Durango_Boy

I bought one of those true firing order caps so that your wires for 1, 3, 5, & 7 are on the driver's side, and 2, 4, 6, & 8 were on the passenger side.

All went well until I found out that my current HEI distributor has the J-hook style hold downs and the new cap has the screw style.

I know I need a new distributor, and I already bought one, but it's a J-hook style too.

Were there any stock large cap HEI distributors that used the screw style hold downs from the factory or am I going to have to look for an expensive after market distributor?

Thanks.

bluthundr

My 76 has the screw down style cap. I'm pretty sure it is stock. My fathers 78 Chevy 3/4 ton also has the screw down style HEI.

Durango_Boy

Hmm...makes me wonder if the distributor in my '77 was not stock. I always thought it was.

bluthundr

Oh, wait, sorry. I was thinking of how the coil screws onto the cap.

Is there a way to take the J-hooks off your current cap and move them over to the new one?

Durango_Boy

Nope, I checked. The J-clips are slid in, then bent. There is no way of getting them out without cutting or breaking the old cap and that would leave no way to install them.

bluthundr

Well, here is a list of vehicles that use the J-hook style cap. I guess you need one from a vehicle not on this list.

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductG...artnumber=D336

mrvette

AS I RECALL, the '87 vette had a screw down type dist cap....dunno why, AFAIK it's another stupid idea.....

honestly...for years now, I being lazy just use 2 of the 4 J hooks in position, and have NEVER had a problem for doing so....

so far....

Durango_Boy

I just did some checking and found no Corvette HEI distributors with the screw down caps. All, even through the '80's, had the J-hook style.

Who's the maker of that true firing order cap? They must make a base that it fits.

DR.Jay

Can you post a pic of the cap?

big_G

'84 thru '91 'Vettes use screw-in HEI caps.

jackson

Accel Corrected GM HEI Cap & Rotor Kit P/N 8138 is pictured w/ "j-hooks">http://go.mrgasket.com/newproducts/flyers/74232G.pdf
Corrected GM HEI Cap & Rotor Kits
For the final aesthetic touch for any GM V8 engine compartment with a HEI in-cap coil distributor.
Are you tried of the looks of the spark plug wires wrapping around the HEI distributor cap
to get to the other side of the engine? Don’t you wish you could eliminate the ugly spark
plug wire cross over patterns? Well wish no more! Don’t mess around with one
of those “remanufactured caps” of questionable quality or reputation.
This is a brand new design distributor cap, manufactured on specifically purpose built
mold tooling. With the ACCEL Corrected GM HEI distributor cap and rotor kit, the spark
plug wires coming off each side of the cap stay on that side of the engine. All the even
number cylinder spark plug wires on one side of the distributor cap and all the odd
cylinder numbers spark plug wires on the other side. Simple, elegant and easy to install.
And best of all, this ACCEL kit works on all GM HEI in-cap coil V8 and replacement HEI
type distributors with tab hold down (not screw down) caps, including Buick, Cadillac,
Chevrolet, Oldsmobile and Pontiac V8 engines.
The kit comes complete with a matching stylized balance
rotor, a stylized coil dust cover and specialized spark plug
wire holder and boot retaining ring to complete the clean
look. All are molded in a glass reinforced 60 kV dielectric
strength polymer for maximum performance and great
looks. The kits are available in the traditional ACCEL Tan
as well as Red, Blue and Black.
#8138 Tan #8138R Red
#8138B Blue #8138K Black
supposed to be released late March 2007>
http://www.accel-diesel.com/AskTechR...ID=0&ID=154911
Not shown online at jegs nor summit ... try gilbert-sallee> 1-800-545-0048 http://www.gilbertautoparts.com ... heck, your local parts house would be first place to look , maybe they can order it.

Durango_Boy

Well, I bought it used and it came with no coil of cap.. no big deal since I have all that stuff as spares.

I wonder if the previous owner cut the J-clips out and installed screws since it was maybe going into a car with a screw down HEI.

Question is, should I replace the cap to match my distributor or should I replace the distributor to match the cap? The distributor I have is old and worn.

jackson

Flebay the used corrected screw cap.
Screw HEI dist or cap apparently few & far between ... probably pricey for good ones ... not so for hook type HEI. Get a decent HEI dist w/ a hook type mount ... run a reg cap or get the above accel corrected cap when/if available.

I have F/S 2 NEW accel blueprint HEI dist ... they use j-hook caps ... NO, they're not as cheap as the asian HEI sold on Flebay @ $50-$75 ... these are all USA ... email only if serious.

aussiejohn

Dboy,
quote..."The distributor I have is old and worn." You have answered your own question.

Not wishing to hijack, but those screws or J hooks are damn hard to get to with the dissy down the back of the engine. Wouldn't it be nice if the top of the screws were a lot higher up the cap, so that you could actually see them when you went to put a screwdriver on them?

Seems like a modification that Accel and the like could do that would make tune ups a lot easier for us.

Regards from Down Under

aussiejohn

68/70Vette

Let's say you have your timing all set up and you have the stock HEI cap. To install the new design 1357 (driver's side) 2368 HEI cap, can you simply remove the stock cap and directly install the new design 1357 (driver's) with out concern to readjusting/retiming the distributor rotor?

Durango_Boy

Yep, just change the cap and rotor and make sure your wires are where they should be and that's all there is to it.

tigers123

Not shown online at jegs nor summit ... try gilbert-sallee> 1-800-545-0048 http://www.gilbertautoparts.com ... heck, your local parts house would be first place to look , maybe they can order it.[/QUOTE]

I had one on order from Jegs. Been back ordered for months.Evidently there is a problem with this cap as it also dropped from accel catalog as well. I had heard there is problem with corrected caps crossfiring for some reason. I like the idea of trying to straighten out the cap for making the wires neat, however if cap causes problems don't need that.

JackDidley

My 86 vette had a screw down cap distributor. And my 87. Some Caddys' had them too. Should not be hard to find.

markdtn

Yep, my '91 engine has a screw-in type cap.

jackson

Question for you guys that have vette (ie 84-91) with screw-down HEI caps.
Does that dist have both mech & vac advances? ... both preferred for most carbed street motor. If not, perhaps advances could be retrofitted.