a Pertronix is only about $100 or so, and doesn't require any other change to your distributor, and looks completely stock after installation, and is reversible if you ever want to go for "museum quality" for Pebble Beach some day (by the way, most museums run Pertronix these days on their cars that get driven).

Points and condenser should be changed every 6 months. Maybe 12 months on an infrequently driven car. The condenser goes bad and the points quickly follow. And without lube on the cam, the follower will quickly wear down to nothing, as you have seen.

Ignition problems have been the cause of more "carburettor problems"! Ditch the points and join the 20th century.

That being said, some have had trouble with electronic systems letting them down. When points fail it is gradual, and there are "limp home" tricks possible. But when an electronic system goes bad (usually the transistor fails), you are in "walk home mode" unless you brought a back up system.

Most of us have run electronic, also called "pointless" systems for years and years with no issues. Some have had something wrong with their car that caused the failure (wrong coil, leaving the ignition in the "on" position while the engine was not running (some early Pertronix would overheat and fail in this case), and things like that).

In any case, 2 years is a long time for points and condenser to run, so what you are reporting is just normal wear.

Norm

Yeah that was my take on it too.
Shortly after that episode I said #### the points, and fitted a Pertronix. Ran that for years, worn dizzy bearing and all- no problems.
I have since fitted a Pulsar dizzy because their bearings are a much better fit- compared to the Lucas/Pertronix I now have NO spark scatter. (The timing belt kit helps this too.)

I also now have a new Pertronix II Flamethrower dizzy and coil, when the car is back on the road after paint job I'll do a dyno comparo with it and the Pulsar.

Kevin G

Yes - points are OK but progress is progress... which is why I went with an Aldon Yellow, Piranha trigger unit and a Fraud Vac advance on my S. Actually the main reason to change was really bad wear in the shaft/bearing. On the way to a fix I bought what was alleged to be the last genuine Lucas shaft bearing in captivity. Some 25 years later I still have it somewhere - still swimming in the engine oil it was supposed to soaked in before installation.

Grease on the lobes is generally recommended in point fitting instructions. Ancient history

The main problem is still getting the right springs - guess that why people buy 123s...

Cheers, Ian

PS I wonder if your weird experience was caused by cam (not points) bounce. At those revs the cam lobe may have flicked the points open causing the coil to fire ????

Ian, I've not used points for years either, all my current Minis run a modified Nissan Pulsar electronic dizzy.
However-
Back in history when I ran Lucas dizzies with points, I found the biggest cause of them closing up was lack of lube on the cam face. Run dry, the nylon heel block of the points arm wears at an alarming rate.
It is important to clean the cam when fitting new points, and smear a little bit of Castrol HMP grease (or equivalent) on it.

When the points gap approaches zero, really weird things can happen. Once when this occurred in my S, the motor would just not idle or run properly below 4000 rpm, but from 4000-7500 it was fine...

Kevin G

Cupcake pretty well covered it. "I was shocked to see that the gap I set two years ago was GONE" Two years was a pretty good run IMHO. Not that I have used points for years - the 70s Piranha IR trigger is still going fine....

But, if I did have points, I would think 2 years between maintenance episodes is pretty much OK. As the points operate there is an induced ..reflected?? (I'm not an electrician) current that flows back through the points as they close. This transfers material from one point to the other. If you look carefully you may see a pit (or pits) on one opening surface and a little spike on the other. Some points are made to have a sliding action so that they don't always come together at the same point to try to reduce this. A points file was a fine, small and thin file used to smooth the faces of the points. Never seen a burnisher but one might assume they were used to smooth the point faces once they been filed.... ??

The condensor is there to absorb the relected pulse and so reduce ponts damamge. If it dies I THINK?? you will know about it through rapid points wear. AFAIK you don't test condensors, they're mucho cheapo so you just get a new one (or ones becuase its not unknown for brand new ones to be dead) each time you replace the points..

A small gap, tended regularly is about all you can do to enhance performance. The points will close up gradually as the plastic opening lobe wears on the metal shaft. The points only have to open to break the electric circuit; once they've opened you want them closed again as soon as possible so the coil can begin re-charging.

The best mod IMHO is a vacuum advance. Unfortunately the S dizzie doesn't have the required hole in its side but you might be able to get a second hand body and fit your springs and weights. The vac unit won't alter the "performance" but will improve fual consumption (on a road car) out of sight. My mileage went up by around 30% !!

Cheers, Ian

Don't get me wrong, the car runs fine. I was shocked to see that the gap I set two years ago was GONE when I got in there two days ago. I must have been down to .001". I really don't have $500 to spend on a dizzy when this one works. I would like to keep it original too.

Somebody out there must have more info. Just curious what the optimum settings are for performance.

Mark Looman, Ada Michigan 1967 Austin Cooper S

buy a pertronix.

Dean



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while you can get your points set up and your dizzy working fine, you will eventually need to reset or change them eventually. you could also get an electronic ignition kit and forget about it.

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At $10 it is not worth re-furbishing points in the first place. I understand there is a coating on the points that filing removes. The coil charges up when the points are closed. The longer they are closed the higher the charge, so in theory he smaller the point gap the better. On a race car that revs high and needs all the coil charging time (dwell) you can get you would find a smaller than normal gap, indeed just enough gap to be able to start the motor. I think with a small gap though you get more arcing which erodes the surface faster. The condensor is to limit the amount of arcing. I would say the points would burn a hole through the surface if the condensor is bad.

I have the stock non vacuum dizzy in my 1275 S motor. I recently had a carburetion problem, and tried to fix it via the dizzy. In doing so, I found my gap at nearly zero, the contacts practically missing each other, and the wires screwed into the cap with rusty screws. All of this had NO impact on the car's performance. I filed the points, tried to align them better, and cleaned up the wires. (Also cleaned and gapped the plugs).

What impact does the proper gap and and surface of the points have on an engine's performance? What exactly is a "point file"? What is a "point burnisher"? How do you know if your condenser is bad? What does a "good" spark look like?

I have been experiencing poor mileage, and wondered if the above elements could cause it. I did just tune the carbs, which leaned them out considerably.

Mark Looman, Ada Michigan 1967 Austin Cooper S