should i do anything else with the ignition right now?

I have changed the points condenser, rotor, and the cap. The wires look fine, old but fine. I check a few plugs and the were nice and white new looking. They were all loose so i tightened them up. It seems to run fine, only a little miss at idle, you can hear a slight puff or somehting in the idle. That is the only oddity i see. It runs down the road fine pulls off fine. Should i just leave the plugs and wires alone for a while? Or go ahead and change them? One half of me says change them they are old and tired, and the other half says they are working fine run them till they give a problem or atleast another couple thousand miles. So what should i do or what would you do? Run them like they are? Or change them? Speaking of miss at idle could the wires or plugs cause this?

Later chris

 

wires or plugs could cause that. not too expensive to replace them and see if that solves the problem. could also need a tune up on the carb if it dosen't clear up.

 

Yes, you should ditch the "points" and convert to electronic ignition...

 

You can't judge the condition of wires by looking at them. if they are old, they probably need replaced anyway. Your "miss" could easily be caused by improper air/fuel mixture setting on the carburetor...

 

changes

Change the plugs and wires. Heat and age don't make them any better. Just as points get worn the minute you start the engine after a change out.

 

After it is dark outside start your engine, get out and lift the hood.
If you have a lightning display where your engine is then replace the wires and the plugs.

On second thought replace them without looking - Even if you don't notice the difference there will be one. Be sure to gap the new p[lugs - they don't come from the factory with the proper gap. Gap them just wide enough to make it idle smooth, about .030" should be good. I don't mind a little irregular miss at an idle so I gap mine at .028". That way it never misses a beat under full acceleration and the tuneup lasts a year to two years (easily 24000 miles) before the gap gets to .035".
Paul

 

All good advice, but would also take a compression check as long as you have the plugs out. Just for learning the condition of the engine, if nothing else. Wouldn't worry to much about the little pht-pht noise in the exhaust unless the engine is really running bad and hard to start etc. A weak valve spring or excessive carbon on the exhaust valve, will sometimes cause similiar noise. Drive's me crazy when they do that but if she is smooth at driving speed in my dailey driver's, and pulls ok at initial take off, just turn up the radio and motor on down the road.

 

keep us posted on the results.. i too have a slight miss at idle. been driving me nuts since i rebuilt the engine. and i DID convert to pertonix.

 

oh what a difference plugs and wires make!!! This cold snap was making the ide horribly rufffff!!! So i said screw it, and battled the cold. The plugs werent as hard as i feared. The plugs were of a brand i have never heard of "mighty". The gaps were all off. A few of them my round plug gapper wouldnt even fit in the gap,which would be less than .020. One was even closer than the rest, and then the others were all .020 or bigger, didnt really pay attention. The wires i didnt see much wrong with cept old. I went back with standard autolite 45's(i think) gapped at about .033, and autolite professional wires. Now it just purrs, well maybe not that smooth, but close. So lets see i have new points condenser rotor cap wires and plugs. Guess all i need now is a pertronix and maybe a tad hotter coil.. I hope i can now drive it a few weeks with out any more money input.. So thats the up date..

later!! chris

 

That's good news. Like I said, an air/fuel adjustment could possibly smooth the idle even more...

 

Excellent!

Keep us updated.
I love it when a member comes here and you can follow a car from miss/sputter to purrr.
I can feel your sense of accomplishment through the PC.

Dave

 

I tell ya, their aint nothin like drivin a 72 with a v-8 and three on the tree. Nothing else i have driven compares. I dont know what it is about this thing but it grows on ya. The breaks are sorting themselves out nicely, so right now i nothing else to fix! but i would say that wont last long. But i see why you all are so crazy about these things, they are just fun. Now all the v-8 needs is a different muffler so it at least sounds like a v-8... Thanks to everybody for the help this far, and i am sure i will be back with more.

later!! chris

 

Dual exhausts!...

 

(faints at the thought of people still running points..)

people rebuilt dizzy 50 bucks control box and wiring harness from the boneyard 50 bucks.. never having to adjust points again.. well you know

 

umm list of good reasons why electronic dizzys rule..

1. it's -35f in montana.. and your car has to start..
2 how often did you adjust points.. really be honest..
3 smooth idle and no fouled plugs
4 no maintinence.. as long as it's set correctly the dizzy never moves.. 99 times out of 99 times it's not the distributer, and more then likely unless it's dirty it's not the carb either.. different subject.
5 points bounce nuff said you get the idea go buy a box and harness out of a truck or something