I once said things things about something and got my mouth washed out with soap. What do you mean? I assume you meant good but it might have been great...or not so great.

 

Check this out:

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/SUM-850001R/


Keep the shiny side up!
Scott

 

Shouldn't there be a 'totally' or two thrown in there somewhere?

 

Wow, Mike. You're trying to make me sound like some of the other experts on the Forum... but here goes:

"So, dudes, I once tested some distributors, and they, like, all ran about the same. I mean, like, TOEDALLY, dude. So, like, whatever, man. Text me. We'll, like, do lunch."

See how this post actually says exactly the same thing as my name-dropping post at the beginning of this thread? I should just start doing the in-vogue hip posts instead of wasting time with background and photos. My problem is that I still do punctuation and capitalization - gotta' try to break that nasty habit.

Lars

 

I'm seeing several people suggest the use of an inexpensive HEI aftermarket re-pop distributor. These HEIs are nice stock replacement distributors if you're replacing the distributor in you mom's '77 Caprice Station Wagon. Although the quality of these distributors may be OK, they do not have any tunability or adjustability for advance curve length: They tend to have a "generic" long curve, which will not allow you to obtain enough initial timing in a performance engine with a 36-degree total advance limitation. If you're shopping for an aftermarket unit, spend the money to get something with an adjustable curve length (usually done with bushings) so you can tune it and set it up right: As I noted earlier (nobody paid attention), the single big power contributor in ignition systems is the ability to get the advance curve set up right. If you can't adjust it and set it up, I can guarantee you, with 100% certainty, that your advance curve will suck eggs, and you'll be leaving 20 horsepower on the table.

...aw, what the heck - you're talking 165 stock horsepower, so what difference does it make if you drop it to 145...

..Gawd, fer chrisake - get a good unit that you can set up right. Geez.

Lars

 

Oh...
Mike - do you think I should translate the above post to Hip?
Lars

 

Lars,

If you really want to be cool you gotta start using "dizzy" instead of distributor.

 

Not for my benefit, I understood your old far*, uhhh adult-speak just fine thanks!

 

Yup I meant GOOD things. 20 -25 years ago I removed the Accel dual point distributor from my 327(with bracket race cam) and replaced it with a HEI and an Accel supercoil and loved it.
Sorry if post #5 wasn't clear. But you guys sure are funny..
I wish all my local motor head buddies could see that Lars agreed with me about the dizzy. It's not often I get an ego boost ..

 

Believe it or not I recently read the article on line. For the life of my I can not find it now. I was going to post it. I remember reading that you used Matt's wires.

 

Allright Lars, I'll bite.
Plz recommend an adjustable distributer.

I speak jive, if that helps... Thx.

 

1. The MSD ProBillet comes with an entire set of bushings to allow full adjustment of the centrifugal advance.

2. The stock GM points distributor is fully adjustable by changing diameter of the stop bushing and by simply welding & grinding the stop slot.

3. Mallory distributors have full curve adjustment, even on the entry-level units, using degree keys. Curve is adjustable from 14 to 28 degrees. Not the case on the Mallory HEI units, though.

4. Accel distributors come with an advance curve kit allowing custom setup of the curve.

I'm sure I've overlooked other brands that are also easily adjustable for a custom setup. Buy a unit you're comfortable working on and that you'll be able to tune correctly.

Most of the cheap HEI units are not easily or obviously adjustable for centrifugal curve length without an assortment of weights and center cams, which are not included with the distributor.

Lars

 

I would like to speak to the economically impaired for just a moment.

This post gave me an excuse to reread Lars documents "how to set timing" and "HEI primer" and then play with my timing this morning. I am by no means saying that an ebay special is better than or as adjustable as the name brand performance units.

However, using nothing more than the recommended Mr. Gasket 928G kit, I was able to get pretty good results. My base timing was already set at 14* and I hit 36* around 2500 RPM (I used the lightest springs in the kit). The vacuum can at cruise speed was bringing it up to 58* though but no pinging I could hear. So I stuck an allen wrench in the vacuum can and turned it counter clockwise a few times and rechecked. That brought it down to 55* and a couple more turns put it right at 52.

I am happy with those results for $40 +$8 for the spring kit. All I am saying is the unit I received from Skip White was able to get me within performance specs. If the mechanical advance would have been much less, I would have been in trouble. It was perfect though in this case.

 

Good job! You got yourself a distributor that you were comfortable with setting up, and you were able to tweak it to make the curve come out perfectly. That's exactly what I'm talking about. This is different from the guy who buys a cheap HEI with a 30-degree advance curve and a 24-degree vacuum advance (that pulls it "all-in" at 22 inches of vacuum), bolts it in, and is disappointed with the performance results, and has no clue how to do anything about it. It's all about knowing how it should be set up, and buying something you can get set up.

Lars

 

The MSD Street Fire is also very adjustable and comes with the recurve kit and an adjustable vacuum advance.

My only entry in the fray is that I agree that there is no more power in a non-points distributor...but points go away both in terms of point gap (dwell - which affects timing) and wear of the contact surfaces over time. For a guy that wants to get in there regularly and tweak the dwell and timing and replace the points when needed - great. For a guy that's realistically not going to do that, the HEI is going to deliver the same power throughout the life of the module...which is quite a while in my experience.

Just one guy's $.02