points wiring - The 1947 - Present Chevrolet & GMC Truck Message Board Network

mehoff400 · 02-06-2018, 10:14 PM

anyone have a diagram on how to change from HEI to points for a straight six?

i am swapping engines between 2 trucks and i dont want to spend the money on HEI to just sell the truck.

**PGSigns** · 02-07-2018, 07:30 AM

Just install the engine and hook the wire that used to supply the power to the hei to the coil if it does not use and external resister or to a ballast resistor if it needs one. Thats it.
Jimmy

ray_mcavoy · 02-07-2018, 05:03 PM

^ Ditto.

Some coils are printed with a message such as: "Use with external resistor". But if that is missing, worn off, or you just aren't sure, you can use a multimeter (set to the resistance / Ohms scale) to measure the coil's primary resistance. Just hook the meter's leads to the coil's (+) and (-) terminals without any other wiring attached. A stock GM Delco coil (or equivalent replacement) will most likely read somewhere around 1.8Ω and require an external ballast resistor. But some coils have a higher primary resistance (around 3Ω or so) and can be used without an external resistor.

The factory wiring (in most cases) also incorporated a wire that would temporarily bypass the ballast resistor to feed full battery voltage to the coil for a hotter spark while cranking the engine. That can be duplicated by simply running a wire from the starter solenoid "R" terminal to the positive coil terminal.

02-06-2018, 10:14 PM	#1
mehoff400 Registered User Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Puyallup WA Posts: 362	points wiring anyone have a diagram on how to change from HEI to points for a straight six? i am swapping engines between 2 trucks and i dont want to spend the money on HEI to just sell the truck. __________________ 66 c10 patina 250 T-5 My truck

02-07-2018, 07:30 AM	#2
PGSigns Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Hayes Va Posts: 4,569	Re: points wiring Just install the engine and hook the wire that used to supply the power to the hei to the coil if it does not use and external resister or to a ballast resistor if it needs one. Thats it. Jimmy __________________ 60 to 66 Chevy and GMC window decals http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=661131 Good friends, good food and a hotrod what else do you need? 1966 BBW long fleet Daily driver 1965 BBW short fleet Sold and going to a good home 1965 Suburban 2003 3500 Duramax 2005 Ultra Classic

02-07-2018, 05:03 PM	#3
ray_mcavoy Registered User Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Sherman, ME Posts: 2,354	Re: points wiring ^ Ditto. Some coils are printed with a message such as: "Use with external resistor". But if that is missing, worn off, or you just aren't sure, you can use a multimeter (set to the resistance / Ohms scale) to measure the coil's primary resistance. Just hook the meter's leads to the coil's (+) and (-) terminals without any other wiring attached. A stock GM Delco coil (or equivalent replacement) will most likely read somewhere around 1.8Ω and require an external ballast resistor. But some coils have a higher primary resistance (around 3Ω or so) and can be used without an external resistor. The factory wiring (in most cases) also incorporated a wire that would temporarily bypass the ballast resistor to feed full battery voltage to the coil for a hotter spark while cranking the engine. That can be duplicated by simply running a wire from the starter solenoid "R" terminal to the positive coil terminal.



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