Anyone tried one of these HEI Distributors?

-
PocketAces

PocketAces

Well-Known Member
Joined
Nov 11, 2009
Messages
1,360
Reaction score
80
Location
Torrance, CA
Has anyone tried one of these HEI distributors on a small block mopar? The prices seem really good. The more expensive unit claims to allow adjustment of the mechanical advance.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370543598991&category=33690&_trksid=p5197.c0.m619

http://www.ebay.com/itm/390293828615?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

I like the idea of eliminating the later model transistor box and wires that don't belong under the hood of my 65. I get the irony here, but at least the non-stock stuff is combined in one spot and sort of hidden back by the firewall.

Here are some questions:

What coil would I need? Preferably something round that will fit in the standard coil mounting bracket.

Do I need different spark plugs to handle/take advantage of the hotter spark?

What would I gap the plugs to?

What spark plug wires? Maybe a kit to make them to length. Seems most early mopars have straight boots on the spark plug end, and the spark plugs are fatter than on a chevy.

I sent these questions to the eBay sellers. I will post here if I get a response.
 
I bought one and could never get it to fire. I Used a Mallory Coil and 6AL box a set of Accel wires and no matter which way I wired this damned dist, I could never get any spark to the plugs.
 
dustermaniac said:
I bought one and could never get it to fire. I Used a Mallory Coil and 6AL box a set of Accel wires and no matter which way I wired this damned dist, I could never get any spark to the plugs.
Click to expand...
The way I read it, you do not use the Mallory box with this distributor. Just the coil, Right??
 
That is the one I intend to use but for a BB, just need a coil not an ignition box, it uses a GM module and a MSD Blaster II coil should be way plenty.
 
Oh no, not the dreaded chineseium!

Of course they are chinese. If that was made in USA the price would need another zero.

Actually, I can tell you exactly where they are made:

http://www.cnxianlong.com/docc/cpzs_big.asp?P_ID=743

NingBo XianLong Automobile Fitting Co. Ltd.

They are not bad parts for the price. Mr White probably gets them 200 to a pallet. Call them up and ask how many come back.

If you buy anything in a white box from a chain auto parts store it is most likely Chinese / Taiwan origin. Unless it it cast iron like a brake rotor, then it may be India / Pakistan as well. Electronics? Taiwan. Bearings? Brand new SKF's say "made in mexico"on the box.

Not much is actually made here anymore. And if you do offer a USA product, people will step over it to buy "chineseium" for 10% less.

If you decide to keep a 30 year old mopar distributor and replace the trigger coil & firewall box - you will have chinese parts anyway.

For plug wires with that unit, buy a universal set from Jegs, like a 40200 - those are actually made in USA too.

B.

.
 
I have one of those that I just put in my 318. Seems fine. It starts and runs like it is supposed to...
For wires, I bought a set of plug wires for a late model Dodge 5.2 pickup, they have the correct ends.
For a coil, I am using an MSD blaster 2. No ballast resistor.
C
 
Dear kmjperformance,

Are weights and springs required to adjust the mechanical advance? If so, are they included?

Can you recommend a bottle style coil that will look stock and fit the stock coil mounting bracket on a 65 273? I can paint it black.

What spark plugs would you run with this distributor in a 1965 273? What gap?

Also, can you recommend a set of plug wires?

- jcampbelloftorrance


Dear jcampbelloftorrance,

I do believe there are weights and springs, we don't have any but Procomp Electronics might (www.procompelectronics.com) There's an MSD distributor that is similar so it may also have some that work. It requires a coil with .5-1.0 ohm primary resistance so you could go with a Pertronix one (ebay item #330586128471) or anything similar as long as it has the required primary ohm value.

Wire will need to be HEI type, we don't have any specific small block Mopar ones so you might have to buy a cut to fit set or see if there are any brands out there that do have specific ones. On the plugs you'll just have to experiment. I'd try your same ones and just gradually open the gap up. Too much and it will surge when driving steady speed. My guess is it won't be over 0.040.

