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So what are others using to replace them? They just won't work for some folks that can't clean them, and don't know how. Or physically cant.

I have points in every vehicle I own except the Ford trucks.

The only other options are converting your dizzy to HEI or the Pertronix type system.

And please, please, please avoid anything with the word Pertronix. A couple of months ago I showed proof (with a de-magnetized ring from a Pertronix unit) of why these fail. Anybody buying one is asking for trouble and wasting a great amount of money in the process. In my opinion there are less than $10 in parts in this unit.

Also...Around a year ago I showed how you can convert a common Chinese HEI unit made for the 230/250 (sold on eBay for $60 or less including shipping) to fit in the 235 using a ring collar, a hacksaw, a bench grinder and a file...and a couple of hours tinkering. Those are all built using GM parts and they work fine. If anything in them fails, it can be replaced using GM parts. It will come with the "coil in cap" style or you can use a plain GM type cap with a remote coil. I am using a clone I bought in 1997. I converted it to the 235 and haven't had any trouble with it.

Good luck. If you stay with the points scheme, please contact me for a lifetime condenser option.

I have some of your condensers. Points still get that what I call a skin. LOL

Not for me but for a friend. Even when I'm to the point of needing it I'd likely do the HEI deal. Its just too bad no one makes any good modules anymore.

It's also possible to install the HEI pickup coil and reluctor into an OEM stovebolt distributor housing with the original centrifugal and vacuum advance and mount the trigger module remotely on a heat sink- - - -even under the dash. The resulting system looks virtually identical to the point type system if cosmetic details matter to you.
Jerry

Just replace them. You don't need to "clean" them very often. Just examine the new ones to see that the pads mate to each other concentrically. If not, tweak". Then install and set to spec. If no one can do it, find a mechanic who is oldish. An old truck/car club will have such a person. Check our forum "Wild West Bolters" for someone near. Most ASE Mechanic Schools don't teach points....but it's not Rocket Surgery anyway.

Some folks say "Blue Streak Brand" is OK. Made in Mexico. None of the automotive brand products are actually USA made. When you read about a company, in this case, Standard Brand Motor Products, they always say they are a "global company". Use Jon's condenser. You only say you get a "skin", You don't say the motor is running bad.

Next time lets start with, "Motor won't start or missing" or something. Then give a pic of the "skin. Is it oil? corrosion? spark residue? pitting? When you "clean", just pass a piece of computer paper thru them a few times. Nothing else. If there is a problem with the motor, let us know because as far as we know there is nothing wrong here.
"Just won't work for some folks" has no meaning. We can't troubleshoot that. Switching to non points is not the answer for that.

It sounds like the folks you are speaking of would certainly not be capable of building or modifying a distributor.... or removing and installing.

The "spark" you see at the points, when they open, (primary circuit is opening) is just "switch arcing" from the coil (a step up transformer) trying to maintain flow. The actual, so called, spark at the plug is a high voltage, (secondary circuit) jump across a purpose made gap. That spark is caused by the magnetic field built up in the coil rapidly collapsing, inducing a very high voltage in the coil's secondary winding. Carried down the plug wires to plug, down the plug center wire (anode) across "the gap" to grounded tab (cathode). In football it's called intentional grounding.

The points "gap" is important for timing and proper coil saturation....and keeping them "clean".

The plug gap (the arc jump distance) is important to cause optimum spark "strength" for explosion.

When you are around electrical or electronics dealing with high voltage, high amp AC.....and you are discussing operation, you NEVER point at something or it will jump to you.

When I find myself somewhere on the road with a no start condition, the first thing that I do is remove the distributor cap to see if a buddy has stolen my rotor button when I wasn't looking again.
If the rotor button is there, I burnish the points with whatever paper I can come up with. I like a business card.
If that doesn't work, I keep 800 grit wet/dry paper in the glove box. That is enough to get me home, but before I go out again, I know that I need a new set of points. The surface of the points works best if it looks like a mirror like when brand new. 800 grit won't make a mirror surface. It will just get you home.

I kept a spare set of points, condenser and a rotor in my glove box.

Off topic; but I had a 66gmc that would occasionally shut off. I figured out that I needed to tweak the dwell a bit.
I eventually got tired of doing that on the side of the road and inspected the dizzy. It was cracked and would rotate just enough to mess up my dwell setting.

The wet/dry can not be something like aluminum oxide. Don't need more oxide on them. The person can't always climb in and do all that diddling with the points. Its always going to be a problem in a down pour.

If you’re committed to ditching the points, Jon G’s suggestion of the GM HEI might be simplest path forward. Many vendors sell a version that is already good to go for the 235.

Just an example:

https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Motors-Chevy-216-235-261-Straight-6-HEI-Distributor,443602.html

You’d probably need a clamp they sell as well.

