You got a mic on! Awesome improvement in volume. 🙂 If you place a small magnet on the shaft of the screwdriver, it will become temporarily magnetic. That will help keep the screw from falling off the end of the screwdriver when inverted. In some applications, a dab of grease on the end of the screwdriver may hold the screw in place until you can start it BUT, I would not use that technique inside of a distributor...unless it happed to be dielectric grease. Nice set of points. Most don't have the lubrication wick on them. Showing the way to change the dwell may have helped make this clearer to those who have not done it before. Good job on remembering to recheck the timing. Good Job!
That - is one smooth Poly. Great to see young men saving these cars, when I was your age I worked on and owned cars and trucks from the '40s and '50 - videos like this help me to feel at bit better about your future, here in my future.
Yes I do know how to save your frustration with the screw. #1 add a dab of grease to the screw driver tip. # 2 purchase a holding type screwdriver , they have a split blade that tightened in the screw slot to hold the screw.
Put the screw in the points and hold it in the hole with the screwdriver before you put them in the distributor and hold the screw in the hole with the driver as you guide them into place. Or put a tiny drop of superglue on screw and glue into hole, glue will break when you tighten it.
stay close to your parts source,do not travel the country,cause your new MSD AL control unit is in a box warehouse and it'll be 3 days for they can send it to ya,points for ever,even my motorcycle is now points,its idles better and accelerates better
Great video. One of the simplest explanations of this I've seen. While some of the science and tuning tech can get pretty complex, people forget these cars were designed to be serviced by normal joes, not rocket scientists practicing black magic.
You can set dwell with just a basic multimeter, a wire and a protractor (even a paper one printed off internet) Tape the protractor on the rotor and fashion a pointer out of a coat hanger or something. Then disconnect power to points and connect the multimeter, set to continuity beep, between the points power lead and ground. Using a socket to turn over the engine slowly, take note of the degree reading on the protractor when the multimeter starts beeping and the reading when it shuts off. That is the current dwell angle.
use a magnetic screwdriver or they actually have small screwdrivers with tiny little Jaws on the end that will hold the screw in place until you can get it where you want it. you can even put a little dab of grease on the end of your screwdriver so the screw doesn't fall off.
Fer sure! In the 1970s I used the Accel dual point distributors in both my 440 powered '64 Polara 500 and my '70 340 Dart. The same type in both. You externally unplugged one set of points and set the fitst set of points through a rubber plugged access hole using the dwell meter with engine running. Then you plugged in the other set of points and set that set of points the same way for your total dwell. It was SO easy to do. Before I had those distributors I used Chrysler dual point distributors in my cars and they took some experience to get good with them. My opinion- there's no reason NOT to use electronic ignitions now.
this video have a (good) point(s) 😁 memories go back to the time when I was your age, struggling and trying to learn how things work. this was long before the time of the internet, so then one had to learn this through acquaintance and literature. has fortunately become much easier and learning and not least and sharing knowledge so that learning can be shared with others. continue with these videos. both educational and entertaining. and not least that these classic vehicles are taken care of and used for what they were intended for. well worked young man
My old timer tips : only work on distributors on a table with a towel on it; Why ? the towel will keep screws from RUNNING AWAY from you because of gravity and wind! When installing, put the tip of your flat bladed screwdriver on a magnet for a moment then out the screwhead and move all of this to the spot where the screw goes in. This saves a lot of aggravation ! BTW I learned all this when your car was NEW !
suggestion Austin, you may have beat me to the punch on this but ,its good to keep a extra condeser in the glove box and i would find a couple spare nuts as well
This car with it poly engine is awesome. I think it would be cool to make this car a mid 15 second reliable daily driver. Some may say why 15 why not 14 13 or 12? Mid fifteens can be done without sacrificing any reliability and using many OEM parts. Mid 15s would be punchy gutsy and really add to the driving enjoyment. Hey mid/late 80s five liter mustangs ran in the 15s. But it's easy for me to suggest things that cost$$$....But Weiand has a dual 4bbl intake manifold for the poly. And you now know how to port cylinder heads......318 poly can be stroked to a 390 as well.......Jus sayin. Love the new channel.
