Nu-Rex wrench ???

[wcmill]

When I time it the old fashioned way with a test light, this is where the wrench ends up.

[wcmill]

But this is the position of the rotor cap when timed the test light (old) way???

[alexiskai]

I think your rubbing block is contacting the cam too “early,” causing the points to open before the cam is in the correct position.

[wcmill]

That’s a very good observation…..when I put the new points in I noticed a difference in the block size from the old points……I thought perhaps it was just wear.
Give me a minute and I’ll take the points off and send pics of the 2 differences .

[wcmill]

Old points on the left…….upon closer observation it actually looks like the block is bigger on the old set……who knows maybe they’re both incorrect.

[alexiskai]

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Originally Posted by wcmill

Old points on the left…….upon closer observation it actually looks like the block is bigger on the old set……who knows maybe they’re both incorrect.

Get calipers and measure the distance from the edge of the contact (the circular piece at the end of the points) to the edge of the rubbing block. Just eyeballing it, the distance looks different between the two. That could account for the problem.

[wcmill]

Originally Posted by alexiskai

Get calipers and measure the distance from the edge of the contact (the circular piece at the end of the points) to the edge of the rubbing block. Just eyeballing it, the distance looks different between the two. That could account for the problem.

Your bang on my friend! 6.90 to 7.50 thousands difference!
I put the old points on and everything lined up perfectly. Well, perfectly enough for a 90 year old car.
You can see here in the picture the difference.

You know I bought the points from Napa, said on the box made in China…..should have raised a red flag right there. You’d think that Ford V8 points from 57-74 wouldn’t be hard to duplicate……lesson learned.

As they said in Apollo 13 “you sir, are a steely eyed missile man”😁.

Awesome forum!!

[The Master Cylinder]

You never mention, what are you setting you point gap at? I find the Nu-Rex wrench works best when the points are set at .020". Gap too wide will open sooner.

That's with original style points, I have never used 'modern' ~65 yo design points.

[wcmill]

Points are set to .018

[KR500]

Just to add more confusion for you fellas. I had used a NuRex wrench and the wrench was totally off for where it used have been. Since I own at least two of the wrenchs I did a comparison of one wrench to another. One wrench had the slot off in orientation to the other. When I used the other wrench to set the timing the engine started right up. Here are a couple of pics of the two wrenches.

[KR500]

In regard to the NuRex wrench having been formed 90 degrees off when placing possibly in the forming or bending jig, I informed Bob Gary of the issue and he immediately told me he would send out out a new wrench and to destroy the bad one. I can't say how many wrong formed wrenches could be out there or what suppliers may have gotten wrong formed wrenches. Never assume everything is correct till you can prove it to yourself.

[wcmill]

Yes, Bob from Nu-Rex also asked me if I had an “older” incorrect wrench while we were troubleshooting my problem. We determined that I had the correct one.
Holding the wrench in your left hand up to your eye level, with the instructions facing you, the tab should be at the 5 O’clock position.

[Rob Doe]

What was the part number on the box of new NAPA points?

Blue Streak FD8183V are the upper tier quality points by Standard Products. They are copper plated for better connectivity and have a rubbing block of different material (harder?), a felt wiper to help keep the cam lubricated.

[alexiskai]

Slightly off-topic but I bought a new Blue Streak coil and was disappointed to find out it’s oil filled.

[1stWoody]

I just solved this exact problem yesterday on an A I just acquired. It has modern points and when timed with the NuRex wrench it was way too advanced and when I it timed correctly the wrench was passed the #4 distributor post but would start missing when the lever was advanced on steering column because the rotor was too far away from the post in distributor cap. I found the previous owner converted an original upper plate to use the new points and put a wireless bottom plate on. The little brass peice that connects the points to the bottom plate was straight up and down so when the points were mounted with the connector lined up with the notch in upper plate it caused the points to be in the wrong location. I looked at a NuRex plate and that little connector has an offset in it to allow the points to line up correctly.
I hope this makes sense.

[Ramman]

Once again, this is why I move the point cam with the wrench, but determine the position of points just opening with a test light. Then you can hold the cams position with the wrench as you tighten the screw. Counting on where the tang is on the wrench and where the handle is on the cap to set your timing to me is iffy at best.

[wcmill]

Originally Posted by Rob Doe

What was the part number on the box of new NAPA points?

Blue Streak FD8183V are the upper tier quality points by Standard Products. They are copper plated for better connectivity and have a rubbing block of different material (harder?), a felt wiper to help keep the cam lubricated.

The first incorrect set was the part number you listed……FD8183V, this was the set where the arm was approx .070” shorter then the correct one.
The one that I got from Napa was part number CS755SB which again was the right one.
I think it’s more likely that the FD8183V that I got was was a repro “made in China” set. Said so right on the box, even though it was labelled OEM. That same part number from a more reliable source would probably be just fine.
Anyway……was a good learning lesson!

[Al Mack]

Timing Tool. I need a correct one P.S.

[wcmill]

Originally Posted by Ramman

Once again, this is why I move the point cam with the wrench, but determine the position of points just opening with a test light. Then you can hold the cams position with the wrench as you tighten the screw. Counting on where the tang is on the wrench and where the handle is on the cap to set your timing to me is iffy at best.

Seems like most of the more experienced YouTube or other social media platform guys “Paul Shinn” “Jack Baum” etc, state that the most accurate way is to time with a test light.
The wrench is great to get you going quickly on the road or for helping others out.

[alexiskai]

Originally Posted by wcmill

Seems like most of the more experienced YouTube or other social media platform guys “Paul Shinn” “Jack Baum” etc, state that the most accurate way is to time with a test light.
The wrench is great to get you going quickly on the road or for helping others out.

My recommendation is that, for any given distributor, you check the wrench’s result against a light/ohmmeter. If it’s the same, you can then save time by using the wrench with that particular distributor in the future, unless you change something.