distributor

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Personally I like to eliminate the ballast all together. I've had them fail, as well as the orange and chrome boxes.
I recently read a article where a guy eliminated both the ballast resistor and factory ecu. He triggered the system with a G.M. 4 tab module. Can this be done and what benefits would it provide? He said that he unplugged the ballast resistor and connected those wires together. Has anyone else done this modification?
 
Dan,
A number of benefits, but to get the most out of the system, you should use a more efficient E core coil such as a MSD 8207 or Summit 850500. These are stand alone coils. If you get a HEI dist, it of course has the coil-in-cap.
Because of the higher energy output, you can run 0.060" plug gaps. Another thing HEI has is adaptive dwell. It reduces dwell [ coil on time ] at lower rpms because it is not needed. This reduces coil heating which wastes energy. At higher rpms, dwell is extended to reduce misfire.
If you elect to use the HEI dist, you also clean up the engine bay because everything reqd for ign is in the dist. Also available from MSD & Summit are upgraded HEI modules that have adjustable rev limiters, if that is needed.
 
Dan,
A number of benefits, but to get the most out of the system, you should use a more efficient E core coil such as a MSD 8207 or Summit 850500. These are stand alone coils. If you get a HEI dist, it of course has the coil-in-cap.
Because of the higher energy output, you can run 0.060" plug gaps. Another thing HEI has is adaptive dwell. It reduces dwell [ coil on time ] at lower rpms because it is not needed. This reduces coil heating which wastes energy. At higher rpms, dwell is extended to reduce misfire.
If you elect to use the HEI dist, you also clean up the engine bay because everything reqd for ign is in the dist. Also available from MSD & Summit are upgraded HEI modules that have adjustable rev limiters, if that is needed.
Thanks for the info. What brand / type of spark plug would be good with a. 060" gap?. I haven't had much luck with champion plugs. Would a 8.5mm plug wire be able to handle the voltage
 
Thanks for the info. What brand / type of spark plug would be good with a. 060" gap?. I haven't had much luck with champion plugs. Would a 8.5mm plug wire be able to handle the voltage

My engine builder likes NGK. I run them and they have them at every parts store
 
I also like & use NGKs. Use a '5' heat range for street/strip, NA.

The 8.5mm plug wire is more than adequate. Rarely is the rated voltage of the coil ever used or reqd. GM HEI coil was originally 50,000v rated. One test I saw with 0.060" plug gaps reqd 28,000v to fire the gap. The rest is in 'reserve'.
 
Whatever distributor you get, have someone set it up for you or go though it. I like learning about the way things work so I read all I could find about them and dove in. They are not really a drop in item when it comes to performance. The phasing is usually off, the curve is a compromise and most don’t let you run enough initial without the mechanical getting out of hand. I run the Jegs billet. Painted black, it looks like my original 68 cast iron distributor. It has adjustable vacuum and mechanical advance. The mechanical is set by plastic keys. I don’t use vacuum advance. The rotor phasing was not great, so I used the vacuum advance plate to get the phasing right, then just locked the plate there with a small bolt and nut. This distributor allows me to run 24 initial and 34 total. This is more race car than street car. My old MSD. Wouldn’t let you run that little mechanical advance without an aftermarket bushing.
 
Yeah, I bought a 10 deg from FABO 4 seconds flat. Ran it for a while, but the cap and wires not stock appearing. Had to go.
 
I recently read a article where a guy eliminated both the ballast resistor and factory ecu. He triggered the system with a G.M. 4 tab module. Can this be done and what benefits would it provide? He said that he unplugged the ballast resistor and connected those wires together. Has anyone else done this modification?
There's threads here about that.
 
Good stuff and they still surface on forum for sale , a Nos one was offered on site last wèek it sold before I could get to it.
Is this dual purpose motor or street only ??
Mostly street, but she'll see some strip time.
 
No issues with them good for high RPM's hardest thing is finding the right ballast resistor for them.
View attachment 1715801692

The issue is the New knock off boxes have a high failure rate.
Any suggestions for a good, correct ballast resistor? Also I would value your opinion on The MSD e-curve distributor. I bought one about 10 years ago for my long term build. Thanks for your time.
 
The MSD is a good distributor. You can custom the curve in them. Most ballast re 1 ohm from the parts store. I have some smaller ones just need to know what thee factory recommends for the MSD.
 
Hi i been running 6al whid Mp dizzy and the newer hwc coil works realy good put in the work whid recuving the Dizzy lots of power to gain good luck
 
There's threads here about that.

@318willrun has a good video out how to do the mopar hei conversion. Runs on straight 12 volts no ballast. Use an E-coil like came on a '95 F-150 truck, high voltage spark, .035 ths on the spark plug gaps.

Works good, quick starts too.

Screenshot_20210606-074258_Chrome.jpg


As an alternative to the good old mopar brain box setup.
 
They do work well, I have done a few and alwasy nice deal on them. Still Cary a spare modual in case it goes down. Keep away from the acell ones friend runs one in his drag car and 4 of them went bad on him last season!
 
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