Have you ever tried spinning the distributor with a drill in the vise and setting the dwell that way? surely would be a lot easier than starting and stopping the engine a bunch of times, especially if the distributor was already out. On my Ford I use a remote starter switch and a screwdriver to set the dwell while watching the dwell meter. I absolutely hate using the feeler gauge lol.
If your screw driver is heavily magnetized you can deliver the screw directly to the hole, however threading it is still about half as hard as dropping it in. I used to have a screw driver that had two tabs that could hold screws someplace.
Just thought of something you can remove the plugs and rotor button hookup dwell meter spin engine with starter your meter needle will hover over dwell setting move points while spinning engine you can lock right in on proper dwell angle the first time...hope this helps.
Hey, just wanted to say your videos are awesome, and I love watching. Id love to see a video on your F150 sometime, if you guys get around to it. Thanks again
I'm currently working on the front end of my engine right now, but one of the things I definitely plan on doing is upgrading to Chrysler electronic ignition - points are easy, but I like technology. So much easier when all you need is a plug and play test tool for your ECM!
and I on the other hand will never go to electronic ignition after breaking down in the desert of yuma arizona with a 450 dollar tow bill,the magnetic pickup in my car fried,and i coasted over to the side of the road in 105 degree weather with all of the rattlesnakes i could hear,technology is not the best right out of the box,no thanks and no thanks,point ignition has made cars run down the road for a 100 years,that is a track record of track records,with two sets of points and 4 condensors in the glove box and two coils in the trunk,i'm not walking again,and i'm glad you like technology,one of them tow bills are make your day,happy motoring
You asked for a better way to deal with the tiny screws in a distributer. I have a set of tweezers in my tool box and that helps me put the screw in the hole with the slotted end up. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten the screw in the hole upside down which doesn't do a bit of good. I change my points with the distributor installed in the car. However, I would recommend using ordinary white school chalk to make a temporary mark indicating the position of the distributor instead of a black Sharpie. This way you won't be confused by all of the previous marks (the chalk easily wipes away) and the white is easier to see. Finally, I wipe the timing mark on the balancer and the degree tab on the timing chain cover with the white chalk which is illuminated very well by the timing light.
Take your strait edge screw driver while the engine is running and rub the tip back and forth over the rear bearing cap on the alternator ! it will cause the screw driver tip to be magnetized even after removal of screw driver. Also to check to see if your electrical system is charging touch the same rear bearing cap on alternator . if it has a good magnetic stick its charging . if barely has or no magnetic stick its not charging . dont forget to put a little bit of lube on the inside of the tubular hinge of the points since it moves back and forth . 😎💪🏁✌
They make flat blade screwdrivers wit a spring loaded cam in the middle of the blade that twists to hold the slot. Magnetic works almost as well. Jaws outside the screw don't always fit in small spaces like points.
you can get magnetic screw drivers i also have some old school spring loaded screw driver tool that has a magnet on the other end, I don't know if you can even get those any more. Tony should know what I'm talking about even other old timers who have been around since the 60's and 70's.
I JUST REMEMBERED A TRICK FOR SMALL SCREW'S . PUT A SMALL PIECE OF RUBBER HOSE ON THE END OF THE SCREWDRIVER THEN PUSH THE SCREW INSIDE OF THE RUBBER PIECE OF HOSE AND IT HOLDS IT JUST FINE .....PLUS IT'S NEXT TO FREE .👍💲👍💲👍
Hi I’ve just a dwell meter of eBay but with no instructions, I’ve just about worked out what’s what but could you please explain the bottom part that says points, it’s this for the condenser , and how to use it for testing the points, I ask this question because I’ve just fitted a brand new old stock ( made in 1975 lucas distributor which came with points etc fitted I just took everything apart to remove protective oil’s setting it up and working great but the test tune up gage shows the points in the bad area and not the good??
