@ Mike and sons,
Hi ya'll, I thought I knew where Wade is but I had to look it up. I'm in Raleigh so we're practically neighbors! Ok, on to business.
Points vs HEI; HEI wins every time, simply because they are set it and forget it, any unit you use, modified late stock, Pertronix, or Langdon's. Tom Langdon is a super guy to deal with, but his distributor is expensive. Pertronix catalog is a nightmare. The 1975 through 1988 Chevy straight 6 HEI is ugly, but oh does it work good, but it requires some modification. How you go is up to you, but I'd tend toward the late stock guy. Once the mods are done they're done and you can get parts at any parts house.
I lived for years with the stock original and don't think I set the points more than every normal tune-up. I drove a 1975 C-10 (250 L6,) from Raleigh to Canada North of Toronto, to West of De Moines Iowa, to Raleigh and never touched anything under the hood except the dip stick. I did use a quart of oil.
My point here, is that ANY system in proper tune and good condition will serve you well!
With the HEI, don't forget to run a switched 10ga or 12ga hot from the ignition switch to the distributor. Don't use the old coil wire!
Drop me a PM if I can help!
Best wishes,
Les
