China Made HEI distributor recurve

mopar_nocar · Thursday at 11:43 AM

Hypothetical here: IF I had one of the myriad of China source distributors, like this one:
https://www.amazon.com/LaMulaAuto-I...rysller-Plymouth/dp/B094JKB4R9/?tag=fabo03-20

Would the Pertronix recurve kit like this one work?

https://www.jegs.com/i/PerTronix/751/D700700/10002/-1

It seems to me it should work, but that's me just looking at pictures on line...never had the pertronix kit nor a billet pertronix distributor. With shame, I admit to having used one of the China HEI units -- it **** the bed after a year, but worked well until it just didn't.

sb

69conv · Thursday at 11:45 AM

@halifaxhops to the rescue

halifaxhops · Thursday at 11:48 AM

Run, now Petronix makes a good unit to replace points in a dist 1381A kit. Most of the china ones use their caps and all the internals are usually Meteric. Let me know when it fails......

mopar_nocar · Thursday at 12:02 PM

halifaxhops said:
Run, now Petronix makes a good unit to replace points in a dist 1381A kit. Most of the china ones use their caps and all the internals are usually Meteric. Let me know when it fails......

Mine failed quite some time ago, this is more like:

"Since the Pertronix kit is based on GM HEI internals, would the recurve kit linked above work on other GM HEI based distributors...maybe even original GM HEI distributors?"

IF I ever bought one of those CHINA made ones, I would love the ability to dial in my curve. HOWEVER:

1) I would have a points distributor w/me at all times to get me home.
2) I would be saving my pennies to get a Pertronix Billet drop in -- just for the tuning.

I have done the welding and filing and will probably do it again on the next build, in all likelihood.

Simple curiosity and MAYBE help someone else?

sb

Bewy · 2026-07-25T01:02:22-0500

I have used many Chinese HEIs over the years, never had one fail....
They are well made. The ones I use [ were $100 for Chrys, probably gone up ] come with chrome plated weights, centre plate & cross bar. The originals were plain steel & rusted. I remove the shafts to modify the curve & find the shaft/bushes are lubricated at the factory. they are a quality unit & come with adj, VA unit. I have one in my car, about 15 yrs now, driven weekly. I can tell you what DID fail: a very expensive Jacob coil. I got a full refund, even though just out of warranty, because of a known fault with them. How do you know the high price Pert, Accel, MSD units are not made in China????????????????????????????

There was a huge array of HEI weights & centre plates, giving a large number of combinations & I am not sure if below is the completer list.

RustyRatRod · 2026-07-25T01:38:34-0500

I've had a chinkesium big cap HEI in the 400 in my 75 F250 for over 10 years. It's not burped, blipped or skipped. That Pertronix kit is NOT correct for the GM style HEI distributor, but this one is.

CURVE KIT

mopar_nocar · 2026-07-25T08:50:19-0500

RustyRatRod said:
I've had a chinkesium big cap HEI in the 400 in my 75 F250 for over 10 years. It's not burped, blipped or skipped. That Pertronix kit is NOT correct for the GM style HEI distributor, but this one is.

CURVE KIT

In that case, how do you limit total mechanical advance?

It's my understanding (maybe incorrectly) that is what these doohickeys are for:

Also, am I just missing the kit like the Moroso for mopar? Or is this it:

$24 for springs -- https://www.jegs.com/i/Mr-Gasket/720/925B/10002/-1

Bewy · 2026-07-26T00:29:19-0500

There are a few ways to limit mech advance. On the cross arm that mounts the rotor, there are two inboard holes, 3/16" diam. I use a 3/16" nut & bolt, nut on top, in that hole to limit movement.
The nut contacts the plate to limit the advance. You will need to grind down the side of the nut to get the exact amount of centri timing you want. The nut may interfere with the screw boss on the rotor. Just grind the boss until it clears.

RustyRatRod · 2026-07-26T00:31:04-0500

mopar_nocar said:
In that case, how do you limit total mechanical advance?

It's my understanding (maybe incorrectly) that is what these doohickeys are for:

View attachment 1716569120

Also, am I just missing the kit like the Moroso for mopar? Or is this it:

$24 for springs -- https://www.jegs.com/i/Mr-Gasket/720/925B/10002/-1

See those bushings in the curve kit I posted?

RustyRatRod · 2026-07-26T00:32:26-0500

mopar_nocar said:
In that case, how do you limit total mechanical advance?

It's my understanding (maybe incorrectly) that is what these doohickeys are for:

View attachment 1716569120

Also, am I just missing the kit like the Moroso for mopar? Or is this it:

$24 for springs -- https://www.jegs.com/i/Mr-Gasket/720/925B/10002/-1

The kit I posted is the correct one you need. There's nothing Mopar about your distributor, other than it fits in a Mopar engine. Its a GM HEI.

RustyRatRod · 2026-07-26T00:36:39-0500

mopar_nocar said:
In that case, how do you limit total mechanical advance?

It's my understanding (maybe incorrectly) that is what these doohickeys are for:

View attachment 1716569120

Also, am I just missing the kit like the Moroso for mopar? Or is this it:

$24 for springs -- https://www.jegs.com/i/Mr-Gasket/720/925B/10002/-1

Ignore post 9. Sorry. I had MSD on the mind. The timing is limited with the new center piece and advance weights. I'm stupid. ...and I even have that same kit in the HEI in my Ford truck.

RustyRatRod · 2026-07-26T00:41:37-0500

Let me get the cap off mine tomorrow and take you a good picture. I actually put a screw in the breaker plate of mine. It's been almost ten years since I did it. I forgot. lol It's VERY simple to do. Feel free to shoot me a PM if I forget.

RustyRatRod · 2026-07-26T00:42:31-0500

Bewy said:
There are a few ways to limit mech advance. On the cross arm that mounts the rotor, there are two inboard holes, 3/16" diam. I use a 3/16" nut & bolt, nut on top, in that hole to limit movement.
The nut contacts the plate to limit the advance. You will need to grind down the side of the nut to get the exact amount of centri timing you want. The nut may interfere with the screw boss on the rotor. Just grind the boss until it clears.

Works good. That's what I did. Pics incoming tomorrow.

mopar_nocar · 2026-07-26T01:52:43-0500

Appreciate it.

China Made HEI distributor recurve

mopar_nocar

Well-Known Member

69conv

error 401

halifaxhops

It's going to get stupid around here!

mopar_nocar

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Bewy

Well-Known Member

RustyRatRod

Caput villa stultus

mopar_nocar

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Bewy

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RustyRatRod

Caput villa stultus

RustyRatRod

Caput villa stultus

RustyRatRod

Caput villa stultus

RustyRatRod

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RustyRatRod

Caput villa stultus

mopar_nocar

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