I am happy so see an actual tech video for the channel, although I have been enjoying the Tom Foolery with salad. I will be using points for my supercharged mini bike project at #nonamenationals. I hope to make that video in a couple weeks. I could really use support for my channel, so if that sounds interesting, please check me out.
By the way the Mallory hp points not only have a heavier spring the contacts have a harder alloy also the condenser is matched to the coil impedance depending apon what contact the arc is building up on will tell you if your condenser is to big or to small. Also contacts of points should close flat and square for best points life always put a dab of grease on the rubbing block some old distributors had a lube wick. To put that screw in EASYIER.( USE A SCREW HOLDING screwdriver)
like your style and I actually made it through what can be considered a very long YT video to see how you set the dwell. Unfortunately, in the end you didn't actually show how you set the dwell angle. You just showed the meter display incorrectly before.. cut.. and then after.. "fixed!" What did you do the do the points when you were off screen? I have never set the dwell (why I am watching this video) so I have no clue what you changed on the points that made it lower the angle.. also, where did you put the piece of card stock? Again, I dig your video style but it's a swing a miss for this video with me.
You put the card stock between the points, and this distributor's dwell angle is adjusted by an offset screw. Most are adjusted by a hold down and just sliding the point base around until the reading is correct. The way this one is adjusted is not typical for most distributors.
I don’t use it for this. In order for it to start the car the key has to be on and I don’t want to chance the coil overheating and exploding lol. So I just do it the hard way.
Man. I'm not against points. But you shoulda threw that in jyj for a distributor and went hei. So nice to put 3k+ miles on a car and not have to deal with this points bs. Adjusting replacing pulling the distributor. Timing it Everytime. That crap just gets old. Same with a solid cam. ( But some like em). So not.saying they are crap. I like them in a 1/4 mile only myself.
You got a mic on! Awesome improvement in volume. 🙂 If you place a small magnet on the shaft of the screwdriver, it will become temporarily magnetic. That will help keep the screw from falling off the end of the screwdriver when inverted. In some applications, a dab of grease on the end of the screwdriver may hold the screw in place until you can start it BUT, I would not use that technique inside of a distributor...unless it happed to be dielectric grease. Nice set of points. Most don't have the lubrication wick on them. Showing the way to change the dwell may have helped make this clearer to those who have not done it before. Good job on remembering to recheck the timing. Good Job!
Brings back memories. I used to use a paper matchbook cover to set points on my old Fords. Worked perfect. Austin, you are a great teacher. 😁
you did a fine job, im 66 years old and thats how we did it in my day. i dont know if its the right way but it always worked for me and my buddies
That - is one smooth Poly. Great to see young men saving these cars, when I was your age I worked on and owned cars and trucks from the '40s and '50 - videos like this help me to feel at bit better about your future, here in my future.
Yes I do know how to save your frustration with the screw. #1 add a dab of grease to the screw driver tip. # 2 purchase a holding type screwdriver , they have a split blade that tightened in the screw slot to hold the screw.
Man I love how that old Poly fires right up at the touch of the key. Good job young feller!
Put the screw in the points and hold it in the hole with the screwdriver before you put them in the distributor and hold the screw in the hole with the driver as you guide them into place.
Or put a tiny drop of superglue on screw and glue into hole, glue will break when you tighten it.
Thank God for my MSD 6AL and lockable distributor. I was 18 the last time I seen a dual point.
stay close to your parts source,do not travel the country,cause your new MSD AL control unit is in a box warehouse and it'll be 3 days for they can send it to ya,points for ever,even my motorcycle is now points,its idles better and accelerates better
@@strattuner Not worried I have 2 other vehicles. The street rod is not my daily driver.
@@Buffrt66 EXCELLENT.NOW I KNOW you have backup,100 bucks says there electronic cars too
@@strattuner i always keep a spare points dist. in my 77 poly powered d100.
