I have the modern upper plate in my distributer. I have had it there for the past ten thousand miles and never had a problem. I hear people saying that they are no good and I will have problems. What kind of problems might I have?
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From what I have heard, it is the lack of proper connection for grounding the points. Now this is not to say that everyone will have the problem, just that more have reported it than have been happy with the workings of it.You wana look waaay far up da road and plan yer route because the brakes are far more of a suggestion than a command! -
Do you have the wireless lower plate? The modern upper plate consists of modern points..
tell us exactly what you have
modern upper / wireless lower
modern upper/ wired lower
3~ Tudor's & 1~ Coupe
Henry Ford said,
"It's all nuts and bolts"
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
Mitch's Auto Service ctrComment
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Yes I have the modern wireless lower plate.Comment
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They cause intermittent's and all out break downs. I have seen a ton of them over the years do different things. You can't beat a lowered plate directly wired to the points for durability
If you ever find your car stutters or does some quick weird stuff look there first3~ Tudor's & 1~ Coupe
Henry Ford said,
"It's all nuts and bolts"
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
Mitch's Auto Service ctrComment
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I too use the modern points. I installed them because everyone said they were junk and that was at least 10 years ago. I carry a spare original type around just in case and its become all rusty. But, I use a wired plate. The wireless units have a tendency towards ground issues so I'd recommend wiring it with the proper fine strand wire. I certainly wouldn't recommend replacing it with an original, both types work fine. The points are a bit easier to set in the original type though.Comment
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Many replacement upper plates are a sloppy fit on the dizzy center hub. That makes the point gap change when you move the advance lever. Make sure you peen around the hole to remove any slop. Well used original plates get sloppy, too.
What I'd really like to see is the GM Allen adjustable points on an A plate.
s-l1000.jpg
Mechanical engineering 101: If you put an adjustment knob, screw, bolt, or tolerance specs on something, some people will immediately fiddle with it. If you mark it DO NOT TOUCH everyone will mess with it.
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Just to make myself clear
my issue is with the wireless lower plate set up,, not so much the modern upper..3~ Tudor's & 1~ Coupe
Henry Ford said,
"It's all nuts and bolts"
"Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible."
Mitch's Auto Service ctrComment
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I have also fixed my share with the wire less lower plate. 3 of them stopped on the road.Comment
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Originally posted by MikeK View Post
Now thats a great idea ! When you figure it out and start selling them, let us know. [smiley face].Comment
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CHEVROLET Points, in a Model A?---Is nothing SACRED?---GEEZ!!!----UR you gonna' put a BOWTIE on your SHELL, next?---Or a Mr. GOODWRENCH Decal?---UR a SBC engine?---With Powerglide?---I'm going to BED!!!
Bill Aghast!Last edited by BILL WILLIAMSON; 09-12-2017, 11:52 PM.Comment
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Wild Bill, what ya gonna do? The points based system was invented by Charlie Kettering, the genius inventor hired by Alfred Sloan of GM fame. Also, who do you think owned Hyatt roller bearings (our Model A rear hub bearings) ? Sloan!
So there is a bit of GM in our cars
Kettering also invented what was then termed the self-starter. In a conversation with Henry, Henry stated he would never install one in a car of his. Kettering replied, "You sir will have no control over that"Comment
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Kettering also started the Delco Light Plant, which gave electricity to the rural homes before REA came around.
Last year I read that Kettering was second only to Thomas Edison for having the most patents.
If you do a Google search for "Delco Light Plant" or "Charles Kettering", there is some interesting reading.Comment
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Tom, there is a biography out there on Kettering which you would find very riveting
you can get them used for cheap
He also invented R12.
Sloan's genius was to leave him alone and let him invent whatever he wanted. Usually the R&D boys are stifled by managementComment
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WELL, I'll try ONE more time!
In Minerva, I used the "modern" upper plate & the original lower plate. I fabricated a LONGER Pig Tail Wire, to connect to the nut ON the points. She ran 12,000 trouble free miles on the SAME set of points, with just an occasional lubing of the cam lobe.
I worked at Ford when those HOLLOW points came on the scene. It's a PROVEN fact that they run LONGER, without creating that DREADED point & hollow, that causes the contacts to FART out YELLOW flashes & run like CRAP! Filing them is a WORTHLESS effort!
Some complain, "They're TOO hard to ADJUST the POINTS"!! (POOR BABY!).png "tears")
----Some folks jist like to ARGUE against SUCCESS!
