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I recently bought my Cutlass S 350 2BBL. The maintenance has been very good for all of its life. In fact the condition of the car is great. The last owner wrote down every intervention he did on the car on a list that was in the glovebox.
Reading it, I see the last time points (and condenser) were changed was 12.500 miles ago. I checked the shop manual but there is no reference about when they should be changed and generally it varies from a car to another... On one of my old cars itīs adviceable changing them every 9.000 miles and on others I have heard points could do 25.000 miles.
Whatīs your experience about the durability of points on this car?
Thank you in advance,
Last edited by Sportcoupe; May 22, 2017 at 09:08 AM.
I basically pop the cap off and inspect the points, rotor, and inside of the cap every spring. If the parts are worn or corroded then I change as necessary. While I'm there I reset dwell and timing. I will inspect and regap the plugs and replace as necessary every 2 years.
X2 with Eric.....Any kind of pitting on either the points, cap or rotor should be replaced. When taking the distributor cap off, check the condition of the carbon center pin.
Typically, in the "old days," points would be replaced at a tune-up once a year, which is to say about every 10,000 miles.
As the others have said, you should inspect the points, and check and adjust the dwell angle, once a year.
Cheap points will have a much smaller rubbing block, which will wear much faster, and which will cause the dwell angle to change, so it's best to buy the best points you can - if buying new points, that pretty much means Standard Blue-Streak.
Thank you for your info, guys. I see durability depends on the points quality, good or bad adjustment and other factors -Thatīs probably the reason why the manual doesnīt mark a mileage-, so I will have to check them and take a close look after 12.500 miles of faithful service. 10.000 miles at least is a good reference to confirm itīs time to check this tiny but important part.
If you are going to run points it is probably not a bad idea to get you an ignition file and run through the points on your annual inspection to remove any possible pitting and then reset the dwell. You don't want to file the points down but do just enough to remove any pitting.
The Corvette guys have the good point and cond sets. Start with Corvette Central. They supply most of the other reproduction vette supply vendors. This is also a great place to source other A body parts which were similar to vettes. They have high end (read USA made) hardware with all of the correct factory markings and most importantly Rockwell ratings.
If you are going to run points it is probably not a bad idea to get you an ignition file and run through the points on your annual inspection to remove any possible pitting and then reset the dwell. You don't want to file the points down but do just enough to remove any pitting.
Thanks for the tip, redoldsman. If I see the points are still useable Iīll do it to extend their life some more miles
The Corvette guys have the good point and cond sets. Start with Corvette Central. They supply most of the other reproduction vette supply vendors. This is also a great place to source other A body parts which were similar to vettes. They have high end (read USA made) hardware with all of the correct factory markings and most importantly Rockwell ratings.
Thanx for the info, droldsmorland. I didnīt know the rocket 350 shares points with the vette engines but when I checked images of these points I can see they are the same... I already knew the 350 shared points with cadillac engines, as they are the same as the ones used by my caddy. Iīm realizing itīs great having several GM classics of similar years... Oil filter is also the same as the cadillac one, and 2 years ago I bought 5 of them.
BTW, I had already bought an AC Delco point set and a condenser from rockauto. I wanted to be prepared if I donīt like what I see when I open the distributor. I think itīs a good make but those sold in Corvette Central must be better as you advise. Points are Mexican and condenser made in Taiwan... At least they arenīt Chinese
Last edited by Sportcoupe; May 23, 2017 at 03:23 PM.
You don't want anything offshore (offshore to us in the USA that is) installed in your car unless you like tossing time and money out the window and enjoy being stranded. The point set in your car is the same architecture as the Corvette set of the same year. GM used the same points and cond sets for many years. The vette set is of better quality. Better bumper better spring to prevent high RPM point bounce. The points need to be very clean. Any oil residue or metal filings will cause peaks n valleys...pitting. The feeler gauge should be oil & burr free. Use contact cleaner on the points with a lint free rag and clean feeler gauge too. Do a final cleaning before you put the cap back on. IMO once a file touches the contacts I consider the point set ready to replace. There is a micron-thin coating of tungsten on the contacts. Once that coating is gone wear is accelerated. Filing will get you home but you should replace asap.
