I have no idea why anyone would want to fix one of these POS.

Replace it with something that is actually reliable and will not get you killed.

Just MHO.

Craig

the leather seal calls for "bendix vacuum cylinder oil".. i've heard i could use "mink oil" or "neatsfoot oil".. wadaya think?

Good question. First remember the distributor rotates at half-crankshaft speed, so only about 200+ rpm at idle. And indeed I guess it could affect idle but I think (and sometimes that's a mistake) that the weight has to move and put tension on the spring and anchor pin to do its job. One last point on routine distributor servicing that many folks miss - in addition to the grease cup or oiler on the shaft, the small felt beneath the rotor needs a few drops of oil - that's what lubricates the slip shaft to enable the centrigugal to work.

YES, Dyna-Flyte, noy Dyna-Plate -- thanks for jogging my memory. Maybe at this age I should be thrilled just to get it half-right. Our Hudson was a stock car set up for the 1/4 mile, a 54 Hornet cpe. Max rpm was about 4600 rpm, I don't recall the exact improvement with the dual points, but iy wasn't much.

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I understand that concept, but if one of the weights is loose because of a streched out spring wouldn't it cause some advance at idle?

I guess I'll bite the bullet and take it to a shop that has the proper equipment. I was hoping to just get it "close enough" with some stock replacement springs.

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Dave,

One thing I didn't mention in my original post is that the plate is marked "DYNA-FLYTE", so is this an aftermarket item? Because when Eric came up with the reference of "1947-52 Packards 2200,2300,200,250,300 w/dist #1110811&25" I didn't think further about that marking.

Since the centrifugal advance doesn't come into play at idle RPMs, it's wouldn't be responsible for idle issues, look elsewhere for that problem. However you'll want it to function properly for good road performance. There are literally thousands of springs for all the different advance curves on so many engines that, if you don't have a distributer test machine like a Sun, you could search and fiddle for a lifetime to get good results. Thus I'd say get a SUN machine and start making (and discarding) springs, or bite the bullet and go for a specialist.

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John,

You got me!

Only trouble was April Fools had already passed here because of the time difference,

Thank you all for the replys. Thanks Eric for linking the Ebay auction. I'll check them out. I am always pleasantly surprised at how gracious everyone is with there time and knowledge. This site is an amazing collective. thank you

Mal,

An ignition coil is an electro-magnet; an electro-magnet that induces its magnetic field into another set of windings to step up voltage, and reduce amperage. This process is known as mutual induction. An electro-magnet only takes a fraction of a second to energize, reaching full magnetic strength.

Where dual points came in is when performance V-8's began turning high RPM's say 5500 ? 6000 + revs. As RPM's increase, the time (dwell) for the coil to build full field (and best production of spark) is diminishing. As Owen said, the leading set of points breaks, collapsing the magnetic field, inducing the secondary windings transforming voltage amperage values and discharging. The trailing set of points are almost instantly closing to allow the primary coil to begin building the magnetic field, achieving full electro-magnetic saturation.

On a high RPM performance engine such as a V-8, maybe. On a 2600 rpm flat head 8, no. If the coil has time to fully saturate, there is no advantage.

I would investigate the availability of a pertronics electronic conversion (some PI Packard clubs offer as club projects for sale) because points made today are just not what they used to be. The rubbing blocks are not lasting so long, and the contacts don't seem to last so well. NOS sets do pop up on eBay from time to time.

Best of luck,
Jim