Great video. One of the simplest explanations of this I've seen. While some of the science and tuning tech can get pretty complex, people forget these cars were designed to be serviced by normal joes, not rocket scientists practicing black magic.
Use a spring loaded flat blade screw starter. I have a bluepoint one but other company's make them. Makes starting the screws very easy.
You can set dwell with just a basic multimeter, a wire and a protractor (even a paper one printed off internet) Tape the protractor on the rotor and fashion a pointer out of a coat hanger or something. Then disconnect power to points and connect the multimeter, set to continuity beep, between the points power lead and ground. Using a socket to turn over the engine slowly, take note of the degree reading on the protractor when the multimeter starts beeping and the reading when it shuts off. That is the current dwell angle.
@dimebagvision3221 cheers. Have a beer on me then.
You hit a nice energy on this one!
Very calm yet informative 👌
Salutations
use a magnetic screwdriver or they actually have small screwdrivers with tiny little Jaws on the end that will hold the screw in place until you can get it where you want it. you can even put a little dab of grease on the end of your screwdriver so the screw doesn't fall off.
That Screwdriver is called a Monday Morning Driver!
I'm glad GM put a window on the distributor cap so dwell could be set with the engine running.
Fer sure! In the 1970s I used the Accel dual point distributors in both my 440 powered '64 Polara 500 and my '70 340 Dart. The same type in both. You externally unplugged one set of points and set the fitst set of points through a rubber plugged access hole using the dwell meter with engine running. Then you plugged in the other set of points and set that set of points the same way for your total dwell. It was SO easy to do. Before I had those distributors I used Chrysler dual point distributors in my cars and they took some experience to get good with them. My opinion- there's no reason NOT to use electronic ignitions now.
what a cool old car,tinkering with ignition on my old 67 GTA Fairlane down here in New Zealand,good vid,well done
Great job making it look easy lol most younger guys don't know what points look like have a safe day🙂
Thanks i never even knew how to do dwell hook up...now i know and i know it is a way to fine tune the point gap.
this video have a (good) point(s) 😁 memories go back to the time when I was your age, struggling and trying to learn how things work. this was long before the time of the internet, so then one had to learn this through acquaintance and literature. has fortunately become much easier and learning and not least and sharing knowledge so that learning can be shared with others. continue with these videos. both educational and entertaining. and not least that these classic vehicles are taken care of and used for what they were intended for. well worked young man
Uncle Tony I'm sure is proud of this video, good job.
Best video yet! Great job! Wish I could find a 4bbl. for my 318 Poly. I have a '65 W200.
Very good explanation of how too and why. 👍👍👍👍👍😉
My old timer tips : only work on distributors on a table with a towel on it; Why ? the towel will keep screws from RUNNING AWAY from you because of gravity and wind! When installing, put the tip of your flat bladed screwdriver on a magnet for a moment then out the screwhead and move all of this to the spot where the screw goes in. This saves a lot of aggravation ! BTW I learned all this when your car was NEW !
suggestion Austin, you may have beat me to the punch on this but ,its good to keep a extra condeser in the glove box and i would find a couple spare nuts as well
Great video!! Looking forward to see what you guys get into 🤘🏼🔧
Great video. Appreciate the insights. Very nice car!
This car with it poly engine is awesome. I think it would be cool to make this car a mid 15 second reliable daily driver. Some may say why 15 why not 14 13 or 12? Mid fifteens can be done without sacrificing any reliability and using many OEM parts. Mid 15s would be punchy gutsy and really add to the driving enjoyment. Hey mid/late 80s five liter mustangs ran in the 15s. But it's easy for me to suggest things that cost$$$....But Weiand has a dual 4bbl intake manifold for the poly. And you now know how to port cylinder heads......318 poly can be stroked to a 390 as well.......Jus sayin. Love the new channel.
Have you ever tried spinning the distributor with a drill in the vise and setting the dwell that way? surely would be a lot easier than starting and stopping the engine a bunch of times, especially if the distributor was already out. On my Ford I use a remote starter switch and a screwdriver to set the dwell while watching the dwell meter. I absolutely hate using the feeler gauge lol.
