356 running rough and eating ignition points

Posted by Steve On 2014/3/16 18:18:34

I have a '47 Custom and its 356 has been running rough. At first it was fuel related, so I replaced the fuel pump and carburetor. It ran much better and I drove it three weeks without incident, but it did not idle as smooth as it should. I replaced spark plugs (10 mm) then distributor cap, rotor and ignition points. My mechanic installed the ignition points for me, and I drove it the ten minutes home. Seemed fine. The next time I fired it up a few days later, it never did smooth out. We drove it a few miles and it ran worse and worse, til it nearly was convulsing. Then it stopped running completely.

When we got it home, we found that the points weren't sparking between them. There was a ground from each side of the points but no spark between, so I installed another set from Merrit. That set seems to be failing too after only a few miles of driving, as the car runs extremely rough.

Either I'm on a run of really poor luck on ignition points or something else is taking place. This is a rebuilt motor in a restored car that when running well performs beautifully.

Thoughts??

Thanks for your guidance-

Steve