The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop HEI distributor

This question probably is not a stovebolt question, but I asked it on another site and have not gotten any useful information. Hopefully someone here will know.

I am installling a 396 in an 86 Chevy pickup with a bad 350. The 396 is an old engine, with points. The distributor from the 350 fits, everything is fine except it is loose in the block. The 396 distributor has an extra "journal" if you want to call it that, up near the top of the distributor. There are 2 others down to the gear side, both on the 396 and 350 distributors. Without this third "journal", the only thing locating the distributor at the top is where the distributor fits into the manifold. I have between 1/16 and 1/8" of slop up at the top. I thought I would just have to find an HEI distributor for a big block, but come to find out, according to some reliable sources, none of the HEI distributors have the third "journal" at the top. I guess my questions are, is there something wrong with this particular engine that I have causing what I consider is excessive play, and what can I do about it, or should I just bolt it in and use it as is? I have had one guy tell me not to worry about it, but it doesn't look right to me.

Any help greatly appreciated.

PS I suppose I could use my old points distributor, but it would require some additional wiring and I would really like to have the HEI if possible.

Can you come up with a sleeve or bushing for the three 'journals'?

It seems to me that it would be important to keep the distributor centered and sealed, and just bolting it without dealing with those issues might not be such a good idea.

I'm sure someone will come along with more info and maybe a link to a site with more info on BBC's.

This link is the only Big Block site I have kept track of: http://www.roadsters.com/bbc/

I'm thinking that big and small block distributors should interchange directly, and you sure don't want your timing changing as it wobbles around...

But I don't know with certainty.

I have a big block that ran real poor for a while, and replacing the distributor made a huge improvement. But its an '89 with TBI and a different setup than the '86.

I ran into a similar situation when installing a Dart intake on my buddy's 400-the dist hole was much larger than the Edelbrock intake we were replacing. He called Dart, they said it would be fine,they machine it that way to allow for mis-alignment or aftermarket dist-and so far it has-(been over a year & many miles)once the clamp is on the dizzy, it stays put. brian

If you desire an HEI how about using the correct distributor(assuming you have it)and installing a Petronix or other brand HEI module with a high output coil. Seems like this would fill your requirement.

This is an option, although I know the 454 engines available in Blazers, etc. were equipped with HEI. If the newer distributors do not have the third "journal", either the slop up at the top is of no consequence, or there is something amiss with my engine.

Your idea is a good one, but you don't know how tight I am. If there is some way to avoid spending money and use the available components, that is my first choice.

Thanks to everyone for the replies. This appears to be a better forum than the other one, even though this question probably is not quite applicable to stovebolts.

Are you sure the distributor is all the way in? It sounds like it might not be sliding over the oil pump drive yet to me.Or are you saying the housing is just cut too small to fit properly?
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