Mr D.

Putting the 427 together this weekend and getting it ready to mount on the run stand and need to buy the remaining items on the way home today.

I always try to use name brand parts and alway seem to buy Echlin parts when it came to the ignition system. When did a simple set of points become so expensive????? Last set I bought was a few years ago but don't recall paying 20 bucks for a set.

Echlin Distributor Points

CS786 -- $25.49
CS86 -- $25.49
CS7860 -- $21.49
CS89 -- $18.49
CS7860C -- $16.49
CS786P -- $19.99

What are you using? Also, which of the above Echlin numbers do I need?

Plasticman

Summit's prices are in same ball park (or higher depending on spring pressure):

http://www.summitracing.com/search/p...ition%20points

I have a couple of CS786 sets in stock, and several sets of Delco point sets (all for my "future usage"). Think Lars recommended the CS786 sets to me (way back when).

Plasticman

ljmattox

CS786, takes me back. I sold auto parts at a NAPA store in the 70's; CS786 points and RR175 condensors across the counter by the 00's for V-8 Chevy's back then.

NAPA Echlin has their catalog online, as well as NAPA Online in general, so you can puzzle out most of these. We never stocked the CS86 standard duty, always just CS786 that was a bit heavier duty (and is still marked so in their catalog).

CS7860 has a heavier spring for high-rpm (above 6K, IIRC).

And yes...$20+ each? Ouch. That part is new! :-0

Mr D.

The CS786 is what's on my list to pick up today @ $25.49.

midyearvette

a great barometer for inflation is a pack of gum....used to be a nickel for 5 sticks. about the same time the adjustable points were introduced by the general......

Mr D.

AC Delco D106P are $28.99 @ O'Rileys Auot Parts. Just WOW.

Donald #31176

On EBAY there is a seller with the nickname Black Schnauzer selling Borg Warner points HP 112 (28-32 oz HD points) for $50 for a set of ten. Also on EBay Ive seen Accel 8140 kits consisting of HD points & condenser going for about $15 a set.

Nowhere Man

Just last fall I bought a set of standard brand heavy duty points from advance auto for less then 20 bucks my car runs great with them

AZDoug

Manufacturing economics.

About 40-50 years ago, every car on the road used breaker points. The point companies were probably selling maybe 50 million point sets a year. Crank 'em out all day and all night for next to nothing and sell them for $2.95, or less with condenser and new rotor, I don't remember what i used to pay in 1975.

Now, there are a lot less sold per year, plus dollar devaluation means that about $3.50 buys what $1 did in 1975, so do some math and you come up current $ value of about $11 for a point set, if they still made them in bulk, but they are now special parts ,a nd yeah, I can see $25-$30. If you want to feel fortunate, price a set of original Magneto Marrelli points for a 308 car, multiply by four for the two points per dizzy, and count your blessings.

I also remember when new GM water pumps were $12,a nd a new L79 short block (with cam) was a little over $300 out the door at the Chev parts counter. And gas was 31 cents/gal for premium, etc. about the same time

Doug

427Hotrod

I had great luck with Accel points. 7500 RPM and 800+ HP in my old 540. They lasted forever and held their setting well. Cheap stuff will move around a lot and bounce early

The old Delco DP-112's were great if you can find them.

Jim

Westlotorn

Points in 1973 3.50 each, gallon of gas was .35.
Points in 2013 25.00 each, gallon of gas is now 3.80 in Calif.
Looks like the Auto Parts suppliers are less greedy than the Oil companies.
What was already mentioned about volume and pricing is exactly correct. A matrix is used to set pricing, how old is the vehicle and how many are used per year. Unfortunately our cars are very old and very rare now so open the wallet.

plaidside

In the 80's I had a Valley Forge route that serviced garages and I used to sell MC-82 points for $1.00 each.
Today in my store I recommend Standard Ignition, Blue Streak DR-2371XP, they sell for under $20.00 each and are rated at a higher RPM.
Joe

http://www.standardbrand.com/Online%...g/Content.aspx

Frankie the Fink

Instead of hand wringing over the cost of older parts I'm grateful I can still get 'em.

I can walk into NAPA and get brake drums, shoes, shock absorbers, water pumps, fuel pumps, all manner of gaskets, spark plugs, you-name-it, for my 50 year old cars and darn grateful for it.

Compare these prices to equivalent parts on modern cars and you may find driving these classics is a bargain.

AZDoug

That is true. The tooling for these old cars is all amortized out, so you just have production costs.

I have some old Hot Rod magazines from the 1960's,a nd let me tell you what a bargain headers are today.

Hooker headers for you new 396 '67 Camaro: $400 in 1967. That is about $2000 today. You can buy Hookers for the same car now, for somewhere around $400. But back in 1967, they had to buy the car, cut and fit, cut and fit, make up jigs, etc, etc,and of course, if they were first to market, you had to pay if you wanted 'em.

Doug

vettsplit 63

I tell people everything costs the same today as it did back in the day. You just add a zero.
You know, maybe I had just got a bad set, but the one and only experience I ever had with the 112 HP's, I put in a set then the next time I raced my 375 hp Chevelle, it fell on it's nose at 5800. I put in valve springs, changed the coil, wires, plugs, until we finally pulled the distributor and saw the points bouncing on the Sun machine. Went back to the 106P's and it would pull up to 7000.

Ain't it the truth. I just wish that wages had kept up. Who would have thought we would be paying as much for a car as we did our house back in the early 70's?

jim lockwood

Lots of wisdom in your words, Frankie.

I, too, am grateful that it's still a simple matter to keep my old rolling stock on the road.

Anecdote: A few years back, I went into NAPA to ask them to order a Voltage regulator for my '63. Then didn't need to order it; they had one on the shelf!

Jim

DansYellow66

I used to be a big fan of NAPA but a couple years ago it seemed everything I needed for my old cars was suddenly in some other state and they wanted shipping to bring it in. And this was one of their distribution points. That was bad enough but then an alternator showed up for my Mopar that was no ways of original design and although I didn't have to accept it, I was still stuck with the shipping bill. I said enough and I've been having good luck at Advance Auto lately.

jim lockwood

The way to work around that is to have them place the part(s) you need on back order status. For some reason, there are no shipping charges when a part is back ordered.

The caveat to this strategy is that it can take an extended period of time to get your part. So, do this only if you can stand to wait.

Jim

chris ritchie

Yes, we are very fortunate in this regard. Plus, it's great to watch the reaction of the counter guy when you ask for "points." "What are points?", he'll usually say.