Fuel pump for a '61

[Daryl Chesterman]

I wouldn't even bother trying to file those pointsâ€"they are bad!!!  Get a new set of NAPA Echlin points (I have had good luck with them) and also get a new condenser, as the condenser you have may be what is causing the points to burn.  Also look at the inside of the distributor cap to see what kind of condition the 8 terminals are in where the spark jumps from the rotor to the distributor cap.  If they look to be badly corroded, a new cap and rotor are also needed.  I think if you set the dwell on the points to 30 degrees and time the engine at 5-10 degrees BTDC (the more advance the better as long as there is no spark knock on acceleration) you will probably find that your engine will run very nicely!  Remember, before you try to start it after the tune up, be sure the choke butterfly closes completely when you give the throttle linkage a full stroke.  Immediately after the engine starts, the choke butterfly should open 5/16-3/8 of an inch to keep the engine from flooding, then the bimetal coil in the choke housing should gradually open it all the way once it is warmed up.  Be sure the butterfly opens up completely when the engine is warm.

Daryl Chesterman

[MidModCad]

Off to the Pertronix emporium tomorrow.  Now if I can just locate that 12 to 6v resistor to bypass.

[goob]

Off to the Pertronix emporium tomorrow.  Now if I can just locate that 12 to 6v resistor to bypass.

I would definitely replace the points and condensor before doing anything with pertronix! Seems the intelligent thing to would be make sure the engine runs before throwing more crap at it...but it's your car...

[35-709]

Off to the Pertronix emporium tomorrow.  Now if I can just locate that 12 to 6v resistor to bypass.

Once more, for the umpteenth time  , there is no ballast resistor in 1960 and up Cadillacs with points ignition.  There is a resistor WIRE that runs from the engine side of the firewall to the coil.  On the passenger compartment side of the firewall the wire that connects to the resistor wire is a switched, pink, 12 gauge wire that originates at the ignition switch.  THAT is the wire that you want to tap into for the 12 volt source for a Pertronix system --- you can eliminate the resistor wire entirely, or tape/seal off the coil connector end and put the wire aside in case you ever want to go back to points again.

But I agree also that you should get the current points system working to make sure there are no other problems that need to be addressed and to make sure the no-start condition is electrical (as I strongly suspect) and not fuel related.  Points are cheap enough.   

[dadscad]

It's highly recommend to get the car running and drivable with the point ignition before installing the electronic ignition. That way you know it is right before you install the new ignition parts. To properly install the electronic ignition module in the distributor, you will most likely have to pull the distributor to shim the shaft endplay to get the proper clearance for the magnet ring. Just getting that done and reinstalling the distributor can open a whole new can of worms to sort out if it won't start. If it ran before you took it apart, at least you'll have an idea where to start looking for the new problem.

[Andrew Trout]

As a fellow '61 owner who has also had fuel pump issues (though technically my Dad as he was behind the wheel at the time) when replacing fuel pumps be sure to check the cap on what you send out and what you get back. A factory correct pump will have 'AC' stamped into the cap. Our original pump had that stamp but the rebuilt one we got back didn't. That required some extra calls to McVey's to get a correct cap back. I think that cap got lost when my Dad replaced the pump that failed.