I don't have dwell meter. When I say I gap it to .016, I mean I stick the strip of metal that says .016 when the cam opens the arm the highest and it gives the slightest resistance. I double check to make sure the .015 is loose and the .017 has even more friction. I am also careful that the file goes in at the right angle.
As for the points vs electronic ignition, I guess I am a hopeless romantic as well as a glutton for extra unnecessary work
I will look for the voltage at the (+) coil. I have never tested that. To do that, do I ground the black alligator clip to the chassis and the positive tip to the (+) coil and take a voltage reading with the ignition switch in the "ON" position, but without engine running?
As for not owning a dwell meter, you need one. Gap setting is nothing but a preliminary setting to allow the car to start. Does not mean it is correct, and setting gap certainly does not mean you are "done" setting up your points. Points are not properly set until you also set the dwell.
There are about 3 or 4 other things that are necessary to truly set up points correctly, even beyond gap & dwell. Spring tension should be checked, alignment should be checked, etc...
Nothing wrong with being a romantic. Just recognize that points setup is truly becoming a lost art...and it is indeed an art, not just a procedure in a service manual.
The just "install and gap" routine will often provide sub-par results and rapid wear.
You will need to measure the voltage at the coil (+) terminal to ground when the points are closed. There must be current flowing through the supply wire to determine whether the wire is a resistance wire or not. A reading of 8 or 9 volts indicates a resistor wire, 12 volts indicated a non-resistor wire.
If you find the resistor wire has been replaced with a standard wire, don't replace it. Just keep it and install a "ballast resistor" in series. I would suggest a variable one that allows you to set voltage for the best combination of running quality and long points life. Universal ballast resistors are common universal part available everywhere speed parts are sold...
Lower spring tensions = longer points life. Higher spring tenstion = resistance to float at high rpms for racing purposes.
I assume yours is just a driver and not a racer, making high rpm float a non-issue. So I'd choose the lower tension in the interest of longevity, UNLESS you can't get stable dwell out of the lower tension, in which case you might want some more tension to achieve a stable dwell.
I ordered Accel Points & Condenser, new coil and dwell meter. Will also check voltage to see if resistor is in place. Should know in a few days where the problem is.
I noticed in another thread that the there is a hot wire from the battery to a junction block near the radiator support. I see no such thing in my car. There is only the one large 2 gauge cable running from battery under the engine to starter. Big problem?
That wire should be on a terminal block behind the battery and it is the RED wire to the horn relay. I do believe it was on the 67-69's. Do you have a Horn Relay? If yes, What is wires are on it? Check your Volts at the coil, they shouldn't be higher then 9v, and if your gonna stay with points always run with an extra set and tools to install them.
I noticed in another thread that the there is a hot wire from the battery to a junction block near the radiator support. I see no such thing in my car. There is only the one large 2 gauge cable running from battery under the engine to starter. Big problem?
Well...clearly you have another hot wire running somewhere to your fuse box and everything else, since you're not here asking why your lights and accessories don't function...
If you don't have a hot wire running directly from battery to the rest of your 12V system, then they might be taking hot from the hookup at the starter solenoid? Is there a second wire bolted to the solenoid at the same location as this 2GA you reference? If yes, likely this second wire feeds into your 12V system to power the rest of the car. Follow that big hot wire from battery to starter end again...you have overlooked a power lead from it to somewhere, because if it isn't there NOTHING on your car would work except the starter itself.
You will need to measure the voltage at the coil (+) terminal to ground when the points are closed. There must be current flowing through the supply wire to determine whether the wire is a resistance wire or not. A reading of 8 or 9 volts indicates a resistor wire, 12 volts indicated a non-resistor wire.
Pete
Multimeter shows 7.2 V at the (+) coil terminal when points are touching eachother, and when I bump engine around to move points apart and then measure, I get a reading of 12 V.
Yes. That is normal function. This confirms you are not burning up your points due to a missing resistor. A bypass wire around the resistor, thru the starter solenoid, permits full batery voltage during cranking to assist in faster starts.
This portion of your electrical system appears to be working.
So I will be replacing the coil, new points & condenser, gapping then using my new dwell meter tomorrow! Then pull the spark plugs , clean and regap. If there is a problem then, I would have to look at the carb, agree?
Whether you look toward the carb depends entirely on the symptoms displayed at that time. Don't get ahead of yourself in making assumptions.
Replacing those parts you list does not entirely rule out an ignition problem. Off the top of my head you do not mention: dist. cap, rotor, plug wires, coil wire, initial timing setting, advance timing function...
And before digging inside the carb I'd be studying quantity and quality of fuel flow TO the carb. If you ran it out of gas you might have simply sucked a bunch of 40 year old sediment from the bottom of the tank into the system...if lucky it plugs a filter. If unlucky it clogs pickup inside fuel tank, the fuel lines themselves, maybe damages diaphram within the fuel pump itself...
100% guesswork on my part.
My only point is that there are many directions this can go. Troubleshoot methodically....follow a written chart in a service manual based on the symptoms displayed by the car. Shotgun approaches and speculating at the cause of a problem (which I just did above) are notoriously inefficient.
New Accel Points & Condenser, preliminarily gapped to .016
New Accel Coil
Car started up fine
Checked Timing: 2 deg ATDC
Dwell was at 26, increased it to 31
Timing increased to 9 deg BTDC.
Much better acceleration. Did forget to put back the vacuum hose to the distributor while test driving though ;-)
I should have changed the points first, then tried to start before installing new coil so that I could see which was the problem. C'est la vie...Now, I have to watch these points carefully. And I am going to have to do a full tune up in the next week or so.
I want to thank y'all so much. I'd a been lost with out y'all!
Glad to here your back up and running. May want to drive for a while and re-check that dwell again.
Also did you checked the timing with the vacuume advace pulled off? May want to do some test to find out what the total timing is for your vacuume can and mechanicla advance. May be able to get a better tune with a little more advance.
