I always replace the points and condenser at the same time. I was also
told "long ago" that if you look at the points and seen a metal deposit on
the negative side of the point contact area that indicated the condenser was
going bad and couldn't absorb the current allowing some to arc across the
points wearing them out. The points just seemed to last longer if I
changed the points and condenser as a set and lubed the distributor lobe to
help reduce the wear on the point contact area and this also reduced the
need to adjust the point gap as often. I really liked the points "Blue
Streak brand I think" that had the added sponge which provided extra lube to
the distributor cam lobe. I never liked the look of the ceramic ballast
resistor on the firewall so I ran a resistor coil. My other solution to the
ignition problems was to make sure the coil was installed up right so the
internal oil was more likely to be around the coils and lessened the chance
of it leaking out. My last solution to increase point life was to run the
wire that fed the coil through a toggle switch. If I planned to run the
radio with the key on "engine off " I would flick the toggle switch to turn
the juice off to the coil just to eliminate current from arcing across the
points. The added plus to this addition was a kind of anti theft switch.
With the toggle switched their was no juice to the coil so it wasn't going
nowhere!
Joe Garcia
-----Original Message-----
From: Jim House <jhouse@ccsolution.com>
To: 'Bruce Kettunen' <bekett@uslink.net>; oletrucks@autox.team.net
<oletrucks@autox.team.net>
Date: Monday, April 02, 2001 3:08 PM
Subject: RE: [oletrucks] Runnin' happy
>For my backfire problem I have found a guy who is going to reset the timing
>on my truck. For now I will not have to buy a gun. I have done all of the
>ingition wires/plugs/cap/rotor. I did not get new points or a condenser.
>Before he will do the job he told me to get new points and they are on
order
>(over 2 weeks at Carters). However, he told me NOT to mess with the
>condenser EVER unless the truck is not running. And that I would only be
>asking for problems if I switch it unless the old working one is bad. He
>thinks that a good portion of the new replacement condensers are bad or at
>least worse than what I have now. If the old one works do not mess with
it.
>
>Is this correct or should I change the condenser now?
>
>Thanks,
>Jim House
>46 Chevy 3104
>Hollis, NH
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: owner-oletrucks@autox.team.net
>[mailto:owner-oletrucks@autox.team.net]On Behalf Of Bruce Kettunen
>Sent: Monday, April 02, 2001 6:29 PM
>To: oletrucks@autox.team.net
>Subject: Re: [oletrucks] Runnin' happy
>
>
>I don't think your problem is done yet.....
>
>Sounds like you forgot to wire in the ballast resistor between the
>ignition switch run terminal and the coil. This drops the coil voltage
>from 12 volts to around 6 volts and keeps the coil from oozing brown
>liquid and the points from welding together if the key is on, the
>engine is not running, and the points happen to be closed. It also
>makes the points last longer.
>
>The ballast resistor is usually a rectangular ceramic block mounted
>somewhere on the engine side of the firewall.
>
>There is a bypass terminal off the starter solenoid that provides
>pure 12 volts to the coil when the starter is engaged. This is to
>give the truck a hotter spark when it is being started.
>
>I hope you also replaced the condenser (the little round cylindrical
>capacitor in the distributor) when you replaced the distributor points.
>
>
>It's been over 20 years since the manufacturers put a point style
>ignition in a car or truck and we sometimes forget (or never learned)
>how they work. These electro-mechanical systems the Ancient Ones
>used are a marvel of design from a time when there were no computers
>and not much in the way of electronics.
>
>Don't feel bad, I learned this from my dad when these were "newtrucks".
>
>Bruce Kettunen
>57 3200
>Mt. Iron, MN
>
>
>At Monday, 2 April 2001, you wrote:
>
>>Over the last few months, my 55 2nd has been running worse and worse.
>>Compression was good (350 smallblock), which sort of limited my
>problems
>>down to either ignition or fuel. A month or so ago, I basically
>put a new
>
>
>
>
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>oletrucks is devoted to Chevy and GM trucks built between 1941 and 1959
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