Thanks
Chad

- kmjperformance
 
Dear kmjperformance,

Looks like yours is the same as PC7006 from Procomp Electronics. The only difference I see is that their picture looks like a chrysler style cap that would work with my existing plug wires. Do you sell this distributor with a chrysler style cap?

- jcampbelloftorrance



Dear jcampbelloftorrance,

All the ones we've ever got had the HEI type cap on them. I'm not sure if we can order them the other way but if you want you may try calling during the week - (515)733-2890, M-F 7am-6pm central and see if any one would know.

Thanks
Chad

- kmjperformance
 
Dear skipwhite,

Could you recommend a bottle style coil? I would like it to look stock and mount in the stock bracket on the intake of a 65 273.

- jcampbelloftorrance



Dear jcampbelloftorrance,

THE COIL HAS TO BE AN ELECTRONIC IGNITION COIL. IF YOU HAVE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO CONTACT US AT 877-383-5152.

THANKS

MT

- skipwhite
 
I called skipwhite and the guy who answered pulled a distributor off the shelf. He said that the picture in the eBay ad was not correct and that the distributor comes with a mopar style female cap.

That would make it appear identical to the this ProComp unit.
http://www.store.procompelectronics.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=37477

He also told me that to recurve the centrifugal advance requires springs and weights which they do not sell. I see that Procomp has a set and I bet they would work.
http://www.store.procompelectronics.com/index.php?target=products&product_id=37470

I orderd the distributor from skipwhite. Now need to order a coil.
 
Looks like Amazon has good price and free shipping on Pertronix Flame Thrower II.

Only question is oil filled for $34.95
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00199DPWQ/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?ie=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER"]Amazon.com: PerTronix 45011 Flame-Thrower II 45,000 Volt 0.6 ohm Coil: Automotive[/ame]

or Epoxy filled for $46.95
[ame="http://www.amazon.com/PerTronix-45111-Flame-Thrower-Volt-Coil/dp/B000N2ZFL4/ref=sr_1_1?s=automotive&ie=UTF8&qid=1322768720&sr=1-1"]Amazon.com: PerTronix 45111 Flame-Thrower II 45,000 Volt 0.6 ohm Coil: Automotive[/ame]

I will be mounting the coil in the stock bracket on the intake manifold, which is horizontal. Does that mean I should get the epoxy filled?

Anyone had problems with aftermarket oil filled coils mounted horizontally?
 
Got my distributor today. The cap is male hei style just like the picture. Not sure what the guy on the phone was smoking when he told me it was female mopar style. Can't try it yet because now I need to get some spark plug wires ordered.

The box is white with absolutely no markings. The distributor has no part numbers of any kind. Worst of all, there's no instructions.

I called to ask them how to hook it up. They said to wire it to the coil, black wire on the negative side of the coil and red wire on the positive side of the coil. The odd thing is that the red wire has a spade connector with a white plastic shield around it. If I'm supposed to hook it to the coil, then why wouldn't it have the round lug like the black wire has?

If anyone has installed one of these successfully, let me know how you wired it.
 
I had the same issues. I tried to wire it into my MSD 6 AL Box without success. And this was by going online and using MSD pdf instructions for a HEI style system. I also tried to wire it directly into existing ignition wiring and no luck. I gave up and reinstalled the stock dizzy and car fired right up.
 
Here's what I think I need to do

  1. Remove the existing distributor, ignition box and ballast resistor.
  2. Replace the coil with a 12V low resistance coil like the pertronix flame thrower II.
  3. Connect the ballast resistor wires together, bypassing the old ballast resister and applying 12V directly to the plus side of the coil.
  4. Connect the two wires from the distributor to the coil.
 
65DartGTConv said:
Got my distributor today. The cap is male hei style just like the picture. Not sure what the guy on the phone was smoking when he told me it was female mopar style. Can't try it yet because now I need to get some spark plug wires ordered.