you don't want anything offshore (offshore to us in the usa that is) installed in your car unless you like tossing time and money out the window and enjoy being stranded. The point set in your car is the same architecture as the corvette set of the same year. Gm used the same points and cond sets for many years. The vette set is of better quality. Better bumper better spring to prevent high rpm point bounce. The points need to be very clean. Any oil residue or metal filings will cause peaks n valleys...pitting. The feeler gauge should be oil & burr free. Use contact cleaner on the points with a lint free rag and clean feeler gauge too. Do a final cleaning before you put the cap back on. Imo once a file touches the contacts i consider the point set ready to replace. There is a micron-thin coating of tungsten on the contacts. Once that coating is gone wear is accelerated. Filing will get you home but you should replace asap.
Well, finally we opened the distributor in a friendīs garage, took a look at the points and it was clear that it was a good moment to replace them, as well as the condenser of course... Maybe they could have worked for 4000 more miles but as you well say itīs not worth to take the risk.
This is how they look:
The images speak for themselves... So when you have done more than 12.000 miles is a good time to change your points I think these ones were good quality (probably a cheap set would last less)... The new ones are AC Delco; I think they are not bad... For the next time I will consider looking for those used by the Corvette guys.
Thank you all for your advice and support!
Last edited by Sportcoupe; Jul 17, 2017 at 05:19 PM.
FYI, back in the 80s I used the 23 ounce Echlin brand street points from NAPA. I think back at that time they were made by Accel - they were very good points. There was a high performance set with 32 ounce springs, but since they were more expensive I did not buy those. When I changed points I took the spring off the old set and added it to the new set, doubling the springs. These were able to run up to 5800 RPM with no bounce, but it likely wore down the rubbing block faster. I worked at NAPA then so I could easily get new points whenever I wanted.
Good point, Fun71, I know how he feels,
I have a couple of points to raise, (pun intended ), A strong spring will wear the rubbing block more rapidly, it will put slightly more load on the distributor shaft as well.
If you only use the car occasionally the points can corrode and stop working, years ago I put new points in a car as part of a tune up. A few days later it ended up in a police pound for six months. When I went to collect it I had to put another set in before the engine would run.
Itīs interesting knowing there are also high performance points, though for my kind of driving with this car -mainly cruising and some acceleration from time to time- the regular ones will be ok... Just good quality of materials and manufacture. The ones you can see on the pics has a "S+" engraved on the bracket. Can anybody identify their make?... In Madrid there are three or four shops selling parts for American cars, although you have to order most of them for these old automobiles... We have also the Rockauto option. Most times itīs more economical and fast -even considering shipping cost!- and sometimes local shops also get wrong with the part for your specific car model. If you are going to order several parts Rockauto is no doubt the best option here.
Thatīs right, Roger, a long time stopped car may get its points damaged, especially in a humid climate like Britain. As I said before, my cadillac was in the open several years and other years stored in a humid warehouse and the original distributor had ground problems. Changing points and condenser was an adventure. Fortunately, a new distributor for these cars has very affordable prices nowadays.
My obsession is moving my cars at least once a month
Last edited by Sportcoupe; Jul 18, 2017 at 06:55 AM.
Yes, sirs... Standard Motors as you can see on the inside part of the frame (I didnīt know the meaning of the logo before):
Yes, they must be the regular type... Not bad quality, judging by the results
With new points, condenser and sparks... Dwell adjusted the car has gained some power and rear wheels spin in a sudden acceleration -Which hardly happened before, being the 250 HP config.-
Last edited by Sportcoupe; Jul 18, 2017 at 05:50 PM.
In the 60s and 70s I always used Standard Blue streak parts ignition parts, This was mostly in Fords and Mopars as I was not into GMs. Top quality. The Standard brand was their cheaper alternative, but good quality.
Prices vary on ebay for the kit or just the points, but I've always used the Accell 32oz. points. Even when I drag raced, I had no problems shifting at 6000rpm. Always check dist. shaft play when checking points. Good luck.
