Replacement point sets
 

I'd like to use the stock points distributor but have concerns about replacement parts quality.

Are aftermarket points and condensor sets as dependable as the originals were???? I like points for their simplicity and ease of diagnosing, as well as the cost of 'fixing' ignition problems. You used to be able to spend less than $5 on replacing cap, rotor, points, and condensor. It was cheap enough to just 'throw parts' at the problem if you couldn't figure it out. But it was pretty easy to tell when your points, coil, or cap were bad, leaving the condensor as a maybe..

Even if it is now $15 or $20 for the set, it is still cheaper than HEI even if you know for sure where the problem is in case of a no spark issue.

After Several Failures on my 78 Trans Am HEI Ignition, I will never run HEI parts again.

The ignitions I plan to use are either basic points/condenser or a "Potted" MSD-6 Ignition Box with RPM capability and a simple magnetic trigger wheel in the distributor. I have tried to stock up on the older good Delco points and Condenser sets when I can find them.

Tom V.

Accel still makes good points

Napa still sells decent points but they have changed somethings around a bit.
Used to be their CS-89 points were fairly stiff and a substitute for the Delco 112P points.

The last sets I bought from Napa were a month and a half ago and I bought 6. They worked fine for the folks I bought them for, but I noticed they have come off the spring tension a skosh from what they used to be. They are fine for street use at least the 6 I got were and all were consistent. Very sturdy construction and screw terminals.

I'd have no reservations sending you in for a couple sets. That is at least as long as something drastic hasn't changed in the last month and a half.

As always.... look em over pretty good and you be my eyes and judge if they look of good quality to you.
If so buy em.

The standard sets are all over the map.
Get the CS-89's

The NAPA CS-89's are still high quality from what I have seen. Work fine in the few cars I have installed them in the last few years up to 5500-5700 RPM. Now that Mr. Gasket is bankrupt, and all their various components have been sold off, Holley owns Accel. Accel points were really nice and had a stiff spring, but not sure about availability now that Holley seems to own the entire ignition world. Holley owns MSD, Mallory, Accel, and Jacobs, possibly others.

Concider this with failures of electronics and the semiconductors they are made of, every 20 degree reduction of temperature they are used at will double there life !

This is why Ford put modules on the outside, not the inside of there Distributiors!

I've been using the "uni-set" points from NAPA in the points distributors we restore here for quite a few years now, zero issues with them. These are the type with the condenser attached to the points set. I recommend buying two sets, install one, set the dwell, then remove it and put it in a zip-lock bag in the glove box. Install the second set, set dwell, time the engine and you're good to go. If anything happens to the installed set, with a flat blade screwdriver and a couple of minutes you are back on the road......Cliff

Excellent suggestion and as was said, a very valuable "back-up" plan for a point ignition issue, and the point set has been proven to work before the re-install on the vehicle.

Tom V.

Thanks for all the help. Now I feel confident using the points distributor. I feel like this is both saving money and keeping things simple.

The only thing I don't like about the uni-set of points/condenser is you can't adjust them very easy with a feeler gauge. You have to eyeball them initially, then adjust the dwell. Maybe Cliff has a trick for that he can mention.

Yes, I've set up so many of them I can "smell" them and hit them right on the money!.....LOL

Seriously, with some practice you can look in there and "eye-ball" them to get you close enough so it will run fine. Soon as you fire it up adjust the dwell, set the timing and good to go. Keep in mind that dwell will change some when you hit higher rpms and take a little timing out as well. It's really not a negative at all as taking a few degrees out on top end can and often will improve ET and MPH just a tad......Cliff

Just to throw in a slightly different experience, back in the old days I ran nothing but all Accel ignition parts in all our race & street Pontiacs, and used points type dist only. Hey, the HEI wasn't even in use yet, when I started racing, in '73.

I bought the racing points, 32oz spring ???, tho I probably didn't need 'em on most of my 455's.. Only had 1 single failure. One set of the points would not fire at all. I examined them closely & could not see anything wrong with 'em. Even tried 'em in other dist. They just simply would not fire. Have no idea why.


We also had point's type dist in all the milk trucks in my dad's business. We bought NAPA parts for them. They worked just fine. But, I always carried along extra ignition parts in every truck. Had to use some of the extra parts, thru the years, in order to make it home with the truck.


Since Cliff mentioned the "uni-set" points/cond combo, I'll add this. I HATED THOSE. Every time I got another vehicle which had those, one of the first things I'd do is throw those in the trash & replace with separate points & cond. Then point's are much easier to set, by just being able to see the gap. After you set quite a few, measuring the gap, you can guess at the gap & get it close enuff to run just fine, especially on a low performance vehicle, like a milk truck engine.

