A free tip from a mechanic of 48 years. Look straight down at the distributor, see what side the vacuum advance is on. See witch way the vacuum advance pulls the breaker plate. Rotation is opposite of the way the breaker plate is pulled. I hope this helps someone. That was one of the first things I learned in Brooklyn Automotive High School.

I am surprised that the clamp works as a ground. It is totally isolated by the rubber hose it is clamped to. Great video as always!

Adam, It is so reassuring to see good old American tools used to maintain a good old American car. 😁

My dad used to set points and the carburetor by ear, then hook his snap on tools up to see how close he was. That was when I was still a little boy. These days you have to have a computer science degree to work on a car. My dad had a long flexible screw driver to adjust the points. He never reached all the way to the distributor to adjust the points. That would get his arms out of the way of the fan on Buicks. He used to adjust these things with the engine running.

I remember having to use a feeler gauge to set the points on my old 6 cyl. Rambler American.

My favorite part of owning an older vehicle is keeping them in tune, I find it satisfying. Setting points, timing and the carb mixture adjustment with a vacuum gauge always makes it perform better. Adam... not a big deal, but you installed your points access window in backwards.

Thank you Adam , for opening up the Quadrajet secondaries ......Priceless !!!!

Also, on many Fords of the distributor era, if you put a allen key in the vacuum advance port, you can adjust spring tension. This will adjust the amount of vacuum advance at part throttle. The tip off is the hex shape on the vacuum advance can Vs the dome of a GM car.

I hate to think about how many otherwise good classics were parked and decayed away, and all it needed was a tuneup. A few tools and a good tutorial can go a long way in keeping a classic on the road! It's good to see these being maintained the old fashioned way, and not just replacing everything with modern systems with underwhelming results... Youre a real car guy, Adam! Won't see too many owners of a Riviera doing their own work, then or now.

It’s been many, many decades since I last did that job. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

I think your Buick needs a new fan clutch! When you shut the engine off, the fan should stop within one or two revolutions. Yours kept spinning for a good while. That could cause overheating, or excessive hi side pressure in the A/C system.

Setting up points, timing, carburetors and whatever may seem difficult or confusing to some. But if you take the time to learn it properly. Your car will rarely break down. Maybe carry a few spare parts in the trunk or glove box. Compare this with modern vehicles. There's nothing you can set or adjust. And there are so many potential points of failure that you would have to pull a trailer with $10k worth of parts to make it. Then you would still need a $5k scan tool to diagnose the problem and possibly have to tow the vehicle to the dealership to have the computer programmed. Because some car companies don't sell their programming software to anyone but dealerships. This is why I want a classic car. I don't even care what it is. I just want something without a computer. I'll take HEI, but I'd rather have points.

Thanks for sharing, brings back (fond?) memories of my wrenching youth... Dwell meter is high-impedance device, so sketchy ground on hose clamp doesn't significantly affect it's readings. Also, the Riviera's fan clutch is toast! Even on the coldest days, it should never spin freely after engine shutdown. The bearings sounded like they're about to let go or lock up, as well. I was pleasantly surprised when purchasing a new water pump for 2.5l Jeep 4cyl, the better parts were offered as kits which included the fan clutch and mounting hardware. Love your cars and videos, thanks again!

I should send you the correct heater and radiator hose clamps for the Tornado I hate worm clamps lol Keep it up! Big fan

My dad taught me how to Set Points and Timing in the 60's when I was 12 or 13 years old. This brings back memories !!! Gracias Amigo !!!!

Nice change of pace video. I think a lot of this knowledge is slowly going away as people who never grew up with these older cars just don't have the experience to work on them. They are mechanically more simple than modern cars but if you grew up with fuel injected cars with coil on plug ignition then these older systems are kind of a mystery. Would love to see more basic maintenance videos of 60s and 70s era cars.

1969 Eldorado owner here Subbed Thank you Jf

Great change in content! Always appreciate the overall knowledge and evaluation of design, but this is pretty useful knowledge.

