Pan Head Points

[1hdrider]

back in the day (70`s)...i use to run points on my pan that had the alen screw dwell adjustment & the felt pad for the distributor cam...these points went right on with out any modification & were made much better made than the standard HD pan points or after market ones...& with the external adjustment you could dial the motor in real sweet...i think they came off of an old chevy application but i cant remember...does any one know what these points came off of ???...(year,make,model)...i want to start using them again but i cant find the right ones...something on every set i try doesn't fit...thanks for the help !!!

[Bigincher]

I remember those too, but sure can't recall exactly what they were. Mid-sixties Chevy 6-banger of some kind, seems like I (almost) remember, but I'll be watching for an answer from one of these guys that really knows, too.
Does anybody like the BlueStreak points, are they worth the money?

[1hdrider]

thanks for the reply...i just got emailed by the folks at pan head city...they tell me they were off of a 1954 chevy...so i tried lookin them up & so far what i found is that they are not the ones with the alen dwell adjustment...they look like regular old pan points...i emailed them back askin for more info...i`l let ya know what i find out...they also tell me that they stock them if i wanted to buy some...thats fine, but i still want to find out the info on them for myself...thanks man...let me know if you come up with anything & i`l do the same

[Bosheff]

I believe yer talkin bout the point sets GM used with the distributor caps that had the lift up piece a tin in the window that you could adjust externally with an allen wrench with the engine runnin', right? I have never known of such a point set that fits single point mechanical, or single point centrifugal timers (stock H-D). Thinkin bout it, those point sets (GM) didn't have the oblonged hole in the point base that was used to accomodate the brass lookin adjuster (HD) that moved the contact points closer/farther away from each other while setting then proper point gap. Such a point set would make point adjustment considerably easier, I agree, but you would have to eliminate the the brass lookin offset adjuster that is mounted to the point base plate (HD). If anybody ever made such an animal I have never heard of them. If ya come up with the info yer lookin for, please post up. Thanks....bosheff

[Motorcyclemike]

BTW :

My 1965 Impala Chevy....used them style points and i still have the flexable shaft tool that i used to set the dwell thru that up and down slideing metal door witha dwell meter.
It had a 327 cu in V -8.

That sure would be a great way to adjust the points....i agree.
S u c k - squeese - BANG - B l o w.
Aint No head Like a Pan Head !

Motor Mike

[FlatHeadSix]

Those usually came as a Uni-Set, the points and the condenser were mounted together on the same base. Most of the early 60's cars that were Delco equiped with window type distributer caps used them, my 1960 Studebaker V8 has a set in it right now and I have a spare set on the shelf. Bosheff is correct, they won't mount in a Harley timer without some modification.

I've always been curious about measuring dwell on a Harley twin with a meter. A standard meter will not work because of the uneven firing pattern. Did they ever make a special meter for the harley twins? An analog meter would probably be out of the question but today's digital technology could probably do it.

mike

[Bosheff]

If memory serves correctly and I may be wrong, 1955 or 1958 was the 1st year of the window version of the GM distributor cap. This originally used seperate points and condensor. Around 1972 GM came out with the 1 piece set-up that they used until the HEI ignition was introduced in approximately 1975. The 1 piece set retroed all the way back to when the windowed cap was first introduced. For some reason, and don't ask me why, about half the time I tried to use the the Unipoint set-up I had problems, and they would not spark. I would replace the new 1 piece set-up with seperate points and condensor and life was good again. I probably still have 4 or 5 sets of the Unipoint sets in my toolbox to this day. Ya, tune-ups on a H-D would be a snap if we could use a dwell meter and make point adjustment with engine running like on the old Chevys....bosheff

[DuoGlide62]

Check out this video. It's about converting Knucklehead points to late model shovel points.
Would it work for Panheads ?

[rigidpanman]

they are v8 chevy points and they are available with or without the condensor mounted to them.

[FlatHeadSix]

Rick,
I think I heard Matt say those were 250 ci Chevy 6 points that they put in the knuck, and yes, you could do the same thing for a pan or even a 45, all those timer bases were identical. Installing a set of allen adjustable Delco points would require about the same modifications to the base.

Interesting video, I was waiting for the one-kick start after the conversion but they didn't show that, I wonder why?

mike

[rrhawg]

We used to convert the knuckle distributors to run the points with the adjustment screw. You have to put a pretty large hole in the base for the points to bolt in and I think we had to grind the adjuster screw to keep them from grounding out no the cover.
I think that the Custom Harley Cookbook had instructions on doing this process.
Rich

[1hdrider]

these points were a out of the box fit...no modifications of any kind...2 peice unit (points & condenser)...best set up i've ever ran...i've posted on other sites & so far no one can tell me make model & engine size these baby's came off of...wish i could remember...maby i fryed too many brain cells 30 years ago........

[1hdrider]

btt

[rigidpanman]

1hdrider,re-read my previous post

[FlatHeadSix]

wish i could remember...maby i fryed too many brain cells 30 years ago........

or maybe the conversion had already been done when you got that bike?

mike