OK I have seen the parts of an optispark. I have a 93 and am planning on upgrading the cap and vent setup. I have a low milage 95 opti on the way that I am planning to use the cap from, I have the hose harness.
Now what sould I do about the rest?

If I get an opti without the module to fit my 93 will it take the 95 module plug and play?

Since mine still works fine should I just use it ( dont know how many miles on it)

Hate to spend the money to get a full optispark when I am gonna toss the cap and rotor anyway.

Could kick myself was watching one on Ebay from a 93 with 3000 miles on it when the car got totaled for Buy it Now@$100 it went for $175 :o

 

well... 1995 opti's are not compatiable with 1993's.

The timing cover and internals are totally different. The opti was updated in 1995, the only parts that are 'adaptable' is the hose.

The cap will not interchange.

the only way you can install a 2nd gen opti is to update the entire front of the motor - timing cover, cam gear, opti - there may be more.

the wiring is ok.

 

http://www.fierolt1.com/lt1_95_up_OptiReplace.htm

 

on the link

 

I replaced my 92 opti last year the newer style cap fits the old style base perfectly. The later opti's are completely different.

 

Here's a good "How to add venting to Gen 1 Opti's" from Corvette Fever. This looks like a very doable thing, and worth the little extra effort.
http://corvettefever.com/howto/16758/


and as bogus stated, the timing covers are different. About half way down the page in this next URL, you can see the differences between the Gen I and Gen II timing covers:
http://www.gmhightechperformance.com...htp_optispark/

Good Luck

 

I know about the shaft differences and timing cover issue because of that. I am asking about the actual module inside that reads the 360 slots on the ring

 

OK, you may have to tell us!?

take a look at this '95 Opti disection, and you can see all the components on the distributor. You should be able to determine which parts are compatable, and which are different. I think you are talking about the photo emitter/receptor which generates the pulses while the slotted disc is spinning around.....These things are made by Mitsubishi, and are supposed to be much more reliable than most of the other distributor components....

http://www.charm.net/~mchaney/optisprk/optisprk.htm

 

Yes the photo emitter module is what I am asking about I know the 95 has a white connector and the 93/94 has a black one so I assume the connectors may not be compatible. I can get a 93 opti without the module and was wondering if I can re-use mine or the one from the 95 I am recieving(only bought it for the cap and rotor anyway When mine goes I plan on upgrading to a vent system).
Just tryin to get my ducks in a row and have an opti on the shelf ready to go cause eventually I know I am gonna replace the pump or opti and either means both.

I have the above links saved and some others about venting the opti. I have read where the corvette fever setup may rub against the balancer and have another guy who plugged 2 of the 3 holes( He said DO NOT use the center one mabey becase of the rub) so I am tryin to find the best way to never do it again(other than dynaspark).

Just aside I am replacing my rocker cover gaskets as one has leaked all over the opti anway so mabey it is water proof now at least.

 

OK I give up after reading this:

One of the most damaging causes for failure of the OEM GM Optispark Distributor is moisture intrusion. We have documented multiple points of potential water entry into the OEM unit from the front, side and back, in addition to the electrical connection itself. This problem is by far the biggest root cause for most other related Optispark component failures. For those interested, here's what we have observed and documented over many parts of both new, used and failed Optisparks. The first potential locations for moisture and oil intrusion of the OEM unit is on the backside of the case through the sloppy bearing bore clearance and the exposed mounting holes that the internal components use to secure them down to the case. Water is also drawn into the electrical connection at the distributor, the silicone rubber weather pack seal in that connector, (especially on cars with age or that reside in extremely hot climates) and both of the silicon rubber perimeter seals on the distributor cap and around the fiberglass rinite insulator. Most of the time this problem occurs right after a chassis bath at a carwash or when someone washes their engine off and the engine will not start, or misfires badly until the moisture evaporates. As soon as the engine is started, accumulated water in small crevices gets drawn into the unit by engine vacuum and the reluctor wheel slings water all over the bare steel parts and electrical components, causing them to corrode and ultimately fail. The reluctor is a stamped, stainless steel component and does not corrode, but the bearing, bearing retainer, retainer mounting screws, optical sensor screws, rotor screws and the EMI shield are bare steel, to which they do corrode badly. Eventually these components scale and start to flake away to where the debris either gets clogged up in the reluctor windows (causing misfire and Hi/Lo Res. DTC's) or it falls to the bottom of the case to which it clogs the vent tube. Once the vent is plugged, soon thereafter you'll start to feel a noticeable misfire and the poor drivability issues will get worse. Engine oil intrusion has also been observed on vehicle's from which the dist. drive seal in the front of the timing chain cover has failed, forcing oil into these open, exposed holes and through the excessive bearing bore clearances...directly into the case and onto the internal components, coating them. The oil/water sludge deposits cling to everything, especially the optical sensor's photo/emitter windows. Rough engine idle, random misfire, backfiring and engine DTC's soon follow. This problem is personified by a high RPM, high output engine with huge, high power ignition systems. How many times have you disassembled a failed Optispark and found water or oil or rust rattling around in the case? Now you know why. We have addressed these areas of deficiency on the OEM Optispark and corrected them in our design. First, all of the internal component mounting holes are blind and do NOT go through the case, therefore eliminating this point of moisture and engine oil intrusion. Second, the bearing and bearing bore receive an industrial sealant coating around them that serves a dual purpose as both a sealant and to add a retentive property to the outer bearing race to prevent the possibility of it spinning in the bore. Since the bearing has a press fit in the bore AND this sealant applied, it will and has not leaked under vacuum testing. Third, we have completely omitted the fiberglass rinite insulator and it's two respective poor silicone seals with our design. Doing so has
completely eliminated one seal altogether from the original OEM design and another potential point of moisture entry. The only perimeter seal that is in our design is for the distributor cap. We have elected to toss the easily deflected, OEM silicone seal in this area, in favor of a Nitrile, re-usable rubber O-ring in it's place that is semi-permanently sealed with an industrial grade of sealant that was spec'ed and purchased from GE Electrical Systems. Fourth, in eliminating the fiberglass rinite insulator with our design, we have also effectively eliminated another point of moisture entry by removing the electrical connection at the distributor itself. Our unit comes complete with a wiring harness that is integral to the distributor and it is sealed with two grommets both on the inside and the outside, including electrical industry grade shrink tube over the top of them. The internal optical sensor connector well is also filled with the aforementioned GE Sealent. Finally the entire wiring harness assembly is attached and GE Sealant sealed to the case by a shrinkable rubber boot that is commonly found in the manufacturing of Formula 1 Racing wiring harnesses. It provides a redundant sealing property, as well as, providing strain relief to wires themselves as they exit the case. We figured that if it was suitable for F1 Racing wiring harnesses to live in the rain, than it would suffice for our application. Fifth, we have relocated one of the internal vacuum venting locations to the top of the unit, which is 160* different offset than the OEM unit. This revised location promotes better internal venting due to cross venting of the case as opposed to localized venting of the OEM piece. This revised 1 o'clock location will not plug up like the OEM unit's vacuum port location, in the unlikelihood of someone driving through very deep water that may partially submerge the Optispark. (I've seen it happen!) We use stainless steel fasteners throughout to eliminate any chance of internal corrosion from moisture vapor that may be present when the engine is shut off. Sixth, we have included a circular, perimeter boss on the backside of the unit that encompasses a Nitrile O-ring that is designed to seal against the timing chain cover. This further adds a level of redundant protection of heavy water intrusion from the backside of the case. If the distributor drive seal in the front of the timing chain cover fails and oil pours into this sealed cavity, oil will not flow into the Optispark case as the OEM unit allowed, because we have added a small .040" weep hole into the 6 o'clock position of the sealing boss, to allow engine oil to flow to the outside of the billet Optispark body. The bottom line is, that there is alot more to this "Optispark" than one might think or see at first glance. We have addressed nearly every possible point of common failure that there has been and corrected those weaknesses with the redesign of our part. We have put a lot of engineering and forethought in the redesigning of this product and we wouldn't bring something like this to market if it wasn't a viable product that will increase ignition durability and performance. I'm not posting here to sell these things, but rather to enlighten the skeptics that seem to feel as if our part is just "pretty" and an "overpriced stocker". You definitely get what you pay for here. If you've held on through this long post, than I thank you for your time.
Cheers!
Phil


Guess it gonna be a Dynaspark when the time comes screw the cost it's a 'Vette I knew nothin would be cheap