They used to make a little spring loaded points screw screwdriver, it actually looks like a ball point pen, that's what I use.
If your screw driver is heavily magnetized you can deliver the screw directly to the hole, however threading it is still about half as hard as dropping it in. I used to have a screw driver that had two tabs that could hold screws someplace.
Just thought of something you can remove the plugs and rotor button hookup dwell meter spin engine with starter your meter needle will hover over dwell setting move points while spinning engine you can lock right in on proper dwell angle the first time...hope this helps.
Hey, just wanted to say your videos are awesome, and I love watching. Id love to see a video on your F150 sometime, if you guys get around to it. Thanks again
I'm currently working on the front end of my engine right now, but one of the things I definitely plan on doing is upgrading to Chrysler electronic ignition - points are easy, but I like technology. So much easier when all you need is a plug and play test tool for your ECM!
and I on the other hand will never go to electronic ignition after breaking down in the desert of yuma arizona with a 450 dollar tow bill,the magnetic pickup in my car fried,and i coasted over to the side of the road in 105 degree weather with all of the rattlesnakes i could hear,technology is not the best right out of the box,no thanks and no thanks,point ignition has made cars run down the road for a 100 years,that is a track record of track records,with two sets of points and 4 condensors in the glove box and two coils in the trunk,i'm not walking again,and i'm glad you like technology,one of them tow bills are make your day,happy motoring
THIS VIDEO TOOK 15 HOURS TO UPLOAD.
You asked for a better way to deal with the tiny screws in a distributer. I have a set of tweezers in my tool box and that helps me put the screw in the hole with the slotted end up. I can't tell you how many times I've gotten the screw in the hole upside down which doesn't do a bit of good. I change my points with the distributor installed in the car. However, I would recommend using ordinary white school chalk to make a temporary mark indicating the position of the distributor instead of a black Sharpie. This way you won't be confused by all of the previous marks (the chalk easily wipes away) and the white is easier to see. Finally, I wipe the timing mark on the balancer and the degree tab on the timing chain cover with the white chalk which is illuminated very well by the timing light.
Take your strait edge screw driver while the engine is running and rub the tip back and forth over the rear bearing cap on the alternator ! it will cause the screw driver tip to be magnetized even after removal of screw driver. Also to check to see if your electrical system is charging touch the same rear bearing cap on alternator . if it has a good magnetic stick its charging . if barely has or no magnetic stick its not charging . dont forget to put a little bit of lube on the inside of the tubular hinge of the points since it moves back and forth . 😎💪🏁✌
They make flat blade screwdrivers wit a spring loaded cam in the middle of the blade that twists to hold the slot. Magnetic works almost as well. Jaws outside the screw don't always fit in small spaces like points.
Put a magnet on the end of the screw driver so you can keep the screw on the end for easier insertion.
Get yourself a set of holding screwdrivers it will be the best gift you ever get yourself.
Good content great information
Really good video and information. Good job.
As Denis said I would use a magnetic screw driver to place the screw.
For the screws that hold down the points and to make it go in easier, switch to a Philips head screw and uses a screwdriver that has been magnetized.
tony might have one and knows how to use it---good luck
good job very informative
lol, Uncle Tony has taught you well.
I learned this before I met Tony. I owned this car for three years before we met.
I like to get a pack of aluminum baking pans for catch alls. When they get grungy I toss them in the trash.
If your old car is running you are not an idiot. LOL
THEY MAKE SPECIAL SCREWDRIVERS THAT HAVE CLAWS AT THE END THAT HOLD SMALL SCREWS ....I THINK THAT THEY ARE CALLED HOLD E-Z .
you can get magnetic screw drivers i also have some old school spring loaded screw driver tool that has a magnet on the other end, I don't know if you can even get those any more. Tony should know what I'm talking about even other old timers who have been around since the 60's and 70's.
Awesome job!!