I don’t love the look of the large cap HEI, but I do understand the practicality.

Thanks...I agree it might be the simplest path. Mine has been working fine since 1997. I will say the distributors I've been modifying sell for about $60, though and I think I paid about $15 for 2 of the clamps on Amazon, so that would add another $7~8. Just try not to hacksaw your thumb as I often do because it hurts and it could take longer to heal than you wish.

Here's one with a black distributor cap. And if you want a separate coil, you can do that and use the GM low rise distributor cap and the rotor that pairs with it. A 1978 230 engine will get those 2 parts for you. To each his/her own but I like the short path from the coil to the innards, so I just use the coil-in-cap type.

https://tinyurl.com/3pcfbv4x

For a bit of a heads-up, a friend mentioned he saw one of the distributors for the 216/235/261 and to his eye it looked like the bottom of the shaft had not been shortened. From the picture it looks like that to me, also. I agree this might be an easy mistake to make. Since the collar can be positioned anywhere, a person might misunderstand the importance of meshing the camshaft gear and the distributor gear and might think that step isn't necessary. Neither of us has bought one to check but my suggestion would be to buy whatever you want and before you install it, compare it carefully with the stock distributor you have. If the HEI hasn't been shortened correctly the distributor gear could be running too high on the camshaft gear by as much as the thickness of 3 pennies and that could cause serious damage to both gears and a quick failure. It should look like what you see below and the tip end and the location of the gear should match with the OEM type. Good luck!

Here is the best I can do with an overlay of the converted "216, 235, 261 HEI" on to the OEM and the conversion I made. I really don't know how accurate it is because with the program I have I can only approximate and hope for the best. I got the gears as close in size as possible and went from there. May just be me, but I think it does look longer and I'd suspect the tip is what needs to be cut down.

Good observation, Jon. Just thinking out loud here, without a dizzy in front of me.

Could a guy use the original style clamp and vacuum advance rather than the HEI one?

Yes, I see no reason you couldn't however I've learned with the HEI units (all of them, including Tom Langdon's Mini-Hei) it is important to seal them well at the top either with an internal O-ring in a groove and/or an external O-ring where the clamp fits to hold them in the block. Otherwise they'll leak/seep. Also in contrast to the original style, things work best if you can have the distributor firmly set...and with the original setup the distributor naturally had a little wiggle because to adjust timing the vacuum canister moved the whole thing back and forth a bit. I think if I was doing this it would be only for the appearance and I think I'd sacrifice the original style clamp making it solid with a large metal washer on the bottom for the O-ring. With any of the HEI units out there, you'll get a new vacuum advance canister.

Actually for the cost of $60 (including shipping) or so on eBay, a person gets a good deal of new "stuff" you might not even think about...vac advance, rotor, dist cap, coil, all the internals...things that if you bought them separately you would pay about twice what the distributor costs.

Also, if you're prone to tinkering you can buy for about $15 a set of 6 weight springs that will let you adjust the centrifugal timing curve a bit...you know, springs with lighter tension will give you more advance at lower rpms, tighter springs will hold advance back until rpms increase, etc.

I did a search on amazon for Chevrolet 6 cylinder HEI distributor. And what popped up a few scrolls down, one made for 235, with the clamp, and says for Toyota FJ as well. Some okay reviews. No having to make it fit, just drop in. Though wondering about the gear, says steel. Don't remember the cam material cast iron? $69.00 +tax. One on the way.

JW51 it would probably work. But why? I never liked the rotating distributor, wears the hole in the block, flexs the wires etc.

As I mentioned (and have mentioned here before), please check the gear location with your stock distributor. You truly do not want it sitting too high on the cam gear. That could ruin the distributor gear and the camshaft pretty rapidly. I haven't had a problem with the cam gear and the distributor gear being incompatible.

...and it is possible to have the distributor high enough that the gear will still mesh, therefore the engine can run, but the tang on the bottom of the shaft will not engage the oil pump. I tore down a 270 GMC that ran 5 hours and then quit turning the pump because the distributor was set too high.

So do all the OEM distributors have that goofy swivel u joint thingy? That those amazon units have?

This made for 235 one is a solid shaft. I PM'ed Jon about it.

Do you have a ballast resistor?

Many that I've seen have the swivel u-joint thingy but it hasn't seemed to be a problem and a friend says he thinks it may even be a benefit. I suppose a person could make it perfectly straight and weld it in place, but as I said it hasn't been a problem.

If you want a super-accurate distributor, it's easy to fabricate a new shaft from drill rod and install Torrington needle bearings in the top and bottom of the housing. I've seen a couple of 2 piece shafts broken at the joint, possibly from high oil pump loads during a cold start.
Jerry