filing points in distributor?

The only time that I've filed points in recent years (say the last two decades) I did it in the distributor. the car was on the side of the road, the points had closed up, I didn't know if it was arcing or rubbing block wear, and I used an emery board to clean up the points prior to gapping them to the specific measurement of the thickness of my thumb nail ( fairy reliable .018" to .020", actually). It was dark, it was cold, the road I was on the side of was the 401 highway in Toronto, the car was a 1969 Mini Cooper, and the only tool I had (besides the emery board) was a Swiss Army knife.

You normally replace points, you don't file them, these days.

Brian

Brian

K. Elliot wrote in article ...

1. Remove contact points from distributor. Set them on a nearby bench.

1. Install new points.

2. At this juncture, you may file and/or grind the points on the bench to your heart's content.

Filing points goes back to the Model A days.

In more recent years, contact sets have been made with a tungsten coating on the contact surfaces for longer service.

Filing newer style contact points goes down through this tungsten surface exposing the base metal, and effectively ruining the contact points.

Modern(?) day contact sets should NOT be filed.

Bob Paulin - R.A.C.E. Race Car Chassis Setup and Dial-in Services

I normally "file" points by throwing them in the wastebasket (file # 13) after converting to electronic ignition :-)

Seriously, fil> I was recently browsing the shelves at the local auto store while

K. Elliot wrote in rec.autos.tech

Do not file points. The only vehicle that I ever did that on was a motorcylcle that had old style points, and I could get away with it. Points have been coated for a long time and filing destroys the coating. Doing so should only be done in an emergency, but if you are going to be running a car to the point where you absolutely must file the points, carry a spare set of points and capacitor. They don't cost very much.

Use the money to buy an extra set of point to keep in the glove box. I don't think anyone has filed a set of points since the '50s. (unless they broke down on the side of the road and didn't have the extra set in the glove box)

Steve B.

Thanks guys for all the advice. It sounds like everyone here is in agreement that the points should not be filed but should simply be replaced. I will make sure that I stop by the parts store and pick up a new set of points.

Thanks again.

Kevin

I do it all the time! A friend of mine buys and sells old cars as a hobby, and invariably any "barn car" will have oxidized points. On some cars it's trivial to file the points on the car but replacing them involves pulling the distributor, or else leaning waaaay over, smacking your head on the hood, and praying you don't drop any of the little screws.

nate