Is any company still selling dwell meters, preferably inexpensive ones?
Dwell meter
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There are a lot of multimeters with the dwell option. Here are some on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/dwell-meter/s?k=dwell+meter
Originally Posted by user52165
Why buy new when there are lots of high quality used available? Probably made in the USA. Sun, Snap On, etc. The're 45 years old and will last another 45 years. Check CL, etc.
Yup. What he said.
I still have mine, as I tore out the Pertronix and MSD spark box outta my old Vette and went back to points.
Why buy new when there are lots of high quality used available? Probably made in the USA. Sun, Snap On, etc. The're 45 years old and will last another 45 years. Check CL, etc.
Yup. What he said.
I still have mine, as I tore out the Pertronix and MSD spark box outta my old Vette and went back to points.
Years ago when I worked on many cars with points, I had 2 dwell meters. Then when I was not using them any more, I sold them. Since I started having classic cars, and I use points in them, I wanted another dwell meter. Found a nice one on a garage sale, asked the guy what he wanted for it, and he said $1.. I now have a dwell meter again.
My buddy kept asking for one when we rebuit a Buck V8 recently. Engine ran great, all you could ask for.
Set points to .016" gap on the GM V8 points type dist.
If the dist cam " bumps" dont show signs of wear ( rounded off) you are good to go with just setting point gap.
I only really needed my meter to indicate that the dist cam is shot.
example for GM V8:
if .016" gap doesn't return 30 deg dwell +/- 2 - it's time to get a new dist.
if the car is lazy with the right gap then the dist is likely worn ( all else working ).
Remember to use the correct ballast resistor or the resistance wire the ignition is designed for.
OTW you will be toasting points weekly
the full 12 -14V batt at the coil should only be there for starting - not for engine RUN.
- Ken NIASE Master from the way, way Past-er
Set points to .016" gap on the GM V8 points type dist.
If the dist cam " bumps" dont show signs of wear ( rounded off) you are good to go with just setting point gap.
I only really needed my meter to indicate that the dist cam is shot.
example for GM V8:
if .016" gap doesn't return 30 deg dwell +/- 2 - it's time to get a new dist.
if the car is lazy with the right gap then the dist is likely worn ( all else working ).
Remember to use the correct ballast resistor or the resistance wire the ignition is designed for.
OTW you will be toasting points weekly
the full 12 -14V batt at the coil should only be there for starting - not for engine RUN.
- Ken NIASE Master from the way, way Past-er
On my old vw's with points I have 2 Dwell meters but for accuracy I use my oscilloscope. It is always accurate. That 0.16 works but some of the new points and condensers are not as good as they used to be. Springs are not made as good and the condensers are pitiful.
On the old analog dwell meters you calibrated it by opening the points and setting the meter to full scale (45º on an eight cylinder). You then started the car and adjusted the points to the desired dwell (22.5º for example, which is a 50% duty cycle). A modern digital meter (as in the dwell function on a modern digital multimeter) is actually measuring duty cycle and converting that to dwell degrees. The big advantage the modern digital multimeter has is that variations in the coil voltage feed don't affect the reading. I tested my digital multimeter in the dwell function by feeding it a 50% duty cycle pulse and found the reading didn't vary with voltage.
as ARCO mentioned, with new points/rubbing block, the proper point gap establishes proper dwell.
the newer points materials last quite long. (15,000 miles, minimum) so by the time I swap a points set there's
zero need to reset gap & check dwell anyway. Just remember the grease lube on the rubbing block.
the newer points materials last quite long. (15,000 miles, minimum) so by the time I swap a points set there's
zero need to reset gap & check dwell anyway. Just remember the grease lube on the rubbing block.
This thread has succeeded in resurrecting buried memories of the distributor on my Fiat X 1/9.
Mid engine, transverse mounted. Distributor on the passenger side on the front of the engine.
It sloped toward the firewall and had an adjuster nut that was impossible to see.
The adjuster nut was too close to the distributor for a box end wrench and too close to the firewall for an open end wrench.
It was only accessible with my smallest adjustable wrench wide open.
Every distributor I worked on after that was an absolute delight......
Mid engine, transverse mounted. Distributor on the passenger side on the front of the engine.
It sloped toward the firewall and had an adjuster nut that was impossible to see.
The adjuster nut was too close to the distributor for a box end wrench and too close to the firewall for an open end wrench.
It was only accessible with my smallest adjustable wrench wide open.
Every distributor I worked on after that was an absolute delight......
