best distributor for the buck

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Pretty clean install Matt

To the OP: Best bang for the buck IMO: The factory distributor works great, buy one; buy the timing curve disc from FBO as mentioned in the thread from 4secondsflat.com for future tuning flexibility, and the HEI conversion as mentioned by moparmatt2000...or fab your own from parts store acquisitions...or get with trailbeast for his HEI conversion. I bought the kit from him, and I noticed it eased starting and improved performance above 4500 rpm...seemed to pull better, even with a stock 200K mile 5.2 Magnum retrofit.

The stock mopar ignition does indeed work, but even with the improved ignition boxes sold by MP (orange, chrome), the timing and spark intensity falls off as RPMs increase with stock style parts. The fact that 9 sec cars used mopar style ignition is no stronger justification for using it anymore than saying the older style MP cams can help run in an 11 sec small block, but you could improve drivability and maintain or even exceed the same power by running a newer style voodoo, XE, custom grind...yes, it works, but it's ultimately up to you what you want to do with your money.

Johnny Dart does have a lifetime of experience on his side, but I've also seen at least a couple occasions where he and others have advocated using points and original wiring from our 40 year old hobby cars with the antiquated reasoning along the lines of, '...it was good enough then, it's good enough now...', so I'll reasonably depart with it this time because it's turned into a ****-flinging contest and is zero value added to your original question...
 
thanks txstang84. i am trying to show how clean of an install the HEI can be and not look like a science project under the hood.
 
Yeah Matt that does look good. Nice job.
 
Thank you gentlemen, i am a bit OCD with this stuff, sometimes its a wonder i ever get it done at all LOL.
 
Matt: That's a super clean install! Nice job. Do you happen to have any pictures of the HEI connector without the heat-shrink installed??
 
Yes i do have some pix. However the pix are of a longer connector i originally made. But was not happy with as it was too long. Not neat enough IMHO for my installation.

I believe the connections are green to black, orange to white.

I think i remembered it this way since green is earth ground, and black is ground. So green to black, orange to white

The shrink tubing i used is heavy duty type. I had to use a bernsomatic torch to warm it to shrink. It ends up about 1/16 inch thick when shrunk. Additionally i was able to bend the connector to a 90° position while it was heated up and held it like this until it cooled so it kept its shape. In this way i was able to make an adaptor plug. Some guys cut the plug end off the mopar pickup module, and install spade connectors. I dont recommend this simply because if the pickup module goes out, then you have to mod the end of another one to fit. Plus if you dont use a smaller spade on the one smaller pin black wire connection its easy to mix them up.

I cannot find the plug thats inside the distributor that comes from the GM magnetic pickup to the module anywhere as a repair service part. This is why i cut one out of a bad distributor a friend gave me for parts.

I will try to get more pix including pix of the napa alternator plug i used for the end that goes to the ignition coil. The pix wont xfer from my android phone to fabo directly for some reason, so i have to send em to my desktop and upload them from there.
 
So, you just spliced in a 2-pin connector to two spade connectors going to the HEI (dist side)? Covering it in shrink wrap is a good idea. It looks nice and clean.
 
Kinda sorta. I used a plug out of an old GM HEI distributor that connects the module to the original GM pickup in the GM distributor. This plug has the white and green wires. You solder those wires to the wires on a mopar plug that goes to a mopar pickup, cover it all in shrink tubing.

Let me get the pix up. It makes it all pretty clear. Get your billybob teeth and coonskin cap your entering redneck territory LOL.

BTW whatcha think of the module adaptor i bought from designed2drive.com ? I thinknit makes for a hybrid ign system that looks like less of a science project.
 
heres pix of adaptor wires you can make for an HEI.

the pinout letters on on the module are

for the dist pickup side

W white wire to orange (mopar pickup wire)
G green wire (small spade) to black (mopar pickup wire)

on the opposite side

C goes to negative terminal on the coil
B goes to positive terminal on the coil

the stock ignition feed wire to the coil in the body harness stays attached to positive side of the coil. a positive lead from the coil jumpers to terminal B on the module. remove ballast resistor and attach both leads together.

Napa PN for the coil to module plug i used is PN# 787132 about $7.00 its all setup too with black and red wires.

matt
 

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Aaah nice one there Johnny. my current avatar pic shows the undercarriage in primer and ready for paint. since i put in a complete floorpan, torsion bar crossmember, subframe connectors, and torque boxes front and rear of my own design. I guess i need to update my pix.

Yeah this car is taking a bit longer than expected. Primer went on the undercarriage in the spring, and i have had little time to mess with it. I have a family that is more important right now than a car. I work during the week, and my wife works weekends leaving me with our 3 small children to care for who cannot be left alone. I dunno what the temps are in the summer where you live but in late june it gets into the 100s and stays there till late august. I dont go in my shop in this weather. Additionally since i have a family and other financial obligations, i lack the funds to just give it to a shop to just build it for me. Even if i did, i still prefer use my talents to do my own work. That means balancing my time between work, family, and project time.

