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[Ralph Mowery]

In article <nv1ukv$mvn$1@remote5bge0.ripco.com>, bje@ripco.com says...

He never mentioned models and engine types but I just looked up a 1948
Pontiac Streamliner with a 3.9L (239 cid) L6...

condenser is $1.31 to $8.52
dist cap $8.72
rotor $3.12 to $4.78
points $9.64 to $12.29
ignition coil $10.11 to $14.56
spark plugs $1.10 to $1.90 each

I don't see wires listed for those in 1948 but, those are just wires.
Looking up a 1964 Buick Wildcat, 425cu 8cyl (at random), they have closeout
sets from $6.74 to high performance ones with ceramic boots, $73.89.

So maybe $50 was on the light side, so if I say under $100 make you feel
better?

Point is, it would be money more well spent just replacing all that compared
to doing whatever he wanted to do with the scope, which probably isn't going
to tell him anything.

I have not had a car with points in it in many years so may be way off
on the following.

Wasn't the usual thing to change out the points, condenser, plugs and a
few other things about every 10,000 miles or so back then ?

Seems to me that the 3 or 4 cars I owned with the old nonelectronics in
them needed to be worked on all most all the time.
I remember replacing a lot of plugs and some points, distributer caps
and wires. None of those had over 100,000 miles on them. Now lots of
cars go 100,000 without anything but oil changes and tires.

 

[Bruce Esquibel]

Ralph Mowery <rmowery28146@earthlink.net> wrote:

I have not had a car with points in it in many years so may be way off
on the following.

Wasn't the usual thing to change out the points, condenser, plugs and a
few other things about every 10,000 miles or so back then ?

Yes.

That's really the reason this bit about using some scope to monitor/examine
the ignition system is borderline silly. It wouldn't matter if that car was
some "barn find" where it's been under a bundle of hay for the past 50 years
or a daily driver that someone was using for weekend tours of the
countryside, those parts were part of the normal maintance schedule and
should be totally replaced on a regular basis.

It would be surprising that the engine shouldn't be rebuilt every 25,000
miles as well. Most pre-WW2 cars from the 20's and 30's barely made the
10,000-12,000 mile range before needing a rebuild. Most of those didn't have
oil filters, there used to be kits to use rolls of toilet paper as a
replaceable cartridge.

The post war ones were better but no where near todays standards. Even into
the early 60's, getting into the 50~60,000 mile range was "good". Getting up
to 100,000 without a major overhaul was exceptional.

Something from 1948, if all original, would be a miracle if all it really
needed was the ignition system replaced. It's cheap enough to do and see but
wouldn't suprise me if the rings were gone, crank out of tolerance or even a
lesser job of the cam lobes in the distributor were flat.

All the tech available today isn't going to change the need of getting your
hands greasy.

-bruce
bje@ripco.com

 

[Jon Elson]

Bruce Esquibel wrote:

Jon Elson <jmelson@wustl.edu> wrote:

Oh, wow, have you bought any car parts lately? A set of wires ONLY for a
4-
cylinder car can run $50 at the NAPA parts store. Parts for a 1948 car
are
likely to be VERY hard to find specialty items. IF J. C. Whitney doesn't
have them, you could be out of luck.

The guys at the local Auto Zone would not even know what the term "points
and condenser" means.

Yeah but if you expand your horizons a bit beyond NAPA and AutoZones,
there are places like Rockauto.com, which is probably 1 stop shopping for
it.

He never mentioned models and engine types but I just looked up a 1948
Pontiac Streamliner with a 3.9L (239 cid) L6...

condenser is $1.31 to $8.52
dist cap $8.72
rotor $3.12 to $4.78
points $9.64 to $12.29
ignition coil $10.11 to $14.56
spark plugs $1.10 to $1.90 each

I don't see wires listed for those in 1948 but, those are just wires.
Looking up a 1964 Buick Wildcat, 425cu 8cyl (at random), they have
closeout sets from $6.74 to high performance ones with ceramic boots,
$73.89.

WOW, this looks WAY better than any car parts I've bought in the last couple
decades! Maybe they have a bunch of stock left over from 1950 that they are
still selling a couple of per year. Ignition coils run $50, spark plugs are
about $10 each, etc. Haven't had any rotors, points or distributor caps in
some time.

I'd be real cautious driving anything made before 1960 or so, if you hit
anything the steering shaft goes through your chest.

Jon

 

[Bob Engelhardt]

On 10/30/2016 3:27 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
....

I'd be real cautious driving anything made before 1960 or so, if you hit
anything the steering shaft goes through your chest.

That's the 1948 version of a safety feature - it keeps you from driving
recklessly <G>.