Ok, so I changed my exhaust the other day, and after fitting it I had it idling for about 30 mins as some fettling of the exhaust joints was required. I then drove it and it started to hicup under load at higher RPMs like there was split second cut off in the ignition, I have tried to replicate the symptom and it seems to do it after either a run and then you restart it and it will hicup once or twice and then clear, or by leaving it idling for a 30 mins and then giving it the beans and it will hicup a couple of times.
So it's doing it when there are elevated temps around the engine and only a few hicups occur then it clears.

I've ordered new silicone leads, new dizzy cap, coil, rotor and points, but thought I would consult what else it could be?

Its a old P6 RV8, been fully rebuilt 2 years or 3000 miles ago, its looked after, but this symptom I want to nip in the bud before it gets worse. I had the carbs balanced and refurbed last year, so they could not be the issue?

I have searched for a "how to change points etc" but could not find anything on here, as I have never had many points ignition vehicles and never changed any, so I am actually lost on how to swap them out.

could also be fuel vaporising in fuel lines..(due to heat)..AND/or condensor going iffy..

but to change points..basically..remove dizzy cap..pull off rotor arm, but be carfull and hold points etc down with a adrewdriver or similar so as not to pull bob weights off (you justt want rotor arm to come off and nothing else)
unscrew the screw holding points down and remove, but also remove wire.. remove condensor too and replace both..
one then sets gap with feeler gauge to correct settings (manual)with points open ie with the bit of plastic that runs around dizzy spindle (8 sides) at a peak..
then there is dwel to consider....GOOGLE!!!this must be you tube

if i were you i would buy a manual..above is real easy, just difficult to explain properly..OR even better go buy electronic dizzy!!??

Its hard to get your head around the fact that points and condensers are alien to a lot of folk



you have just made me feel old




As for your problem , As said above fitting new is a must and setting with a dwell meter for best results

If you get an old meter of flea bay make sure it has a 4 and 8 cylinder switch

Yeah, points on mowers I find easy, but I have no idea even to find TDC, I haven't looked yet, but I guess there are timing marks of the crank pulley and some where else? I will get a manual as it'mental that I have never changed a set of points in a car before.

Thanks for the help.

Buy a dwell meter to set the points gap, info below hope you have the external adjustment type dizzy.


Points Types




How can people not know how to adjust points.........sad very sad....or fit a luminition optical conversion kit.


http://www.newtronic.co.uk/new/support/lumign/optron/PMA50_installation.pdf

Like has been said, best bet get a dwell meter for doing points. Your problem could well be just the condenser so you could try swapping out the condenser first before playing about with the points but if you go down this route I would suggest at least cleaning the points to make sure there is a good clean contact.

It would probably be better to swap both points and condenser then you know its been done. Depending on how worn the distributor is you might find it will run like a bag of spanners if you set points gap and dwell as per the book, you might need to "adjust" for wear, don't forget to check the ignition timing while you're at it. HTH

Setting the points by dwell angle will allow for worn shaft bushes/ignition advance plate or fit an Lumintion optical system, the other answer is to buy a new distributor/system.

I got the cam in a position where the points were fully open, and swapped them out with a new set, adjusted them with a feeler gauge to what was in a old Haynes manual I found, changed the condenser, leads, rotor arm, coil and cap. All seems ok now, took me 30 mins including smoking a few fags, did notice that the carb diagrams were needing some oil so I chucked some ATF down the dash pots, I will see tomorrow if it hicups anymore as I did not have time to test it. Did check for excessive play in the cam drive, but there is hardly any. You guys were right though, its a relatively simple task thanks for your input.