I JUST REMEMBERED A TRICK FOR SMALL SCREW'S . PUT A SMALL PIECE OF RUBBER HOSE ON THE END OF THE SCREWDRIVER THEN PUSH THE SCREW INSIDE OF THE RUBBER PIECE OF HOSE AND IT HOLDS IT JUST FINE .....PLUS IT'S NEXT TO FREE .👍💲👍💲👍
Hi I’ve just a dwell meter of eBay but with no instructions, I’ve just about worked out what’s what but could you please explain the bottom part that says points, it’s this for the condenser , and how to use it for testing the points, I ask this question because I’ve just fitted a brand new old stock ( made in 1975 lucas distributor which came with points etc fitted I just took everything apart to remove protective oil’s setting it up and working great but the test tune up gage shows the points in the bad area and not the good??
I am happy so see an actual tech video for the channel, although I have been enjoying the Tom Foolery with salad. I will be using points for my supercharged mini bike project at #nonamenationals. I hope to make that video in a couple weeks. I could really use support for my channel, so if that sounds interesting, please check me out.
By the way the Mallory hp points not only have a heavier spring the contacts have a harder alloy also the condenser is matched to the coil impedance depending apon what contact the arc is building up on will tell you if your condenser is to big or to small. Also contacts of points should close flat and square for best points life always put a dab of grease on the rubbing block some old distributors had a lube wick. To put that screw in EASYIER.( USE A SCREW HOLDING screwdriver)
I have great results using a dab of hot melt glue on the tip of the screwdriver.
Use pine sap on the screw driver tip
great video
great job!
You should pickup one of those magnet bowls when you get the chance so you don't lose your nuts😁
Good video
like your style and I actually made it through what can be considered a very long YT video to see how you set the dwell. Unfortunately, in the end you didn't actually show how you set the dwell angle. You just showed the meter display incorrectly before.. cut.. and then after.. "fixed!" What did you do the do the points when you were off screen? I have never set the dwell (why I am watching this video) so I have no clue what you changed on the points that made it lower the angle.. also, where did you put the piece of card stock? Again, I dig your video style but it's a swing a miss for this video with me.
You put the card stock between the points, and this distributor's dwell angle is adjusted by an offset screw. Most are adjusted by a hold down and just sliding the point base around until the reading is correct. The way this one is adjusted is not typical for most distributors.
Use a magnetic screw driver dude, also have a little tray to put screws and nuts and washers and spacers etc
They make screwdrivers with a retainer on them just for holding small screws.
Could you use a magnetic screwdriver?
excellent
put a magnet on your screw driver for some time for the screw to stick to screwdriver, or they make a screwdriver that grips the screw.
should your alternator be so floppy?
I’ve tightened it so many times thinking the same thing and that’s just apparently what it does lol
@@DaddysMoneyGarage one of those qwirks ya got to love i guess.. keep up what your doing so far so good!
Or pipe resin
use a magnetic expanding screw driver
Use a screwdriver with a magnetic end. Is what I always do. There cheap
Hay guy,get a screw starter,make life much easier for these occassions
wow! i can hear you, little tony lip flapper!
Austin, you didn't use your remote starter.
I don’t use it for this. In order for it to start the car the key has to be on and I don’t want to chance the coil overheating and exploding lol. So I just do it the hard way.
Hay guy,life to sort to waste time.Get a remote start button.Hold button and adjust points while engine cranks,done.
magnetic screwdriver
Man. I'm not against points. But you shoulda threw that in jyj for a distributor and went hei. So nice to put 3k+ miles on a car and not have to deal with this points bs. Adjusting replacing pulling the distributor. Timing it Everytime. That crap just gets old. Same with a solid cam. ( But some like em). So not.saying they are crap. I like them in a 1/4 mile only myself.
The Jet has the same distributor lol
Put the screw in the points before you put the points in....
People who lived during the time of points ignition were forced to understand their engines.
Except for us, lanemen, you didn't show us how to actually set the point.