HEI Distributors advice needed
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 198
Likes: 0
From: Rogers Arkansas
St. Jude Donor '06
HEI Distributors advice needed
I want to replace the old mallory distributor on my '71 350 as it is worn and needs new sparkplug wires (attached in a funky way) and the cap is chipped... ANYWAY... No a lot to spend of course, but I saw 2 on Ebay that I think will fitthe bill -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1974-...QQcmdZViewItem
and
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-...3286.m20.l1116
Any thoughts or advice?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1974-...QQcmdZViewItem
and
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/1971-...3286.m20.l1116
Any thoughts or advice?
Le Mans Master
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 8,117
Likes: 104
From: charlotte north carolina
i think that they are the same unit. i bought one on ebay for $90, and it looks just like those two. you'll need to change the wires or at least the distributor end of your existing wires if you are using a standard distributor. also you need to supply 12 volts to the unit, not the reduced voltage that a points type dist uses. it comes with a variable vaccum advance can, that i'm going to relpace with a fixed unit as lars suggests.
other than that, i haven't had any problems with mine.
other than that, i haven't had any problems with mine.
Drifting
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 1,546
Likes: 5
From: Sacramento California
They both look like they would work, smaller cap means that the original distributer sheilding could still be used. I would make sure that service parts (cap, rotor, and coil) will be available down the road when you need them.
I purchased a tach drive HEI from someone here on the forum, it was a little more that those, but it uses stock GM service parts so I will be able to service it when needed, the bad part there is the big cap that sheilding won't cover.
I purchased a tach drive HEI from someone here on the forum, it was a little more that those, but it uses stock GM service parts so I will be able to service it when needed, the bad part there is the big cap that sheilding won't cover.
Drifting
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 1,944
Likes: 22
From: Yooperville MI
The tach drive HEI's work well but I would make sure you are buying from a reputable source. These are imports and are prone to quality issues. I recently helped 2 owners install theirs and both distributors had the gear adapter machined the wrong size. The O.D. was too large and the cable nut would not screw on all the way. They were purchased locally and the seller refunded the money. They got new ones from Ecklers at a higher cost. These HEI's come with bronze bushings or bearings, I noticed one of your ads specified bushings, the other ad did not say. The internals on the ones I've seen use OEM replacement parts.
As far as the ignition shielding, you'll need to purchase the 1975 top shield, it's still chrome and will mount to your existing brackets and vertical shields. You also need to change your spark plug wires due to the different size posts on the HEI cap. You can wrap your old coil wires in the existing harness but you will need to run a new 12 volt wire from either your ignition switch (pink wire) or the ignition post on your fuse box. While you're at it, it would be an ideal time to put a kill switch in that 12v wire for theft reasons.
As far as the ignition shielding, you'll need to purchase the 1975 top shield, it's still chrome and will mount to your existing brackets and vertical shields. You also need to change your spark plug wires due to the different size posts on the HEI cap. You can wrap your old coil wires in the existing harness but you will need to run a new 12 volt wire from either your ignition switch (pink wire) or the ignition post on your fuse box. While you're at it, it would be an ideal time to put a kill switch in that 12v wire for theft reasons.
Burning Brakes
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 865
Likes: 53
hei distributers advice needed
I have that . I bought from star performance , I think . First one broke , second one looked different , like the one in picture . It has mechanical tach drive and has been working for a year now .
