What HEI for my 1981 vette???

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Aug 13, 2010 | 06:28 PM

scyzoryk23

Thread Starter

Pro

Joined: Jul 2010

Posts: 532

Likes: 1

From: new york city ny

What HEI for my 1981 vette???

I need good and not too expensive HEI for my 1981 vette. (build 355, 400HP, air gape intake and 670 avenger carb + ALL emissions and stock computer were removed).

S.
ps. Do I have mechanical or electrical tachometer?

Aug 13, 2010 | 07:57 PM

69427

Tech Contributor

Joined: Jun 2004

Posts: 20,942

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From: I tend to be leery of any guy who doesn't own a chainsaw or a handgun.

Any '75 to '80 should be fine.

Electric.

Aug 13, 2010 | 08:32 PM

Goody

Le Mans Master

Joined: Oct 2000

Posts: 6,362

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From: Oak Harbor WA

I have read some ill reviews from the cheap units on ebay so buy a quality unit from one of the vendors here or somebody like Jegs or Summit Racing.

Aug 14, 2010 | 09:25 AM

MN80Vette

Drifting

Joined: Sep 2006

Posts: 1,986

Likes: 21

From: Columbus MN

Quote:

Originally Posted by Goody

I have read some ill reviews from the cheap units on ebay so buy a quality unit from one of the vendors here or somebody like Jegs or Summit Racing.

I agree. I bought a very slightly used GM 350 HO engine (only 1200 miles on it). It came with a new distributor. I thought, "Great, new!" I always had trouble timing it. Then when I had my car dyno'ed the first time, the lines were jagged. The tech said I should check vertical play in the shaft, so I did: more than 3/16" of travel. The internals of the distributor were bouncing inside. Every time the internals moved up or down, the timing changed because of the gear angle.

Regardless of what distributor you buy, I recommend you check the vertical play. Gear shim kits are available from several major name brands. The difference was visible on the dyno charts this year: smooth lines on the chart.

Aug 14, 2010 | 10:16 AM

BB72

Melting Slicks

Joined: Aug 2006

Posts: 3,429

Likes: 20

From: Kingston Ontario

I bought a new tach drive(you won't need that) hei from speeddirect off of e-bay for $110, works great. You need to toss your stock one and get one with the vacuum advance.

Aug 15, 2010 | 05:53 AM

scyzoryk23

Thread Starter

Pro

Joined: Jul 2010

Posts: 532

Likes: 1

From: new york city ny

I got brand new Mallory 8548201C from a fellow board member...
Thanks for help guys!!!
S.

Aug 15, 2010 | 07:41 PM

Will's'74VetteL-82

Pro

Joined: May 2010

Posts: 737

Likes: 3

From: Pennington NJ

This one worked great for my friends '74 monte carlo, we changed his points distributor to this hei and it started up first time and times perfectly and runs great!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/NEW-S...Q5fAccessories

Will