Matt
 
moparmat2000 said:
heres pix of adaptor wires you can make for an HEI.

the pinout letters on on the module are

for the dist pickup side

W white wire to orange (mopar pickup wire)
G green wire (small spade) to black (mopar pickup wire)

on the opposite side

C goes to negative terminal on the coil
B goes to positive terminal on the coil

the stock ignition feed wire to the coil in the body harness stays attached to positive side of the coil. a positive lead from the coil jumpers to terminal B on the module. remove ballast resistor and attach both leads together.

Napa PN for the coil to module plug i used is PN# 787132 about $7.00 its all setup too with black and red wires.

matt
Click to expand...

Thanks for the pictures Matt. I didn't realize GM has special sockets to plug into their HEI modules. But then again, I've never looked inside a GM HEI distributor. Any idea where someone could pic up a couple of those module plugs? I realize they are different since one of the distributor sockets is smaller on the HEI module. Thanks again sir. I appreciate it.

Johnny: How old are you? We realize you aren't an HEI fan. But damn man, act your age.
 
The only place i could find one was off an old GM magnetic pickup. Talked to an old GM guy, he said they used to make new replacement plugs back when these things were new. I looked could not find one. Three of the modules pins are std sized spade, only one is a small spade. I unpinned the spades then used alumiprep 33 (its like CLR) to clean up the brass, neutralized the alumiprep, squeezed em a little to make em tight and repinned them.

The end i have shown cut out of an HEI unit is indeed specific. The piece inside the HEI for the other end that would go to the coil is a big bulky mess that really cant be cut down cleanly into a regular plug. I happened to be at Napa picking up a module, and looking in the "help" section. There was a GM alternator repair plug kit. I asked the counterperson if i could see if they would plug together. They did rather nicely, so i bought it. The nice thing is the red n black wires in the plug corresponding to the coil connections.

Matt
 
mopowers said:
Thanks for the pictures Matt. I didn't realize GM has special sockets to plug into their HEI modules. But then again, I've never looked inside a GM HEI distributor. Any idea where someone could pic up a couple of those module plugs? I realize they are different since one of the distributor sockets is smaller on the HEI module. Thanks again sir. I appreciate it.

Johnny: How old are you? We realize you aren't an HEI fan. But damn man, act your age.
Click to expand...

Attack my integrity, and im coming guns a blazing. Time for some to read the original question,
and stop jacking this thread into your personal diarrhea spewing hei thread. The original question was
What distributor Mopar or MSD ? No where in there does it say anything about hei. And then matt
has to turn this into his long winded personal thesis on hei. Very typical of the hei folks on this board.












.
 
Super clean job, Matt.

moparmat2000 said:
heres pix of adaptor wires you can make for an HEI.

the pinout letters on on the module are

for the dist pickup side

W white wire to orange (mopar pickup wire)
G green wire (small spade) to black (mopar pickup wire)

on the opposite side

C goes to negative terminal on the coil
B goes to positive terminal on the coil

the stock ignition feed wire to the coil in the body harness stays attached to positive side of the coil. a positive lead from the coil jumpers to terminal B on the module. remove ballast resistor and attach both leads together.

Napa PN for the coil to module plug i used is PN# 787132 about $7.00 its all setup too with black and red wires.

matt
Click to expand...
 
Johnny, thank you for the nice commentson my work. I have more pix of my barracudas current condition. I do like your green dart. As an award winning car builder then you understand the time and effort that goes into a restoration.

I dont think i hijacked the thread about the HEI. Yes it was about which is better mopar or msd. I merely stated what about an HEI fired mopar distributor. As maybe an inexpensive upgrade with a hotter spark. This is for maybe the folks who want an msd but cant afford it. It was just another option including a mopar distributor.

The thesis as you state i wrote on the history of the HEI and other electronic distributors simply was for people reading this thread who may not know, but also for them to be able to understand the environment in which these parts were originally designed. It was also to give people more info to make an informed decision on how they wanted to fire their car ignition. For your benefit and anybody running a mopar distributor for that matter, i even mentioned the really nice distributor recurve plate and spring kit from 4secondsflat to eliminate welding slots when recurving.

I figure anybody can do what they want in this regard, but i wanted people to see that going the HEI route is an alternative that doesnt have to look like a hack job. More infornation tends to lead to better informed decisions.
 
RustyRatRod said:
Super clean job, Matt.
Click to expand...

Thank you again sir. Rusty as a fellow mopar nut, i value your opinion. I have been on lots of threads with you, and have learned quite a bit from you as well. I hope i can return the favor to you someday.

BTW its getting close to my card statement closing. Im gonna be getting that cloyes timing set, and chain tensioner from summit you mentioned.

Matt
 
moparmat2000 said:
Thank you again sir. Rusty as a fellow mopar nut, i value your opinion. I have been on lots of threads with you, and have learned quite a bit from you as well. I hope i can return the favor to you someday.

BTW its getting close to my card statement closing. Im gonna be getting that cloyes timing set, and chain tensioner from summit you mentioned.

Matt
Click to expand...

Good work is good work, no matter the brand. I have complemented Johnny's cars a lot. He does nice work too.
 
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