RACE car engines aside.
The originator of this thread wanted to put a STOCK HEI in a STOCK 292 truck engine.
Good spark plugs will fire with a points ignition in the 10,000 to 14,000 volt range, depending on compression and fuel mixture.
Good spark plugs will fire with a HEI ignition in the 10,000 to 14,000 volt range, depending on compression and fuel mixture.
Bad spark plugs will require a higher voltage in order to fire, but most stock points coils can fire up to 18,000 volts.
The biggest advantage of HEI ignitions is that they will fire bad plugs more reliably and you don't have the replace the points on a regular basis.
Anyone that doesn't have a problem setting the point gap/dwell and timing will tell you they noticed no difference when changing an engine to electronic ignition on a stock engine. The one thing that is most notable is that they can't remember when they did the last tuneup.
The originator of this thread also said that he was, "electrically challenged".
It may seem like a simple task to some of you to change the stock wiring, but you are not there showing the guy how it is actually done. You are telling a guy to cut up his wiring harness and you don't have any knowledge as to whether he is capable of putting it back together the way you envision it.
Leaving the resistor and the original wires as they were has the single advantage in that it has the greatest chance of being successful.
If a guy knows enough to make this change without problems, he wouldn't be asking here in the first place.
