HEI Distributor questions

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Joshua Suehs

Joshua Suehs

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Hey all! So I bought a HEI Dist. and the blade at the end of the dissy seems longer than my original. It is making thr base not seat by about an 8th of an inch. Has anyone had this issue? Can I just use a grinder and grind it down to the old length? If I leave it will it still work or will it be putting unnecessary pressure on my engine?

The second question I have is when bypassing the ballast and ECU. what wires should I solder and what can I leave/get rid of. I have seen many posts on this but a lot of different things for the 73 dart swinger.

I would love to hear what you guys have done and any feedback on the dissy. I don’t think grinding would hurt but wanted input. Thanks!

I’ll add pictures when I get a chance!
 
Send it back if it's not right. What brand was it?
 
Could be for another engine. What block are you trying to put it in?
Cleanest way to jump the wires is solder jumpers to the ballast resistor on the back if it is open.
 
Mopar Distributor Shaft Lengths
Mopar Distributor identification guide by measuring shaft length, measured from mounting surface to lower end of distributor shaft.

Mopar LA engine – 3.875”
Mopar B engine – 3.5″
Mopar RB engine – 4″
–
Chrysler 331/354 Hemi – 4.25″
Chrysler 392 Hemi – 4.5″
–
Dodge 241/260/270 Hemi – 3.875”
Dodge 315/325 Hemi – 4.25″
Desoto 276/291 Hemi – 4.00″
 
halifaxhops said:
Mopar Distributor Shaft Lengths
Mopar Distributor identification guide by measuring shaft length, measured from mounting surface to lower end of distributor shaft.

Mopar LA engine – 3.875”
Mopar B engine – 3.5″
Mopar RB engine – 4″
–
Chrysler 331/354 Hemi – 4.25″
Chrysler 392 Hemi – 4.5″
–
Dodge 241/260/270 Hemi – 3.875”
Dodge 315/325 Hemi – 4.25″
Desoto 276/291 Hemi – 4.00″
Click to expand...
What would the b engine be out of. This engine was built and put in before I bought it. It is a molar 360 small block. I’ll measure the shaft length tonight. I bought it from a 3rd party online and they did not say whether it was LA, B, or anything. I did not realize there were different distributors for these small blocks.
 
Shoot us a pic of the distributor I can tell you in a second. A 360 is a LA motor, small block.
 
Joshua Suehs said:
Do I just leave the ECU and everything else connected?
Click to expand...
Depends if it is a one wire distributor or not. Most hei are one wire. (positive and ground) really need to know what it is if a all in one no ecu in the system and you have to remove it. If it is for a B (big block) it has a different rotation also.
 
Check your part number and measure shaft distance, if you do have a 360 it is a LA engine. If the shaft is indeed longer you may have one that fits a big block motor. If it is, grinding on the tip of the shaft will do you no good, the distributor turns ccw LA engines cw …. check out the part numbers. I do know with out looking at the distributor if the inducer ring can be adjusted.

Remove your ECU completely, find your hot wire that feeds this, this is the power you use to power your new distributor.


halifaxhops said:
Cleanest way to jump the wires is solder jumpers to the ballast resistor on the back if it is open.
Click to expand...

This what I did looks and works great.
 
halifaxhops said:
Shoot us a pic of the distributor I can tell you in a second. A 360 is a LA motor, small block.
Click to expand...

This is the kit I bought, the bottom of the shaft where it is tapered/keyed is longer in the picture then the one i took out. I am working (loose term) so I cant get a picture of that until tomorrow.

s-l1600.jpg
 
halifaxhops said:
Depends if it is a one wire distributor or not. Most hei are one wire. (positive and ground) really need to know what it is if a all in one no ecu in the system and you have to remove it. If it is for a B (big block) it has a different rotation also.
Click to expand...

Distributor is a ready to run set up so it is positive and negative and only needs an ing. on/start 12v
 
Joshua Suehs said:
Distributor is a ready to run set up so it is positive and negative and only needs an ing. on/start 12v
Click to expand...

Red wire to coil positive and to switched ignition 12v
Black wire to coil negative.
It's also a good idea to run a ground from the distributor case to the block or firewall.

Where your ballast resistor is now, you can use the two wires (ign1 and ign 2) that come out of your harness connected together for powering the coil and distributor.
One wire will be hot in the crank position, and the other in the run position.
Use a test light to find them once disconnected from the ballast.
You will also need to connect the blue wire currently at the ballast to those same wires.
The blue wire is what the voltage regulator uses to sense the system voltage so the alternator charges.
This blue wire can be verified by disconnecting your regulator and checking for continuity between the socket at the regulator and at the ballast end.

When those two wires are connected together you will have power in both ignition positions (start and run)
Your red wire on the distributor will be connected to those three wires, and the coil positive.

