Gap on points?

I've been chasing one problem after another. I put new points in, is the gap 0.16? :?

 

for a Delco AMC V8 distributor, yes .016 for the points
or....29*- 31* dwell

 

Ever think about putting in a Pertronix kit? Once I did it to my F head it ran better and no points to play with. Costs under $100.00 to do it.

 

I'm new to this points stuff. I set the points at 0.016, but whats the dwell?

 

Are you sitting points for a v8 304???? If so what does the gap need to be??? I am needing to do mine.....

 

The book is 0.016 for V8's, I just learned about the dwell also.

 

The point gap is only a rough reference, always set it by the dwell if possible.

 

Once you have ran your points, you can no longer get an accurate gap setting with a feeler gauge because the points get arched, meaning when you look at the point contact, you can see one side will have a pit and the other will have that pitted metal welded to it, so a feeler gauge only measures flat, not pits and mountains. So then you will need a dwell meter to measure that distance(gap). My dad had this monterous dwell meter I grew up with tuning my VW bug, but now my hand held digital multi-meter has a dwell meter on it. Using the dwell meter really is the only way to adj. points, the feeler gauge is for a good starting point. Also if your points are arching, you could be leaving the key on without the jeep running, it will arch them fast, My dad used to yell at me when I listened to my radio with the key on and engine not running. My fingers are tired from typing, good luck! Oh, I'd convert to electronic ignition

 

My Dad was a mechanic and I learned to fix dang near everything, but the one thing I never got the hang of was setting points. So when I got this jeep about 3 months ago, the first thing I did was install the Pertronix points. Now when I do a tune-up, its plugs wires, cap and rotor. Done. For a hundred bucks, it will easily pay for itself in time that you could be out enjoying your jeep. That works out to about 5 or 6 fill ups at the gas pump. My humble 2 cents worth! Good luck!