The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay homemade mini HEI ?

Has anyone made their own mini HEI distributor like the one Langdon sells. I have one from a 2.8 liter S-10 with a vacuum advance that I would like to try it with. I already see that I will have to machine the housing to fit the block but I haven't figured out yet how to lengthen the shaft to reach the oil pump. Should I weld on to the existing shaft? Make a new one from stock? Is there another shaft available that will fit this distributor?
Surely someone besides Tom Langdon has solved this problem on their own. Can you point me in the right direction?

I wouldn't recomend welding on that shaft. You might check out the Tech Tip here.

I had already checked out that tech tip but I don't really like the big distributor cap. I like the look of the mini-hei much better but I haven't quite figured how to make it work. Is anyone else too poor to buy a Langdon kit? Let me know how you solved it.

All the shafts I have seen are the same diameter, can you use a longer one from a different distributor? Joe

woodwindow,

At some point, I researched this same mini-deal because I liked the look of the small unit. I would almost swear that the foundation for the distributor that Langdon sells doesn't need major modifications, such as a longer shaft etc.

It has been awhile since I did this so I might have my facts bass/ackwards!

Stuart

Joe H,
The mini HEI shaft is thinner than the stovebolt shaft so to use the original gear I would have to make a bushing (that's doable).The shaft from a V8 HEI is longer but too fat for the mini housing.

atomarc,
The distributor I have comes from a Chevy 2.8 and it's the only one I know of that looks like that. The housing looks just like Langdon's but the shaft length is too short.

I believe the earlier inline sixes with Hei had the coil separate from the distributor and was mounted on block or fender well. Perhaps these had the smaller cap like you're looking for. I have two of the hei distributors but mine or later ones which have the coil in the cap.

Spoon,
You're right, some HEI inline distributors had separate coils and some had built in coils but all had the big ugly cap. The mini's were only used on the 2.8 V6(as far as I know) and those are the one's Langdon adapts to the stovebolt 6.

Why not put a Petronics in the original dist.

Wrenchbender Ret.,
The Pertronix is $83 at Jeg's plus a high performance coil to approximate HEI performance. I already have the mini HEI setup for free if I can make it work. Also I once had a Mallory Unilite system leave me on the side of the road. Pertronix has come a long way from that system, I'm sure, but GM HEI parts are cheap ,readily available and dependable. Thank you for the input!

I have a VW engine that uses the stock centrifical adv. dizzy with a custom Hall Effect (magnetic) sensor inside, with the HEI coil & trigger module is mounted on the firewall. It's a 40,000+ volt system, & except for the sensor all the parts can be had at any parts house & can be upgraded with common performance parts.

To do your truck, you need a sensor pickup that fits your current dizzy, the Pertronix unit would be a good bet. Then all you'll need is the trigger module & a remote HEI coil, mount them in a small enclosure on the firewall and you're set to go.

Freq2002,
When you are referring to a "remote HEI coil", do you mean the GM remote coil I was using with my mini distributor or do you mean an aftermarket coil? Also what is a "trigger module"?
I know what the Pertronix unit looks like but I was trying to do a low bucks upgrade with something I already had that is supposed to be adaptable. Thanks for the input!

The trigger module takes the pulses from the pertronix or a hall effect sensor & makes them into a signal for the coil. HEI runs alot more juice than a standard coil so points are a thing of the past. This link shows the Pertronix HEI ignition module that can be used easily enough. The thing about going this simpler route is the module should be mounted in an enclosure, you can get metal ones from Radio Shack or make one.
As for the remote HEI coil, it's the same guts as the in-cap coil, but for applications where space was an issue. A couple passenger cars didn't have the space needed to clear the big ol herky HEI dizzy/coil combos. The MSD Blaster Coil is one I'm looking at as an upgrade to my system as it's a standard GM coil pack and is easy to mount in a box. However, if you dont mind it being out there for the world to see, there are the surface mount coils like the MSD Blaster HVC-2 coil, or the Mallory Promaster Classic which even comes with a ceramic ballast resistor.
If you dont want to put all that in the engine compartment & want to be sneaky, you can mount a dummy coil in the engine compartment, and use a Firewall feed-thru and mount the coil & trigger module inside the cab up under the dash. Hell for radio noise, but keeps the engine bay clean & clear. You can even keep the stock coil in operable shape in case you need a spare. If the coil or module crap, you just pull the coil wire off the feed-thru, pop it on the dummy coil, and if you run a circut junction block to divide the coils, it's possible to simply switch over from one system to the other. Old baja truck/buggy trick, has saved many a rear.

Lots of options out there, just have to decide how you want to mount it, then put it in.
If you need some help with figguring out what I'm talkin about on the wiring I can throw together a line schematic and send it, or I can just post it here. I'm sure I have started a few gear heads wheels a'churnin by now.

I have a pertronix ignitor and a higher voltage coil for a few years and like it, as it's reliable and doesn't require maintenance.

Just spoke to a tech at Pertronix and they only have the Ignitor I that works for the 235/261 - the Ignitor II and the new modules will not work....

How would a street rod 235/261 benefit from the GM HEI conversion or is it only useful with higher rpm and racing engines?

Hotter more consistent spark, results in cleaner burn & better fuel efficiency. That & with a non points setup you dant have to mess with points! Set it & forget it, lovely thing.

Yes, that's what I keep reading about HEI.
Sounds like the Ignitor/hotter coil setup that I already have plus a module.
I wonder what the module does exactly and if it improves further or just adds another element that can fail.

Does drpend on the trigger unit you're using. In the case of the kit in my car, hall effect generators create a very slight, but consistently accurate electrical pulse. Something of a wave form signal without the basic open/close system you get with points, so the module acts as a relay if you will. I would think that using one in conjunction with a Pertronix unit would reduce the chance of overloading the trigger when using the real high amperage coils. If the pertronix is already providing the proper signal to your HEI coil you probably wont need one if you stay with what you have. Depends on the setup & the power draw thru the trigger. As I haven't played with one yet to see just how they function & what abuse one can take, I dunno! Not yet anyway, we'll have to see what I have to rig on my ol beast when that time comes.

Best bet to keep the headache levels manageble, figgure out what you want from your system, then send out a couple emails to ignition manufacturers tech departments. I'd see what they have to say.

I think I figured it out.
If you already have a good stock distributer, the pertronix upgrades are the way to go.
If you start from scratch a HEI distributer will give a little hotter and longer spark, as the module can pass a little more current/voltage than the ignitor.

In the same engine an A/B test would probably give almost identical results.

Thanks for the input.

if you use he petronix can you use the stock coil and will you still need the resistor????

Yes. You still use the resistor in the circuit. You can use the stock coil or you can use a performance coil that meets their specks.

Woodwindow made up a tech tip for us on his home-made Mini-HEI. Sorry it took so long to get it in here. I thought I'd had it done Friday. But getting John's engine sorta took over the plans for the day!

Peg