ALL other wires to your old ignition and the box can then be removed by trimming them off at the harness
 
Last edited:
you sure the intermediate shaft is properly seated?

grab yourself a big flat head screw driver and give her a good twist
 
diymirage said:
you sure the intermediate shaft is properly seated?

grab yourself a big flat head screw driver and give her a good twist
Click to expand...

Absolutely, the oil pump drive shaft (intermediate shaft) may have lifted off the oil pump hex causing the distributor shaft to seem to long.
 
If the vac advance is in that same position as the picture it should be for a small block. I would not grind it measure it and if it is right it is the oil pump drive shaft lifted. If you grind it and put it in the drive shaft will seat and it can lift out. Just my 2 cents.
 
Joshua Suehs said:
Do I just leave the ECU and everything else connected?
Click to expand...

Regarding your question re the wiring alterations, here is what I did on my 73 Duster. I know zilch about wiring and I had major sphincter lock about making these changes. All hail to the mighty @TrailBeast who finally helped me to understand it. In the spirit of "measure 100 times, cut once" I made up this new wiring diagram to clarify what needs to be done:

HEI Conversion.jpeg

Simply connect the brown and blue wires that head into the ballast resistor, and remove the wires that are shown as "dotted lines" on the diagram. Cutting the brown and blue wires are the only cuts you make, and all of the unwanted stuff will then be separated from the rest of the harness. Solder the brown and blue wires together and wrap it all back up. The ballast resistor, the ICU and the unwanted wiring can all be gotten rid of.

When the harness is unwrapped and spread out on the workbench, it should look like this.

20180222_124112.jpg


These are the brown and blue wires you are looking for:
20180222_124124.jpg

These are the cuts you need to make. Everything on the right side of the cuts (in the picture) is discarded.
20180222_124253.jpg

Solder up the brown and blue and wrap it all back up.
20180223_153037.jpg

Follow the diagram above to hook it all back up to the distributor and you're good to go. The only stock wire that goes to the coil is the brown to Coil (+). The pos & neg from the Distributor go to the pos & neg on the coil. I don't understand how it all works, but it does.
 
Dusterdenovo said:
Regarding your question re the wiring alterations, here is what I did on my 73 Duster. I know zilch about wiring and I had major sphincter lock about making these changes. All hail to the mighty @TrailBeast who finally helped me to understand it. In the spirit of "measure 100 times, cut once" I made up this new wiring diagram to clarify what needs to be done:

View attachment 1715317614
Simply connect the brown and blue wires that head into the ballast resistor, and remove the wires that are shown as "dotted lines" on the diagram. Cutting the brown and blue wires are the only cuts you make, and all of the unwanted stuff will then be separated from the rest of the harness. Solder the brown and blue wires together and wrap it all back up. The ballast resistor, the ICU and the unwanted wiring can all be gotten rid of.

When the harness is unwrapped and spread out on the workbench, it should look like this.

View attachment 1715317618

These are the brown and blue wires you are looking for:
View attachment 1715317619
These are the cuts you need to make. Everything on the right side of the cuts (in the picture) is discarded.
View attachment 1715317621
Solder up the brown and blue and wrap it all back up.
View attachment 1715317622
Follow the diagram above to hook it all back up to the distributor and you're good to go. The only stock wire that goes to the coil is the brown to Coil (+). The pos & neg from the Distributor go to the pos & neg on the coil. I don't understand how it all works, but it does.
Click to expand...

Thanks man! I love doing electrical and have done it alot, but without a diagram it would take me forever! This helps me out tons! Awesome pictures throughout the progress too!
 
No worries!

FWIW, your dizzy looks identical to mine, which is a Top Street Performance TSP-JM6713BL (I think the BL means blue cap). If that's what you've got, that's the one you need.

Cheers.
 
Well, I tore into it last night and I pulled the Intermediate shaft and re-seated it and she dropped right in. Thanks for all the feedback! Having a community like this really helps when you hit minor snags! So glad I didn't need to ship and re-order. Now I just need to rewire it and we should be cooking! Thanks!
 
Hey everyone! I’m starting to dig into the wiring and I have another question. I noticed another ballast resistor that looks like the one by the ecu but it it only a single one located by the wiper motor. The wires are brown so that makes me think ignition. Do I bypass this one to or is it for something else?
 
There is 2. I don't have a car with one on the wiper. Why is it needed?
 
If you're talking about this one on the wiper motor assembly, I think it's got something to do with 2 speeds for the wipers. Not about ignition anyway.
100_5702.JPG
 
The keyed slot is not longer exactly. It's an illusion because the distributor shaft has been machined further UP the shaft resulting in making the key look longer.
 
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