Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Yes, I forgot about that vintage of vacuum advance arrangement!

The vacuum and centrifugal advance specs may differ a bit different engine to engine but there's a lot of interchangeability on those distributors. Vacuum advance adjusted by adding/removing shims on the spring; centrifugal advance by changing springs on the weights.

These autolite points are proving hard to find! The points in the distributor now say echlin on them, but no part #. Napa and standard show no cross reference. I think maybe CS16 and CS17...$50 bucks and then some on ebay! Ouch! Cap was $25...plus shipping from the mfr so $35.

I want to use the autolite, i like it more and i have 2, so i can have a whole ready different ignition system in the trunk to drop in if there's issues, without having to take the wires of the cap at all.

I'll start checking kanter, etc. for the points, and i'll work with this set while i have it.

Mike, I have a box of 10 Autolite point sets for the IGT4102 Distributor on my 356 engine which is more than a lifetime supply for me at my age . I am now using a Delco from a later engine because I can't find a vacuum advance for the Autolite. I will gladly sell you a set or 2, at a price you will like, if they would fit your needs. Pm me if interested.

Gee, I get Auto-Lite points for postwar straight 8s from NAPA with regularity, though I seem to recall the old # was just superceeded. I'll get you the new number and ammend this later. Got a set last fall from NAPA, they were about $11. I think you might have gotten a counter man who "didn't want to bother".

More later, but better give me the distributor # or the year/model it came from.

Even on the chart up above you posted, it shows .... instead of a part number for a 53 6 volt auto-lite dist for contact assy and contact assy hd. I saw just points were CS16 and CS17 depending on year, but the napa site shows no match. They do match the CS777a for the delco though.

He did look for about 20 min, but we couldn't find anything that looked right. He had everything else in stock but the cap. He said dist number would tell him what distributors interchange, but not what's inside them that would. I don't know if that's true or not. He's not the lazy parts guy type though, although he knows nothing about Packards and ignitions this old. I showed him the echlin chart you posted above, on my smartphone and it matched his books chart that showed nothing.

The distributor in the car was from a 53 327 according to the seller. It looks exactly like, inside and out, the spare distributor i'm working on, that i'm missing the tag for so i put a new one on, pics below. The second one came with this 53 nine main 327. So i have to assume this is the right distributor for a 53 327.

I hooked that one, and my delco one, up to a 6v power source, one spark plug, the 6v coil from napa (the part number was the same as the one on the chart above) and turned it, both sparked no problem. I'm assuming the 12v coil i got from autozone isn't cutting it. I put the napa one in the car, and both coils spark, but not enough to run. I may be walking into a different issue here (fuel or choke or something) and i'm just focusing on ignition because i had my hands on it when it stopped starting within a couple cranks. I literally started the car, backed it out in the driveway, took the newer style wires off, hooked up the solid wires again, and it wouldn't run to get back in the garage. I did double check the wire firing order, it's all good.

Below is the distributor, and some top and side shots, and a shot of how my window surrounds came out after coming back from the pin striper!

If someone has a part# for me or some spare sets, i'd gladly by them just to not have to chase them down again in a few years

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On second look, for 40-54 IGP distributor (assuming that's what this is), the parts book that i think you said was standard ignition shows ...... under lubripoints too. The napa guy said that echlin and standard are the same company now, merged a few years ago? I'm assuming that means they would consolidate their offerings.

I see a note in my parts file that CS-17 was superceeded by AL 869. The particular distributor I was rebushing in this instance was an IGT-4203. If CS-17 contact set was correct for your distributor, then this current number should work. They differ a little from the OEM AL points in that they don't have the right-angle arm on the base for the eccentric screw head (a convenience for gapping), but they are a fully functional replacement.

As an aside and at the risk of being overly repetitious, just how long do we think NAPA/Standard will continue making voltage regulators, generator and starter brush and bearing sets, points, distributor caps, and the like for an ever-dwindling number of obsolete vehicles? I've said it, probably too often before, but if you have a car you intend to keep and enjoy for a while, anticipate your future needs and buy a stock of service parts now while you can get them so easily.

Owen. Your advice is not overly repetitious at all. It's one of the most important strategies that needs to be followed. The problem is that it tends to fall on deaf ears of the strictly enthusiast level collectors. The problem with enthusiast collectors is that they tend to be short timers in the hobby. Move on in a couple of years to some other hobby like stamp collecting, pet rock or beanie babies. So your advice needs to be repeated quite often.


Once an over-the-counter replacement part number has been found then one should be curious enuf to research the part number to determine what other production vehicles the part will also fit. Chances are if the part is used on some commercial or industrial vehicle then it will stay in production as long as such commercial or industrial vehicles are still in operation. Or more popular collector cars such as the much hated tri-5 chevies.

Mite not be available at auto parts stores but avaialability limited to the commercial or industrial vehicle dealers. However, the life of such commercial or industrial vehicles tends not to exceed the 50 year mark.

IIRC it is O'reillys auto parts web site that has a "what other vehicles does it fit" option to allow for cross referencing.

I definitely plan on buying a couple sets (as long as they're not $50 a piece!!) Any time i have something oddball (like my 4 speed chevy OD transmission or the ultramatic, this distributor, etc) i try to buy a whole spare unit. Takes up some space, but i'm sure it will pay off later.

I show AL869 as a condensor, it also shows as a condensor on the lookup chart above, am i using napas site wrong?

I'm not sure if i'm supposed to use CS16 or CS17 points with this, i'm going to keep googling and calling around and see if i can get a definitive answer. Also, MM seemed to have a good selection cheap, see if i can call them and see what they say.

Re your lubripoints, they were Standard's "premium" point set, oversized & ventilated points and a felt wick that continuously wet the cam as it rotated with a dielectric silicone lubricant. I believe only the "standard" points are still available.

I'll ask my friend who owned the car I rebuilt the IGT 4203 for about the AL 869 #, perhaps I jotted it down incorrectly, he typically keeps all the box end flaps with the numbers.