coils look.. ok primary wire ( between short ones) at 1 ohm is OK from either short wire to the spring in the boot end should read 4-8 KILO ohm on the proper scale.
condensers likely gone bad (small investment) . basic testing for capacitance kicks does not mean much... dead short 0 ohms is bad....
any steady resistance is bad.. meter must swing to infinity
points must be clean clean clean !!! at .020 openning on the high point of the cam.
mag plate looks messy with frayed wire clippings, lint ?? one point seems to have a piece of paper or felt across the point.
keep all coil point wires away from the rotating shaft !!
put 2 drop of oil on the felt to lubricate ( I use GC oil... 1-2 drops) no more !
Crosbyman and Racerone, Thanks for your responses and advice.
I ordered new condensers today. Didn’t bother with testing, other than to see if there was continuity between the case of the condenser and the wire connector. It measured 0 ohms, so assumed a dead short. Not certain if that’s a legitimate test, but doubt there should be continuity, as indicated by your explanation. Must admit, didn’t know condensers have a shelf life. Although it was always automatically a part of points replacements in my old cars, I always thought it was more of a preemptive maintenance measure against sudden failure (which it was), but not necessarily a result of internal packing age degradation.
Checked points again. I didn’t see any paper between either contact set. There was a small piece of lint left on the plate from a cleaning rag. Gaps were precisely at .020" with no pitting. I cleaned both sets again with alcohol, and followed with a piece of folded paper to carefully pull through closed contacts. It came through clean on both sets.
Regarding observation of wire clippings, I’m not certain what or where they were seen. I went back over everything and couldn’t find anything. That said, I don’t doubt you saw something. I say that, since I must admit to a huge screw-up while testing for spark. After initial cleaning and checking point gaps, resulting in no spark, I thought by increasing the cranking speed, it might be more likely to achieve a spark. That said, I attached an impact wrench to increase starting RPM and produce voltage. In the process I stripped the flywheel nut. Fortunately, I didn’t damage the threads on the crankshaft, but the attempt left some fine threads from the nut on the shaft. So, when I removed the threads, a few strands may have escaped. I have since made certain no remnants remain. VERY, VERY embarrassing!
I will repost anticipated success when I receive / install the new condensers. Again, many, many thanks.
