I see aftermarket HEI distributors priced from Cheap to HIGH. Has anyone tried a cheap one like the one attached here? I want to dump the Points on my 74 and since the tach gear is worn out anyway I may try one of these. Thanks.....

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...K%3AMEWAX%3AIT

 

Cheap one I tried. made in China Junk! Don't even waist your money. May problems with the cheap ones. Oil pump tang way thinner than it should be. Dist. drive gear fits loose (oil pressure bounce at idle as well as timing). The one I had the mounting flange was too thin and would not camp down tight. And the hole the gear is retained with is larger which leaves a very thin wall on the shaft at oil pump tang which will break at some point. There was a post recently one this i will see if I can dig it up for you. Hope this helps.

 

PM member Jackson.

 

X2 on the cheap one. We bought 4 to build 4 engine build off stands and I had to repair all 4 with in a week. I have heard nothing good about them except they are cheap.
If someone on here can't help you with a good one. I like the DUI ones myself. We've ran alot of those and they are already setup to be able to run high rpm if you want, instead of the 4500 rpm limit of the stock ones with out changing the module and coil.

 

Well ... I don't accept PM's as I intentionally let my PM box remain full. I DO accept emails thru this site.

RE: cheap asian-made tach drive HEI
I used to sell them USED TO. I quit +4 yrs ago because the market was becoming glutted w/ sellers & price was continually dropping; I was only the tiniest of sellers & margin dropped & just wasn't worth my effort. I did Not quit because of quality issues. I sold dozens of them and delivered the last one September 2005 to a gent in North Hills CA. Same gent was a member on this CF forum; maybe he still is? His was a repeat order; same gent got his first from me in June 2005. I still remain in email contact w/ same gent & he emailed me something just yesterday. So, here we are more than 4 years since & he hasn't mentioned any problem & I even asked him a couple years back. I never had any issues with any of the ones I sold with sole exception of a cap that was cracked by carrier during shipment. I actually retain all my records & I'm rather **** about qa/qc matters. That said, I had no formal qa plan for the dozens of TDHEI I sold; I disassembled a few & noted they looked pretty good. And figured customers would let me know when & if there was a big problem. I know that's NOT a valid QA plan; but not a single one (of MY customers) has ever complained about anything except rare shipping damage. My email addy & snail mail remains same one we used all along.

I authored some install & maintenance instructions & a parts interchange that I provided MY tdhei customers. In it, I suggested it was wise to closely check theirs & to apply moly lube here & there etc.

I do note when someone on two vette forums report TD HEI failures. I check to see if they are on MY sales-delivery lists; + 4 yrs & NONE so far. I'm led to assume the quality of those cheap TDHEI I last sold more than 4 years ago is pretty good. The last few cheap TDHEI I sold went for about $200 each (eckler's identical piece was 2X$); seems you can get em on fleabay today for about $90 each. For sure I've No crystal ball, but I predicted that price drop more than 4 years ago.

Now, I have NO doubt that WhiteC3 & others found their cheap TDHEI to be poor quality/ experienced failures.

I can only speculate the quality of more recently sold cheap TDHEI is less than those I last sold more than 4 years ago.

 

Heres one that the seller sure "SAYS" is the greatest thing going..

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/SBC-C...item518bab64ab

Its $69 plus $10 shipping.

 

That what the seller said about the two I tried.

 

Having tried various different conversions, from full distributor to point replacements, my advise to you would be to completely rebuild your points distributor. You will be rewarded with a reliable, stable distributor that you won't have to worry about except to throw in a new set of points once in a while - and it will tell you when that is if you get lazy WITHOUT stranding you somewhere!

I rebuilt mine (after I got stranded by a Pertronix conversion) with extreme detail and care a while ago, and it runs superb. I replaced the shaft bushings, shaft, and all tach gear components. I even trimmed the tach side gear thrust bushing in a lathe so I could screw the side gear coupler in tight without binding the gear (a failure cause). Plenty of the right lube in the right places is important.

Many people don't realize that fact that when the tach gear goes, the shaft bushings are just about guaranteed to be scored - because the gear teeth/pieces flow down into them. When they get scored, the shaft becomes bumpy and wobbly! Makes for a rough and erratically running engine because of the excessive side play. Add the typical excessive end play, and it's no wonder some people think these fine distributors suck!

There are kits available that have all of the replaceable parts. I got my parts from Willcox.

 

My MSD distributer has been flawless. The almost extra $300 buys a lot of reliability or beer.

 

I agree rebuild your original dist and I would use Pertronix. But use the correct coil with it they are fussy and will not last if used with wrong coil. If you want some carry and extra pertronix with just in case. I never carried a spare and had no problems. I did have a reman HEI go in 20 min. Funny thing is it died as i was passing the store I purchased it at. So got my old one back and continued on.

 

Check out the new Pertronix module. I has multstrike and a revlimiter you set right on the module. Pretty cool piece.

 

I got the cheap HEI distributor from Ecklers, (their $199 one). Got a 90* converter for the tach cable. Distributor installed beautifully into rebuilt engine, works great no complaints! Glad to have that nasty coil off my firewall!

 

I got one from a place in Waterloo Iowa...no problems yet....and make sure you put"12" volts to it

 

I would hope for that price it is of better quality than the $89 or $69 ones out there.Or its one of those with marked up $$$$

 

When I bought the car the fellow gave me a new hei in the box never installed.
When I completed the car 13mo. later and cranked it up it lasted 33mi.
No name chinese junk .
rebuild original points ign. no problem!

 

I have a Mallory HEI in one car and MSD Street Fire HEI in another. Never a problem with either.