

[Wayne robson]

The finer point of points

Over the years ,many old and classic car members do have alot of problems and break downs
caused by bad or faulty points,im saying this because im not for or against using pertronix, I have pertronix
in one of my classics,so far not my vette,There are good and bad points,its advisable to buy good reputable
brand names,Echlin, Borg Warner,to name a few,the worst are vented,they have a small hole on the actual point of
the points,and can cause many failures,shop parts supplyers found out a few years ago.Another problem is if your points
get burnt or high spot,the dwell only measures the high spot not the actual true gap,and especially if the fiber carbon rubbing
guide wears over time,instead you can end up with only 8,9, or 10 thou gap wear.Some of the other ways points get burnt or pitted are
A coil resistance not properly connected into circuit.
B Defective Condenser
C Oil vapours entering base of distributor depositing onto points,causing arcing burning.
D High voltage causing excessive current flow through points causing blue scale forming on point surfaces
E Centrifugal advance wear
F Cam and Weight base plate wear
G Distributor shaft wear.
With Pertronix if you have fitted the older original one it can be broken or burned out by leaving ignition left on for more
than fifteen minutes,there is a newer one available since approx 2007,that will not do that.My 65 Riviera GS has had Pertronix for
over twenty years now and it has been superb.
I could go on and on about points etc,so will finish for now,thankyou