The box is white with absolutely no markings. The distributor has no part numbers of any kind. Worst of all, there's no instructions.

I called to ask them how to hook it up. They said to wire it to the coil, black wire on the negative side of the coil and red wire on the positive side of the coil. The odd thing is that the red wire has a spade connector with a white plastic shield around it. If I'm supposed to hook it to the coil, then why wouldn't it have the round lug like the black wire has?

If anyone has installed one of these successfully, let me know how you wired it.
Click to expand...

I bought one off the eBay seller for a buddy and it was in a white box just like you mentioned with no directions. I emailed the seller and he sent the directions by email. My buddy installed it with the new style plug wires and it worked great. I will see if I still have that email with the directions.

I looked through the emails and eBay messages and I no longer have it. My seller was Skipwhite http://myworld.ebay.com/skipwhite.
 
I ran the same distributor on my stroker motor, it worked just fine. I ran it with an MSD Blaster coil and a 6al box. If the 6al is going to be hooked up, you will need to take the ignition module out of the little chrome box t the base of the distributor. The one I ran had a very fast timing curve; it would add ten degrees starting at 1500 rpm and be all in by 1750rpm. I pulled mine and put an MSD Pro Billet dizzy in. any difference? Nope, it ran just like the MSD, although the MSD is very easy to adjust the curve.
 
that's the distributor I have on my Duster- my brother got one for one of his barracudas, and he liked it so much that he put them on ALL of his cars. Even bought one for the 440 he's building for his sport fury 'vert, now that they have a BB version.
Works great, but you need good voltage to get spark on startup (I think my bro said it needs 12.6 volts to spark).

We also tried one on my Scamp a couple years ago, and spent quite a while trying to get it to go, with no luck. My brother finally pulled one out of one of his cars, and my Scamp fired right up- the first one we tried was DOA (could have been the issue for dustermaniac).
 
As i have said in another thread, this is the cheapy Chinese dizzy my friends and I use.
Before we even install them we replace the built in ignition module as they sometime fail or not even work at all.... Done!

Its not really a HEI dizzy though, it it just a basic electronic dizzy with the module built in.
To make it HEI you need a HEI coil and bigger plug gaps.
 
I finally got around to installing this distributor last night along with a Pertronix Flamethrower II epoxy coil. The installation went very smooth and it started right up on the first try.

The coil was just slightly larger in diameter so I had to put a longer screw in the coil bracket. The rotor is 90 degrees out on the distributer shaft so I had to re-route the plug wires.

I noticed before I did the job that my ballast resistor was really hot. I metered the voltage and found 12 volts before the resistor and only 6 volts after the resistor. I was expecting 9 volts and I wonder if that was contributing to my crappy gas mileage. Anyways the ballast resistor is no longer required so I just connected the two ballast resister wires together with a strip of metal cut to fit into the connectors.

It's nice to be rid of the orange ignition box and associated wires which really didn't belong under the hood of a 65. It cleaned things up nicely. I also ordered a black female distributor cap from ProComp for $5 plus shipping and the coil is black. The ignition module on the distributor is down in the back up against the firewall so you can't even see it. Overall, it's a very stock look.

I think it runs better and it seems to start easier. I haven't re-gapped the plugs yet so I don't think I'm getting the full benefit. Before this upgrade, I've been getting 11 mpg around town with no freeway driving whatsoever. I'm anxious to see if this makes a difference in gas mileage.

I'll post again after I put some more miles on it.
 
Ran the first tank of gas through the Dart after the distributor/coil upgrade.

My 4 tank average before the upgrade was 11.4.

My first tank after the upgrades was 13.3.

Besides the new distributor and coil, I also increased the base timing from 10 degrees to 15 degrees advance. Not sure if timing alone could account for 2 mpg. Spark plug gap remained at .035 for most of this tank.

Just before filling up, I regapped the plugs from .035" to .050". I will post again on the next fillup.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
-

Back
Top