Originally Posted by redbone3
The nicest distributors I ever dealt with were the Chevy V-8 ones. They had a little door you could adjust the points through.
All GM cars of the era had that. Every other design sucked compared to GM. (AC Delco)
The nicest distributors I ever dealt with were the Chevy V-8 ones. They had a little door you could adjust the points through.
All GM cars of the era had that. Every other design sucked compared to GM. (AC Delco)
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I have a Harbor Freight(Cen-tech?) DMM with both tach and dwell. The tach is via an inductive clip-on to the HT lead(similar to what you see on a timing light).
With that said, I prefer the old analog tach-dwells. Among other things, I find it easier to see the RPM "blip and settle" when the piston is lifted on a properly tuned SU. I had a nice old Sun that was in a toolbox that was stolen last year...I need to find another. The old tachs, of course, clip directly onto the LT side of the coil.
And, yes, I run points in both my MG and Marina. One of the things I may do in lock-down is clean up and rebuild(as best as I can) an old crusty Lucas 25D4 to fit to the Marina, as it has the correct but IMO inferior 45D4. The spare 25D4 I have is the good pre-smog MGB one, which has a much more pleasant for around town driving advance curve than the super aggressive late ones.
With that said, I prefer the old analog tach-dwells. Among other things, I find it easier to see the RPM "blip and settle" when the piston is lifted on a properly tuned SU. I had a nice old Sun that was in a toolbox that was stolen last year...I need to find another. The old tachs, of course, clip directly onto the LT side of the coil.
And, yes, I run points in both my MG and Marina. One of the things I may do in lock-down is clean up and rebuild(as best as I can) an old crusty Lucas 25D4 to fit to the Marina, as it has the correct but IMO inferior 45D4. The spare 25D4 I have is the good pre-smog MGB one, which has a much more pleasant for around town driving advance curve than the super aggressive late ones.
I have a couple of the old analog ones. I also have a newer multimeter that has the dwell function.
Originally Posted by user52165
Originally Posted by redbone3
The nicest distributors I ever dealt with were the Chevy V-8 ones. They had a little door you could adjust the points through.
All GM cars of the era had that. Every other design sucked compared to GM. (AC Delco)
Just to clarify your post, for people who never lived through that era, the V8 cars had the little window. The 6-cylinder and 4-cylinder cars of that era did not have that window.
Originally Posted by redbone3
The nicest distributors I ever dealt with were the Chevy V-8 ones. They had a little door you could adjust the points through.
All GM cars of the era had that. Every other design sucked compared to GM. (AC Delco)
Just to clarify your post, for people who never lived through that era, the V8 cars had the little window. The 6-cylinder and 4-cylinder cars of that era did not have that window.
Yeah, the GM V8s were easy. Just install the points (Unisyn was easiest of course), start the car and adjust dwell. 28 to 32 degrees. Easy peasy.
Parts stores carried at least 5 brands.
Parts stores carried at least 5 brands.
Originally Posted by Kruse
Originally Posted by user52165
Originally Posted by redbone3
The nicest distributors I ever dealt with were the Chevy V-8 ones. They had a little door you could adjust the points through.
All GM cars of the era had that. Every other design sucked compared to GM. (AC Delco)
Just to clarify your post, for people who never lived through that era, the V8 cars had the little window. The 6-cylinder and 4-cylinder cars of that era did not have that window.
Thanks for the info. I did points on some Fords and Plymouths but never did any GM cars othe than Chevy's.
Originally Posted by user52165
Originally Posted by redbone3
The nicest distributors I ever dealt with were the Chevy V-8 ones. They had a little door you could adjust the points through.
All GM cars of the era had that. Every other design sucked compared to GM. (AC Delco)
Just to clarify your post, for people who never lived through that era, the V8 cars had the little window. The 6-cylinder and 4-cylinder cars of that era did not have that window.
Thanks for the info. I did points on some Fords and Plymouths but never did any GM cars othe than Chevy's.
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
Yeah, the GM V8s were easy. Just install the points (Unisyn was easiest of course), start the car and adjust dwell. 28 to 32 degrees. Easy peasy.
Parts stores carried at least 5 brands.
AMC V8s also used the easily-adjustable GM distributor and points.
Yeah, the GM V8s were easy. Just install the points (Unisyn was easiest of course), start the car and adjust dwell. 28 to 32 degrees. Easy peasy.
Parts stores carried at least 5 brands.
AMC V8s also used the easily-adjustable GM distributor and points.
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