Adam, great "How To" video! I like to put blackboard chalk on the crankshaft dampener timing marks to make them easier to read when using a timing light to adjust timing. Yours in old FoMoCo iron, Adrian

I find doing this kind of work tremendously satisfying. I currently have no engines with points but I’m sure that’ll change again

Great skill lesson. My uncle was able to do this for his cars. I wish I had learned how.

Some tips from the old guy ... Correct - set dwell first. 1 degree of dwell will changing timing 2 degrees. When tuning Ford / Chrysler - if you take all the plugs out and spin the starter, you can get the dwell pretty close with the cap and rotor removed. Just lightly snug the breaker point mounting screws for adjusting. Use a flat blade screwdriver to move the base plate then tighten when done. Recheck. I use to shoot for 26 degrees cranking and typically got 28 degrees running. For timing, advance is against rotation. Also, you can think of the vacuum advance housing as pointing towards advance. I miss those days ... ~ David

I think a lot of people agree that when I say we lament older cars for their individual character, simplicity and reliability, we don't miss the maintenance and finicky aspects of the carbs, points, manual timing, multiple belts, and leaky cork gaskets.

I love your channel. But it's depressing. I can't afford a classic car. But at least I can see yours

I was a poor Army Private in 1973 trying to keep my commuter car running. Points needed adjustment or replacement just about every other oil change. What a pain in the butt. And I never figured out what is dwell or how to adjust it. After the Arab oil embargo the price of used muscle cars hit rock bottom. I paid $600 for a 1966 Chevrolet Impala SS with 427 four speed. Someone had previously modified it with dual point ignition. I was lost.

Setting GM point gap / dwell There is a procedure where you turn the screw until the engine shuts off, the the other way X of a turn. Basically, you turn the screw until the points are closed then a known amount ( based on thread pitch ) to get the proper gap / dwell. The sliding window can stay on the cap during adjustment. Also, the best tool to use is an allen on a flex shaft as this allows one to be away from obstructions.

Adam, this one brought back some memories. 😂

Points suck, and here is why. My first car was 1970 Buick Skylark with the 350. I pulled the heads and sent them out to get a valve job and to have hardened exhaust seats put in. I hot tanked the intake, rebuilt the carb, put on dual exhaust, I installed new points set the dwell perfectly, advanced the timing just under the point of of detonation, and I up graded the plugs, wires and coil. I spent hours tuning and tweaking that thing. It ran great, sounded great, and had excellent throttle response and could burn the tires for 50 yards no problem. It appeared to run perfect, then a friend convinced me to get an HEI distributor from a junk yard and put that in which I did and that car gained 50-60 more hp and could burn the tires for as long as I held the gas pedal down. Points suck because over time the 8 sided octagon lobe that the points ride on wears out, and the corners become rounded and it messes up everything dealing with the spark. New points don't fix it, and chances are you don't even know something is wrong until you replace the distributor and if your going to do that replace it with a junk yard HEI. I promise you will be amazed at the difference.

When replacing points remember to put a dab of cam lube on the distributor cam. Keeps the rubbing block on the point set from wearing too quickly. Forgot to do this once on a 69 Buick and it would barely run after 100 miles, rubbing block was wiped out and points not opening.

I have a dwell meter and a timing light. On many cars the points can't be set that way. When you can set them with a dwell meter, I first set them with a business card when I install them. I have found that 95% of the time that put them almost dead on. Then if necessary you can tweak them with a dwell meter. As for timing, I first check the timing and timing advance by the book with a timing light. But I have found that most older cars tend to need just a little more initial advance than what the book calls for with today's lousy excuse for gas. I run premium fuel with an octane booster in older cars. I have also used different brands of lead substitute.

Time 429 Buick That fan clutch looks to be failed, there is way too much spin down after the motor is shut off.

I still have the special box end wrenches that my Dad used on the distributors on our 65 LeSabre and Cutlass. I also have the Sears analyzer. The timing light walked off years ago. We did complete tune-ups ourselves.