I DON'T recommend ANYTHING that hasn't worked for me, PERSONALLY!--NO
TIP# 41
If you want to check your point operation, in the dark, plugs out, key on, give it a LOOOONG crank & watch the point contact. You should see a BARELY discernable BLUISH/WHITE arc. If it's NOT consistent or FARTS out YELLOWISH flashes, YOUR POINTS ARE TOASTED, replace them!
Opionated KDad & Dog.gif "dog")
Last edited by BILL WILLIAMSON; 09-14-2017, 06:32 PM.Comment
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I like Bill's idea. But I think I may try using the modern lower plate AND the wire also. Then if one craps out the other may be able to take over if it is not shorted out. What do you think of that idea?Comment
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IF you use the wireless upper & lower plates, I heard that some supplier sells an IMPROVED contact piece that connects them together. "Maybe A&L or Snyders. Install it CAREFULLY & lube where it slides on the lower, curved contact strip. Use a dab of Loctite where it attaches to the nut, on the points. It CAN be installed to work QUITE well.---It was designed to ELIMINATE the TROUBLESOME Pig Tail Wire!
Dad StraightstoryComment
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80 YEARS???? Sounds like "GRINNS' FAIRY TALES"--LOL
Yo' Dad Laffin'Comment
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....Ok, I am using th modern upper plate and parts. My questionis this. I am having an issue with engine miss. Spark was not a nice blue at coil wire. Replaced conden. As I was installing new conden. I noticed the grounding clip was making contact with lower plate. BUT, I do not think it was a tight contact. So that being said, by driving car could this clip vibrate enough to cause the contact to...08-28-2020, 06:40 PM -
I am experiencing a new problem that I have NEVER encountered with a Model A Distributor. I converted both of my A's distributors some time ago and removed the "pigtail" between the upper and lower plates and replaced it with the Brass springy plate that the acorn nut hits on the bottom of the upper plate that is on the bottom of the post for the points.
I have had the upper plates...11-05-2019, 05:57 PM -
Can any one tell me what I have here. The point block is cast into the plate and not removable. Is that an original plate. The reason I ask is I need to replace the points but Bratten's says the new points don't line up with the old block. They make a new block that lines the points up but obviously it won't work on this plate.
...12-23-2019, 03:36 PM -
A couple months ago I completely rebuilt a distributor and installed in it my CCPU. I built it using original upper and lower plates, a new silicone, high strand count wire, original Ford script points and a new burnout-proof condenser. It runs perfectly and am very happy with it.
That being said, pictured below is the distributor I removed. It has a nurex upper and wireless lower plate....06-03-2022, 11:14 AM -
I have been reading on VFF that a lot of you guys don't like the wireless bottom distributor plate and prefer the one with the wire. My question is why, do they fail more often or ??..gif "confused")
01-28-2021, 01:27 PM -
I’ve been having a problem with my timing, when I try to advance the lever I can only pull it down a little more than half way on the quadrant and it starts sputtering and cutting out. I tried re timing, even retiming a little off, just to see if that was the issue. Finally pulled the distributor to go over it again and found that when I move the top plate the point gap changes and in some positions...09-16-2019, 10:13 AM -
OK all you know it all smart guys! (Kidding of course ). I never saw one like this, no one I know ever saw one either. Picture this; The point block has been punched (formed) from the material that makes the plate. That is odd enough, but the points are located about a third of the way around from a Mod. A plate. I matched it to a Mod. B plate and it was pretty close in regards to the B. However,...01-17-2021, 09:53 PM -
I have a YOM license plate that need restored before sending a picture to PennDot. Who are your recommendations for such a task.
Jim...03-16-2022, 08:55 AM -
I pride myself in owning a Model A for 60 years and I know a little about them. But I’m the first to admit
electricity puts me up a stump. Yesterday I decided to put new points in my Tudor, but as I put it all together the pigtail as attached charges the entire upper plate. It seems logical that there should be some kind of insulator to keep the pigtail from contacting the plate, thereby disallowing...05-27-2023, 12:24 AM -
Thought this was going to be simple/easy -.png "sad")
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. Sigh
Noticed my rebuilt Carb does not have the correct throttle plate.
Nothing is making any sense. Without really studying this before figured take a couple of screws out, remove old plate, put new plate in and add the screws.
Picture 1 is the replacement Plate, notice there is no way to put a shaft through it....You do not have permission to view this gallery.
This gallery has 6 photos.04-14-2019, 04:55 PM
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