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Hey everybody. Well, I put the new coil in and re-gapped the points. My manual indicated .020, no ignition. Brought it down to .015, no dice. Went even further to .010, now I have ignition. She runs stronger now than before, but I can't figure out why the gap has to be so narrow. I'm thinking that maybe my capacitor/condensor is a little weak, so I'm going to get a new points set.

I'd be wondering about the condition of the points. If there is a buildup on one side and corresponding pit on the other, then the gap you think you're setting would in reality be false as the buildup would be distorting the measurement. Those conditions could be caused by a bad condenser.

I agree with hh56,I bet your points are burned.Yes caused by the condenser.Often the points LOOK good till you take them out only to find a pit big enough to hide a mack truck between the contacts.Badly pitted points could cause poor performance too. Brian

Hi All! I finally found some point sets for my '53. Put a new set in today and WOW what a difference! Usually, when the weather is cold or I haven't started her up for a few days, it takes me 15 minutes or so and quite a few shots of starting fluid to get her going. Put in the new points and BAM, started right up. Talk about a great feeling! Does anybody have the correct part number for the condensor replacement? Since I've gone this far.... Thanks!

Ok, so I looked in the manual section and narrowed it down some. Where do I find the number of my distributor? There are several different numbers listed. Is it inside the distributor somewhere?

Metal tag riveted to the exterior of the housing.

The way we learned in high school auto shop to test a condensor (but let's be serious, why bother testing them, they are so cheap, just toss it and replace every 10,000 miles or so along with the points) was as follows.

Make a 110 volt continuity tester using a light bulb as resistance and an indicator and a pair of test leads in series with the bulb; momentarily touch the case and the pigtail of the condensor at the same time. Then toss it to some unsuspecting soul who will catch it in his bare hand. If he yelps and drops it like a hot potato, then the condensor was OK.

Seriously Scottie, your quandry about holding a proper point gap may be indicating work distributor shaft bushings, irregularly worn cam (uncommon), or wear between the cam and the post the shaft beneath - this most commonly results from inadequate oiling of the felt wick below the rotor.

My car is running great now. I was just curious as to condensor replacement for the future. I found a couple this morning at an out of the way parts store. As to the points, I found a guy on ebay that sold me five sets. Nothing quite like planning ahead!

Scottie, though there are are minor, let's say trivial, differences in capacitance of condensors, for the most part the car doesn't care if they are for 6 volt, 12 volt, 4, 6 or 8 cylinder - normally just get one whose pigtail is long enough to reach.

No reason to pay high prices or get old and perhaps questionable merchandise from eBay for points, condensors, caps, rotors and the like, they are all very much still in manufacture by or for NAPA (Echlin) and for sale at normal auto parts stores. Non-Napa stores usually stock another brand. Rarely in stock, you'll have to wait a day for them. You'll want to know the current numbers for the parts to save you from lazy countermen and hopefully someone will come along and post them. If not, tell me if your distributor is Auto-Lite or Delco and I'll advise.

Hi Owen. My setup is Delco. I believe the number is 394153. Please advise if this is wrong. Thanks again,

Scott