OT - Points

hunkydory

Member
There has been a lot of talk about the best ignition points. Is there a discernible/physical difference between Blue Streak/Echlin and the less desirable ones?

I ask because I have an old "toy", a 1971 Cushman Turf Truckster that needs new points. The available offerings are made in "a hard fiber material" and "a hard plastic". The engine is air cooled, so I'm leaning towards the "hard fiber material" for longevity.

Your insight is appreciated!
 
The plastic rubbing block has been a common failure point for me.
Echlin/Blue Streak premium points have phenolic rubbing blocks.
 
What Royse said. Bear in mind there are several aftermarket suppliers and probably a handful or so of manufacturers so it matters where you buy from. The phenolic rubbing blocks are best, will last longer than the cheap plastic ones. TISCO use to sell decent points that were plastic. The last set I had in my 8N front mount lasted almost 6 years. Maybe I had one of the better sets. What I like about TISCO is they include a .015" feeler gauge to set the point gap with. Now about a year or so ago there was some scuttlebutt about some bad ECHLIN points not being able to open all the way to get the timing set correctly. I believe Bruce and a few others did a study and located a few lot numbers of the defective products. The problem was fixed last I had heard. This discussion is probably in the archives here. The ECHLIN points are made in Mexico but still beats the snot out of Cheena. I buy all my front mount parts at NAPA. Auto-Zone, Summit Racing, and a few others also sell the better parts. NAPA's parts are ALL Made IN the USA,except the ECHLIN points as mentioned. Here are the NAPA crossover part numbers for the Ford Front Mount Distributor:

POINTS: ECHLIN -CS35 / BLUE STREAK (STANDARD IGNITION) -FD6769X; GAP SET AT .015"
ROTOR: FD-104 or FA-300
CAP: FD1-126 or FA-350
CONDENSER: FD-71 or FA-200
GASKET KIT: BK or S (SPAREX)60308
SPARK PLUGS: Champion H12 (now 512) or Auto-Lite 437 (now 216) GAPPED at .026" +/- .001"
CAM LUBE: CL1

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)
 
Gentlemen,

Thank you for your insights. This is less popular application and parts are scarce.

It has been years since I messed with points. I have not found the right round-tuit to get to the ones on my 8N. :) IIRC the phenolic rubbing blocks are solid material.

Looking at the two options the "fiber" set appears to be layers of material similar to the composition of plywood and does not appear to have a bushing:
Points-Fiber-Rubbing-Block.jpg


Also interesting is the "fiber" points cost more than twice as much as the "plastic" ones. I'm going to call the vendor to find out why they are so special.
 
(quoted from post at 11:09:08 02/17/19) Gentlemen,

Thank you for your insights. This is less popular application and parts are scarce.

It has been years since I messed with points. I have not found the right round-tuit to get to the ones on my 8N. :) IIRC the phenolic rubbing blocks are solid material.

Looking at the two options the "fiber" set appears to be layers of material similar to the composition of plywood and does not appear to have a bushing:
Points-Fiber-Rubbing-Block.jpg


Also interesting is the "fiber" points cost more than twice as much as the "plastic" ones. I'm going to call the vendor to find out why they are so special.
t probably costs more to make the phenolic ones over the molded plastic pieces of junk. I would never buy the plastics one again. they do not last at all.
 

Its a P.O.S. front mount I have never seen plastic rub'N blocks be an issue on nuttin else...

P.O.S it needs all the help it can get...
 
(quoted from post at 19:59:03 02/17/19)
Its a P.O.S. front mount I have never seen plastic rub'N blocks be an issue on nuttin else...

P.O.S it needs all the help it can get...
I do not own a front mount distributor machine and I have seen the plastic P.O.S. rubbing blocks wear way to fast.
 

I have put 100's and 100's of sets in no problem with the plastic rubbing block I never knew what point lube was unless it came with the points... I used good old chassis/wheel bearing grease, now ft mt P.O.S. is a different story they need all the help they can get......
 
Thanks, everyone.

Searching around I found a couple of references to fiber rubbing blocks being an old design. There is no mention of what material is used in their construction.

The points in there now have a plastic rubbing block that seems to have held up OK. I'll go with that as the replacement. I broke out the points files and cleaned up the contacts, which will get me by until the replacements arrive.

The good news is I found a tube of ignition lube in my stash. I bet I've carried it around for almost 40 years! :D
 
(quoted from post at 10:54:25 02/18/19) Thanks, everyone.

Searching around I found a couple of references to fiber rubbing blocks being an old design. There is no mention of what material is used in their construction.

The points in there now have a plastic rubbing block that seems to have held up OK. I'll go with that as the replacement. I broke out the points files and cleaned up the contacts, which will get me by until the replacements arrive.

The good news is I found a tube of ignition lube in my stash. I bet I've carried it around for almost 40 years! :D

Years ago, the "fiber" rub blocks were described as "phenolic" in the parts literature.

I don't know if that is still accurate, tho!
 
I like to think my eyes are good but I doubt if I could look at a rubbing block and tell how many thousandths of an inch have worn of it. The only people I know that like the plastic ones are the people selling them. Take the advice eveyone has given you and use the fiber or phenolic rubbing block vented points. For example Blue Streak FD-6769X. Do not use a file or sand paper they have a protective finish on them to prevent pitting, clean then them with a white business card or brown paper. +1 for using the cam lube most guys don't even know what that is now days.
 
(quoted from post at 12:31:43 02/18/19) I like to think my eyes are good but I doubt if I could look at a rubbing block and tell how many thousandths of an inch have worn of it. The only people I know that like the plastic ones are the people selling them. Take the advice eveyone has given you and use the fiber or phenolic rubbing block vented points. For example Blue Streak FD-6769X. Do not use a file or sand paper they have a protective finish on them to prevent pitting, clean then them with a white business card or brown paper. +1 for using the cam lube most guys don't even know what that is now days.
Thanks for the advice. My concern with the fiber ones offered is they do not appear to have a bushing where they rotate around the post. I'm waiting to hear back from the vendor.

The old points already had some material transfer between the contacts. I knocked that back so they are flat to each other and it runs better. It's not optimal, but will get me by until the new points and condenser arrive.
 
Here's a picture of it in case you are curious:

cushman-turf-truckster.jpg


It's not much to look at, but a lot of fun and the dump bed is very useful. It will run ~40mph in high range. The wife and I take it on a joy ride once in a while. :D
 
(quoted from post at 14:20:46 02/18/19) Here's a picture of it in case you are curious:

cushman-turf-truckster.jpg


It's not much to look at, but a lot of fun and the dump bed is very useful. It will run ~40mph in high range. The wife and I take it on a joy ride once in a while. :D

I could have a lot of fun with something like that. The fiber rubbing blocks don't have a bushing because the material is hard enough that its not needed. Normal production is to cut them from a solid block, unlike the plastic that is injection molded.
 
I could have a lot of fun with something like that. The fiber rubbing blocks don't have a bushing because the material is hard enough that its not needed. Normal production is to cut them from a solid block, unlike the plastic that is injection molded.
Stoopid fun like I have with it! I laugh every time I take it out. :lol:

Thank you for the intel! I will order that fiber set. With a new condenser it should last a while.
 

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