I remember when guys including myself always carried a set of points and condenser along with the tools to change them in the glove box. Mine i kept in a zip lock bag and box to protect them. 15 minutes and your up and running again.

Back when you only needed a tool roll to work on your car. Now you need a garage full.....

The guy knows his cars👍🏻

Sound practical how to vid on cool ⛽️ rides …👊🏼

Just a small thing I'm sure I blocked the vacuum line with a golf tee.

Being a FoMoCo guy, I learned something new today. Thank you, Adam.

I just want to add that when you disconnect the vacuum hose from the advance diaphragm it is still connected to ported vacuum on the carburetor and should be plugged so you're not trying to set the points and timing on a car with a fairly significant vacuum leak.

That cast, finned, aluminum box on the driver side inner fender sure looks familiar. I had a similar unit on my 1969 Corvette. It converted the engine to capacitive discharge. Very little current on across the points so they lasted longer. I had mine inside the shark gills where it overheated and failed. The factory fit a longer cable on the unit, so I was able to mount it at the very front, behind the pointed V of the front bumper. It never failed there. It went away when I converted the distributor to pointless. That has been even better. I stopped the video and enlarged it. Compuspark. It’s the same unit!!!

One thing my dad taught me. If you don’t have a dwell meter, slowly turn the Allen wrench CLOCKWISE until the car just shuts off, then turn it 1/2 turn COUNTERCLOCKWISE. It will be very close to 30 degrees dwell.

Is the cover picture of this video of a Pontiac OHC six cylinder! That was a great engine I had in my 69 Tempest. I did some tuning in H.S. Auto-shop class. It had good power and really good gas mileage with the manual transmission. That is one car I really wish I had today!

As much as I love classic cars, I do NOT miss doing stuff like this! A "tune-up" on my '90 Miata consists of changing the spark plugs and wires - and that is it. And I can adjust the idle speed, but the ECU takes care of the mixture. OTOH, you can occasionally fix a carburetor by tapping it with a hammer. I don't recommend doing this to an ECU. :)

U know your stuff, Adam😎🤘

Great vid!!!

I've probably mentioned it before; you can HEAR the difference in the different GM V8s of the time. Obviously, you can tell a Chrysler product by the starter and the Ford by that "click!" noise when the starter makes contact. Also the engines all sound different under different acceleration loads. I have literally nothing to contribute as to setting the timing, dwell, etc so I'll just watch. Thanks, Adam!

Just a little advice... @ 3:23, it was stated that, "if the car doesn't start.. just move the dwell..." The advice is that if the car doesn't start, one should go back to the ignition breaker points gap setting procedure and start from step one. A slight maladjustment of dwell will not prevent the ignition breaker points from operating preventing starting. Again, just a heads up!

As others have mentioned…better suited to find an ‘engine ground’ as your meter ground.

I still have a dwell meter much like yours I purchased back in the early 80's. We used to use a beer can pull top to set the points initially to get it running and was very close, 15 thou if I remember correctly...lol.

I think that it's perfect that you're using a Sears tool to fix this car.

I looked at the smallish valve covers on the 430 and assumed it was a Nailhead. Did a quick check and found out I was wrong - no 430 and only ran through ’66. In that case, I wonder if some of the 430’s design was based on the previous Nailhead?

The sound at the end!

For a Ford 302, I used to hand turn the engine until the bump on the points was right on the point of the distributor shaft (maximum open) then use a feeler gauge to set the points to the correct setting.

First step before changing points should be checking to see where the timing is currently set. The car may have been running fine at a timing setting different from factory spec. Then if you change points and the car doesn't run quite as good at the factory timing setting, you'll know where you started out.

What a Sears? Lol I Miss them I could just buy a socket that I was missing or a wrench Now you basically have to buy a set G M were in fact super smooth

Wow, it’s been a while since I messed with ignition timing on a 1994 S10 Blazer.

