There is a larger group everyday going to the small body HEI and it works flawlessly. The concerns back in the early 70's about internal crossfire were never realized back then and they have zero affect on the small body HEI's today. I think it was more of an added excuse to put the HEI module and coil on board the distributor. Problem is, it looks terrible.
What some people fail to realize is the 45Kv coil is producing a hotter spark and wider gaps allow for a much more violent combustion. The engine just runs better. (every article written about HEI since the 70's says it). The gap WILL matter, I think, but I will be much more sure when I run the tests here in a few days. It isn't true because I said it. EVERYONE in the industry says it. With no dissention whatsoever among the guru's who have spent their lives doing this.
There is way more to HEI than just extending the life of the ignition system or impune someones character by insisting they are too lazy to do routine maintenance. The computer controls the dwell based on RPM and takes those duties completely away from the distributor. Timing is much more precise and for much much longer. I do not want an HEI that just fires at 12Kv and gives me the same spark I get with a points distributor. Why would I do that when I can get a 25-30Kv spark and have much hotter and more fully burned fuel at leaner mixtures? The tests will include three gaps. Those three gaps will tell us if the HEI is happier with a small gap or a large gap.
Just like anything else, you don't push the limits of your system by gapping to .080 or some ridiculous number. This is why GM has specifications on how they want each of their systems plugs gapped. Its not in their best interests to have ruined systems due to signal grounding anymore than it is ours.
Tom Langdon uses a V6 distributor and recommends .060, probably mirroring what the car it came out of was spec'ed at. Jim Linder who has spent his entire life paying attention in class tested the one I use now and decided that .045 was his recommended number. These people do not set out to screw the public out of their hard earned money by selling wide gap spark plugs just to keep a myth alive.
I keep getting told over and over by MANY of you Bolters out there to stop paying certain people lip service. They don't know what they are talking about but for some unknown reason desperately want you to think they do. I don't get it! On my own, I do not profess to know anything. I have to actually make phone calls, leave messages, emails, interact with people and reliable web sites from all over the world before I open my mouth. Its baffling, but since I am the OP, thanks to all of you who actually have an HEI and actually know what your plug gaps are recommended to be.
An O2 sensor and bung are on order. I am excited to see what it can tell me as far as air/fuel burn using what few parameters we have to work with. For $30 bucks, I just want to know! Testing will end this discussion once and for all anyway. At least for those who can use their cognizant ability to make their own decisions based on real data.