I eventually figured out it was a waste of money to change the cond every time I changed points. After I quit adding a new cond each time, I never had a cond failure on anything--race or street. This may be different from others' experiences, but that's how I remember mine. I haven't bought any Accel points in a long time. So, I have no idea of their current quality. And I haven't used a points type dist since around 2003 or so, in our last sbc powered milk truck.

I've put over 300,000 miles on GTO's with nothing but original points distributors and have had zero ignition issues in the past 40+ years of operation. I tend to favor original AC Delco points, bought on line when I can find them. A set will run for 15,000 miles or more. The 106 are the standard, the 107 is the uni-set, and the 112P is the stiff spring, originally meant for the Z-28. No need to run the 112's on a stock Poncho. I've run the 106's way past the redline without ignition breakdown. Congrats on going with points....most folks these days don't understand them, and assume they are unreliable and a weak link in the ignition system. The opposite is true. I've seen many, many more failures with HEI than I ever have with points, and this is from a guy who tuned cars for a living from 1981 to present. That's a LOT of cars.

Just read ponyaker's post: I used to run into issues myself sometimes with the Uniset when the condenser would become loose where it screwed to the points assembly. For that reason, I run a separate points and condenser in all my old cars.

If the points are not pitting, no reason to replace the condenser. "New" does not mean "good". I replaced a set once, and the car ran like crap, replaced the new condenser with the old one, ran fine.

What I've always liked about points is, although they might wear, they might go out of adjustment, they might pit .... they almost, never, ever ... just plain fail and leave you stranded. And the ability of have a replacement ignition system in your glove box for $10 is pretty handy.

What makes the uni-set a good move is that you only need to mess with two screws to replace the entire set. The condenser screw can be a real PITA laying over a fender with a flash light in the middle of the night.

Points go bad more than condensers, but I have seen a handful of condensers fail over the years, so it is usually best to replace both during a "tune-up".

With that said and it was mentioned above, "new" doesn't mean better, and some of those parts that are currently available aren't that great. I don't have the part number for the NAPA uni-set available at the moment, but it is a very, very well made part, not "cheesy" like some of the ones we seen over the years. Been using them for quite a few years now and so far they haven't started supplying a low quality offshore supplement, but that is likely going to be the case at some point, pretty much like everything else associated with buying parts for this hobby........Cliff

Oh well, my experiences are somewhat opposite. In post 7, Steve mentions about fords "better idea " of installing the module outside the distributor away from heat of engine, and GM putting it inside the distributor. When I sold auto parts from 1985-1998 I have no doubt I sold way more ford modules than GM. I recognized it even back then, didn't make any sense at all. I've never had a GM module fail on me. Who knows..

Many customers back then specifically asked for their points and condensers, seperate. The reason was the uniset points did not last as long.

I don't mind GM points, being able to final adjust them with an Allen wrench. Although beware, my buddy bought a cheap set from Horeillys in 2011 for his 72 GTO. I struggled greatly with the deal. Number one, the last time I installed points, I did not have bi-focals. Number two the hex in the Borg Warner point set was NOT the same as the standard size of years by gone, I believe it was metric!!!. I pulled the distributor out of the engine, threw that point set across the street, installed a new set my buddy scrounged for, and all was well.

Crazy thing about this GTO is, it came with that special ignition setup from the factory, my buddy sent off for the PHS stuff. There is a story behind this car and my buddy. I need to tell....

I sold the called Standard Ignition mostly in those days. Many here say they were nothing special, performance wise (even their heavier duty line called Blue Streak). But many customers preferred them because of their life cycle, in normal driving.k

Well here's the deal with all that.

First, back a long time ago.... Delco any kind of points were semi adjusted to where if somebody hadn't been goofing with them already, you could pull them from the foil wrapped box and put them in a fire the car.

That's no joke. Now don't think they were all adjusted to 29 degrees of dwell on every set but they were within spec enough you could start a car and somewhat drive it if needed. I still am using these sets as I still have a fairly healthy supply still.

Didn't matter whether it was separate points n condensers or uniset. No difference.

The Uniset was never intended to be a performance oriented set of points anyway. It had a specific use, and purpose and it worked for that useage.

I hate coming behind someone who had a uniset and the guy wants the separate pieces installed back.... now you can acquire, buy, borrow, or beg the hold down bracket for the condenser that everyone pitched years back. Not too easy to find these days when you need one like right this minute.

You can set dwell on a separate set just the same and put it in glovebox as you would the uniset, no worries.

GM did have a little trouble out of the uniset for a brief period of time, but they quickly worked it out.
For their intended purpose...driving; normally, they were acceptable. Performance.... not really. But as with everything there are exceptions.

Honestly I'm surprised you can get points at all these days anymore.