That distributor is not stock
Looks like a unilite or some other points delete distributor
If you have room, add a HEI (some have cap clearance issues with the cowl)
You can get a HEI cheap, have someone install it for you
It's pretty easy really, you will need a timing light after you rough time it and get it running

 

If some nut lights off an EMP bomb over here, you / we, will all wish we had points anyway

 

Yeah it's a unilite,I'm not a fan.
I also suggested an HEI,about as reliable as it gets,set it and forget it for a long time.

 

I still have points in my all original 1972 GMC.

 

Hi all,



I owed all you great people a huge thank you for all the guidance and support on my request for help above. So, thank you so much for your insightful pieces of advice, which was immensely helpful.



And, I wanted to also update you that my issue has finally been resolved. I wanted to share with you what the issue was. It was the electronic module within the Mallory Unilite Distributor. The three wires of the module within the Distributor body were slightly ripped/peeled and somewhat broken, mainly near the ‘cable tie’ that was holding the wires screwed to the base plate of the inside of the distributor. How I came to know this? One of my friends looked it up on internet, and he found instructions to test the Mallory Unilite Distributor electronic module. We checked the voltage at the coil, and then blocked the optic sensor of the dizzy module with a plastic credit card, and checked the voltage at the coil – the voltage should drop in case of an functional module, and would remain 12 v if the module is faulty. In my case, the voltage remained 12v, and hence we identified the module was faulty. I ordered the module from Summit Racing, and managed to install it myself.



One thing which I also additional learned (and am still confused about) is that the manufacturer recommends that with the Mallory Unilite module, we must use a 1.4 ohms ballast resistor. I ordered a 1.5 ohms resistor (could not find a 1.4 ohs one) and installed it. The car would not start. Kept cranking as before, but wouldn’t start. I had to ultimately remove the ballast resistor and the car fired up right away. Now it is running bit without a ballast resistor (maybe it already has some sort of resistor etc in the ignition switch etc).



So, now …………….. I can thankfully say that “It is alive !!!!”.



I thought I must share this update, as a token of thanks, and a responsibility to bring it on record, so that someone else could benefit from this.

Thanks once again …. and keep enjoying your Camaros !

@Y2Keglide @Gorn @manicmechanic007 thank you so much !!

 

Here are some pics

 

 

Thank you very much!

Although it is working now, I still have a question:

Background:

1. The Mallory Unilite test procedure said that by placing a plastic card at the optic sensor, the voltage should drop to 1 to 2 volts. If it does the unit is working fine. If volts drop to 3 to 4 volts it may be faulty. And the literature also recommends to use 1.4 ohms ballast resistor.

2. In my case now, when I put the new module and a 1.5 ohms ballast resistor, the car would crank but wouldn’t start. I removed the ballast resistor and it now starts fine. However, when I perform the plastic card test, the voltage drops to 6 - 7 volts (not 1 to 2 volts as indicated by the literature to be a sign of a working module).

Remaining question:

Is there something still wrong with my setup ? Am I still running the risk of burning down the module eventually?

 

Wish I could help but I have only worked on Mallory dual point ignition systems, that was not optical. I do know about ballasts.

A ballast is tested and rated by ohms but its real function is as capacitor. The ohms test makes sure the ballast is not shorted to ground, which would short the coil to ground and cause a no start. It will hold a change briefly the release the power so the coil gets a fuller charge. I am showing my age in this post but back in the day we would charge a ballast off a battery the throw them at each other. If the metal part and the wire touched at the same time you would get a small intense shock. So it is basically a battery that can release all of its power in milliseconds.

A 1.5 ohm vs 1.4 ohm really should not mater, the original ballast GM made where all over the place. Anywhere from .5 ohm to 3 ohms on a hot engine. What you looked for was infinity. That meant the Ballast was fried. If the capacitor itself stopped taking a charge.it would show up in weak spark, You would get back firing under any load.