Because in my circumstance, original quality regulators were not available for a reasonable price. It made more sense from this point forward to use a 10SI in my case for simplicity and cost.
I dont think your wrong I like mine the way they were built -still have points, came with discs - do have 33 year old radials(going to replace with repros look alike radials when i find 2 stripes that look right) nothing modern except replacement bits hoses and battery - even got NOS shocks to put on - have a hidden modern stereo but it s hooked up to the original am/fm I have no problem with people doing those strange things like HEI its their car and money - had one on my 69 GS and 70 vista cruiser until I put old dist back in (they were there when I got - no difference in performance maybe if the got driven in damp and cold no wait I live in Nova Scotia its almost always damp and cold, Yesterday I met up with a friend who couldn't get roadrunner clone started - after almost hitting head on the hood when I hollered my normal greeting "shoulda got a Buick (He's a dodge guy heard it alot -) he explianed he couldn't understand why it wasn't getting any spark everything is new and upgraded with the latest technology -after four car messing with it for an hour it started we figure it was most likley the connection on bias resistor (ignition resistance wire in buick talk) his response the only old piece crap on the car failed (after 43 years) - but he was still worried about going away this weekend with it
Anyone who has a ballast-resistor equipped MOPAR who doesn't carry a spare in the glove compartment is an idiot. Ask me how I know. :laugh:
I switched my little stroked 62 Skylark to front disc and there is a remarkable difference. For 8 years I road raced SCCA in a formula vee that was required to run drum brakes. All the tricks in the world could not stop the little boogers travelling over 100 mph on a road course and the little cars weight less than 1000 lbs. It was unnerving and down right scary most of the time. Moved up to formula ford and then formula Atlantic with 4 wheel disc and words could not describe the confidence one has when you can actually stop/slow a speeding bullet. The hot rod Buick can out stop any 62 model car bar none that has drum brakes. You can keep your drum brakes along with your buggy whip. PS: We run a GM one wire alternator, electronic ignition with dual coils. No failures yet.
I knew what you were trying to say. And, I was not arguing with you.:shock: I was AGREEING with you. :grin::laugh:That's the problem with internet. There's no inflection . I was just jumping on the chance to say how cool I think a Seagrave with a Pierce V-12 is. I think it's the ultimate breaker point system.
Because I got sick of getting garbage alternators from the parts stores that would only last a year or less. The final straw was getting 3 bad alternators in a row in one day from 3 different parts stores. Went home and ordered a brand new Power Master that same day from Summit and its worked fine since then. Its lasted 8 years with zero issues. I was lucky to get 8 months out of the parts store garbage alternators. Heres the one I ordered:http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PWM-17294/?rtype=10
I remember seeing an old firetruck - I think it was an American-LaFrance, with a huge flathead straight eight with one breaker-point distributor and a Scintilla-Vertex Magneto (also breaker point). BTW: A dozen or so years ago (maybe even more then that), the town of Millis, MA. was forced by the Commonwealth to retire it's 1926 pumper that was still in use, working just fine, because it didn't come anywhere near meeting modern safety standards. It must have been in continuous service for nearly 70 years!
Yep - if theres one in glove box they seem to never give you problems - if not they burn out often. just like points and electronic modules. ---------- Post added at 11:30 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:25 AM ---------- I still have 2 - 1 wall 1 red table top - work great plus they work when theres no power - unlike the portable I had to have as an upgrade because so many parts places etc have those recording - for >>>> press 1 for <<<<< pres 2 ---------- Post added at 11:33 AM ---------- Previous post was at 11:30 AM ---------- but arn't those modern stuff made to be like old without the pride and quality -- originals lasted 20-30 years
Hey Iceman 8.6, Would it help your mood to know that our '72 Cutlass went 246,000 without any alternator or regulator problems? Confession: I started getting nervous at about 175,000 miles and put a set of brushes and bearings into the alternator as preventative maintenance, but the Delcotron was working fine at the time.
individualism, and freedom of choice..we should all respect the ideas of people to build the cars the way they want.. i have been brainwashed on the swap thing...now i like plain and simple.. my 66 skylark has drum brakes, and they have been bedded right, cuz i quarantee they will put your melon to the glass faster than you can react..and they dont fade either...if ya dont believe it..come over ill take ya for a ride....you get no seat belt either
American LaFrance also ran Continental V-12. The photo shows my Brother, my Nephew, My Dad, and the Segrave named in honour of Alf Brown (my Great Grand-Father). In the Seagrave, The City swapped the Pierce V12 for a Caterpillar diesel.. The photo was taken at the truck's retirement. The truck is in a museum , now.
Millis sold the old pumper at a public auction. A private collector got it. They commented that it sold for substantially more money then the town paid for it. (Although almost certainly in cheaper dollars).
I'm OK with the breaker point igniton and externally regulated alternator; they've been reliable and meet my needs. I don't think anyone has mentioned converting the older cars to dual reservoir master cylinders. If you're keeping the drum brakes, would you want to do it? I recently had a brake line fail on my newer daily driver--would have been ugly if not for the dual system. John
Even dual systems are not foolproof. I had an '81 Olds wagon that blew a front brake line. As the stopped cars in front of me were getting bigger fast, I applied significantly more pressure then normal to the brake pedal (which was now operating the rear brakes only). The result was the excess pressure blew a rear line which had been on the car just as long as the front line that failed. I avoided the stopped cars by using the sidewalk, the parking brake, low gear, and the horn. I didn't hit anything, but it was a minor miracle that I didn't. There's no substitute for good brake lines.
I'll chime in as we're changing stuff on the Nova for the sake of it. The wiring from the alternator actually caught fire and burnt up. So during the rebuild of the charging system we went to a later si style alternator with built in regulator. It was cheaper and easier to deal with than a new externaly regulated alternator and regulator would be. In the end we saved about $15 and have fewer wires carrying volatge across the engine bay. The distributor got swapped for a coil in cap hei. Again it was cheaper than replacing everything with original style parts, and it eliminates voltage carrying wires running around the engine bay. Plus hei is easier to live with in a daily driver. The dash wiring has been pulled and a few sockets replaced and all the wiring pins were hit with a wire brush to clean up the corrosion. The car is having seat belts installed since they weren't installed at the factory back in late '62. I doubt many would consider that an unnecesary change on a daily driver. Every sensor on the engine is being replaced since we don't know if they work or not and a car with dummy lights needs to have working sensors. The pcv is being replaced by a breather to eliminate a big vac hose that runs in an awkward location and is prone to cracking and leaking.
I'm glad this thread came back up. Pretty funny actually. We've got people with a 455 in place of his inline 8 ( inline works fine, needless upgrade). A nailhead in A chevy truck ( needless upgrade, cheaper chevy motor works fine ) and others with all sorts of upgrades that think something simple like a an HEI or one wire alternator is a needless upgrade! We do what we do because it's what we enjoy!