I spent many hours under the hood of my old caprice with my dwell meter and timing light! Doing the GM dwell adjustment is so simple with the window and allen wrench, you can adjust it while the car is running, no need to take the cap off. Might not be advisable on the Buick V8 with the front mounted distributor! What is that aluminum colored box with the two wires coming out of it on the wheel well/driver's side of the car?

Getting into old Fords 20 years ago was a disappointment in the tune up department after growing up with Chevies. I couldn't understand why EVERYONE didn't have an access window on their distributor caps for points/dwell adjustment. 100 times easier doing it that way. I believe my '67 Pontiac with its 326 also had an access window, but I can't remember for sure.

It looks like GM's cylinder numbering scheme was the bearer of that standard in the US, as I believe that Chrysler used it as well. So perhaps it placed an onus on Ford to provide visible cylinder numbers so as to avoid confusion. Anyone know how AMC numbered their cylinders??

I use to hook my timing light to the coil wire seemed to work better

Hey Adam. Are you prewarming up your older cars before starting through the window? I remember having to pump the gas pedal and crank a bit get cars of that era going

I have that same dwell meter.

I don't see how that hose clamp can be a ground - unless maybe it pokes through the hose and contacts the radiator bung. But even then, I would kind of expect the radiator to be isolated from the the car/ground because of rubber mounting pads at its bottom, and my assumption is supported by the fact that the upper mount/retaining bracket appears to have a rubber isolating pad between it and the radiator, as evidenced by the two rubber retention plugs visible at 2:48.

Rotating the Distributor by hand can shockingly let you know if you have bad plug wires.

8:12 - One thing I’ve never understood. What do you mean by “Rotate the Distributor”? Do you mean rotate the distributor cap with the wires still attached to it (which I’ve tried, but it doesn’t move… so I gave up years ago)? Or do you take the cap and wires off and rotate what’s underneath with your hand?

Time 550 ( edit, I see this was covered later in the vid ) Cylinder numbering Back in the day, many engines had cylinder numbers cast into the intake as well as firing order and sometimes distributor rotation. Generally, the forward most cylinder is number one.

Just a minor added note: AMC used Delco distributors for many of their V8's. Both my 67 and 68 AMC 343s use them. And your comments are applicable to them just as well. Also, regarding your remark about timing specs. I find that on both of my AMC V8s that your comment about advancing the timing a bit beyond the factory specs is a great idea. I find the timing specs for both my AMC V8s to be significantly too retarded.

Ford V8s of the time have the first cylinder at the front of the passenger side bank.

i remember points & timing.

Dwell meter for the smooth run since it allows for wear/play in the spinning distributor shaft.

How is the hose clamp grounded when its insulated by rubber?

I was hoping the thumbnail was a Pontiac OHC- 6!

The distributors aren't the same- distributor caps yes.

That ground wire on the hose clamp is bugging me. The only way I can think of that can make that work is if there are still staples under that hose clamp that are touching the metal radiator outlet. Then the whole thing is grounding through the transmission cooler lines.

The thumbnail for this video looks like a 1960s Pontiac Sprint engine. Is it?

I wonder for how many of you viewers, that this is the first time they have heard of a dwell meter. I haven't used one in decades!!

Not gonna talk about the "COMPU-SPARK"?

That appears to be a little more dangerous of a job on the Buicks. On the Chevy v 8's I could adjust both the timing and the dwell with the engine running cuz the distributor was in the back away from that fan.

After the base timing is set, don’t forget to confirm that the timing advance curve is in spec

I remember double points.

I pull out my dad’s sears dwell meter

Nothing is difficult to work on. Its once your tuning has been deleted you worry about touching it. Have a Ford to haul my Nismo. I don't want to touch it although I has the kit. Clip one wire these days and a functional vehicle becomes inoperable.

That window for setting the points weren't on all GM cars, perhaps only the V-8's. My Corvair you have to remove the cap, not as fun.😐

1st Palm Springs California Corvair Fan Belt Toss view...

You lost me at Hose Clamp…

Magnificence

I was told I was 'super-retarded' in High School in the 90s...but I guess I fooldeded them.