The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The HiPo Shop Distributor problem

I have a hei distributor in my truck with clearance problems. The 2 back wires must go to opposite cyls. and they hit the firewall and come loose. The ends are a 90 deg. would a straight end fit better?

If not I will have to look for a different dist. Advice??

How about bashing in the firewall a little. I don't think changing the wire angle would help & besides they are hard to service that way. I use the original type dist. & an electronic conversion kit on my 55-59 models.

That's what I did...

A little massage with a BFH will create enough clearance to solve the problem. A neater-looking approach would be to cut out a small section of firewall near the distributor and weld in a smoothly-bent patch panel, but that would need to be done during an off-the frame restoration,or at least while the wire harnesses and other flammable parts were removed.
Jerry

Will try the BFH. thanks

I'm dealing with the same issue. I tought about taking a hammer to it but have been looking into small cap hei with a remote coil. Found a couple but they are kinda pricey. Will keep you posted.

Keep me posted on the small cap hei. thanks

I bought a new small cap HEI off of ebay for $45. The guy has numerous listings for that price. Was going to use a Blaster 3 coil but think I'll stick with a regular one considering the smaller distance between terminals.

There's a tech tip somewhere that describes converting an original equipment Chevy distributor to electronic trigger status by installing Chrysler Corporation parts. It's for a 6-cylinder distributor, but the same procedure would work for a V-8. That takes care of eliminating the points, but it doesn't deal with the possibility of high voltage flashover to the wrong distributor terminal in case of a wide plug gap or an open-circuited plug wire. There's a reason for the 8MM plug wire insulation and the wide-spaced distributor cap terminals of the HEI ignition system- - - - -the 50,000 Volts available from the stock HEI coil will jump VERY wide gaps! There's absolutely no need for enhanced-voltage hotrod coils- - - -the HEI has plenty of voltage already!
Jerry

Gonna go with this one myself.

I am having a problem with the plug boots burning out.
MSD coil on a gm hdi distributor. I don't believe heat is the problem but the boots get holes in them. Using 8mm wires.

Is there a reason for running the MSD ("Multi-Spark Discharge") coil? The stock HEI coil can produce 50,000+ volts, and that will fire a spark plug with the ground electrode removed. One feature of most MSD systems is the fact that each spark plug is fired 4 or 5 times in the same amount of time it takes the conventional system to fire it once. On an oscilloscope, I can see 5 separate firing lines, compressed into about 5 milliseconds or so. If you're doing one long-duration spark with the MSD coil, it's possible it's firing a spark through the plug boot to ground and burning holes in the boots. I'd go back to a regular HEI coil, and find somebody who's just got to have that MSD coil for the brag factor. It's certainly not necessary for routine driving.
Jerry

small cap hei is my recomendation. Stock coil is all I ever needed.

Well, the stock coil has been lost for some time now. I never had the problem untill I switched wires. I wonder if I got a defective batch of wires???

Got mine in the other day and installed it. Couldn't get it to start, found my tank full of water. :mad: Drained it over the weekend. Will keep you posted.

I'm waiting, What are you using for a coil??

The coil was included, package deal.

Ok, think now, where did you get your package??

Go back through the thread and look at my original post.

Hope you are right, I ordered one Sunday. Will keep you posted after I get it installed. Anyone need the old HEI?