See the attached pic. I have a 1972 olds cutlass 350 2 barrel and want to know what these two boxes are exactly used for?

I will be upgrading to a 4 barrel intake and Holley vac sec carb and want to cleanup and remove all extra wiring and vacuum lines, as well as upgrade my ignition to an MSD vac dist, 7AL3 (have one laying around) red box, MSD coil etc...




Thanks

 

Voltage regulator on the left and the horn relay / junction block on the right.

 

The black one is your voltage regulator and the other is the horn relay I think. Although my 70 had the horn relay on the fender. Maybe a power window relay. Others will chime in soon.

 

Left, voltage regulator to your alternator. IN 1972, alternators were not regulated internally. They had an external very mechanical regultaor.

On the right, that is your junction as well as horn relay, when you beep, you should hear a click of some sorts.

Why are you upgrading your ignition, is there something wrong with your current one?

 

Damn, you guys beat me to it. lol

 

Why are there so many wires then and where do they all go?

 

Those wires are not "extra". Your car won't work without them.

 

Can you guys elaborate more. The horn relay is a horn relay so that will stay, but I see about a 1/2 dozen other wires hanging off of it. Also, I'll consider running an aftermarket alternator to remove the voltage regulator? I hate clutter

My plans are to run an MSD 7AL-3 Ignition system that came from my superstocker so I can eventually use my 3 step, PG w/transbrake.

I just don't remove something from either of these 2 boxes that will affect my lights or key ignition. Also, I'm just trying to clean up the engine compartment if I can.

Tony, the car in my sig will be a predominant bracket car next spring that will see some rides to the ice cream shop (but not too many). Not much for cruising, plus I have a ton of race parts laying around that I have spent thousands on over the years that I would like to use.

 

You can do a conversion. I have not done it so maybe others with experience in doing it can opine.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-1667

 

Go to wildaboutcars, sign up, and download the wiring diagram. Study it, learn where every wire goes. it will help you fix an emegency situation in the long run.

 

x2 on the wiring diagram, must have for an old car. It's also in the Chassis manual if you get a hard copy. Horn relay serves as a hub for much of the electrical in the car so not easy to eliminate. Condenser on the VR not needed if you get a modern solid state one which also fixed flickering lights in my car.