HEI Distributors
 

Hey everybody. I've got a '72 Chevy pickup with a 350 and points style distributor in it. If I want to convert it over to an HEI distributor, what do I need to do and what's the best brand to go with? I've got no experience with installing an HEI and it seems like I need to wire it into the battery? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!!

Re: HEI Distributors
 

Re: HEI Distributors
 

The electrical part: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...d.php?t=708975

Re: HEI Distributors
 

I'm putting a Skip White distributor in mine:

http://www.skipwhiteperformance.com/...px?Item=6500-R

Instructions are on the web page as well.

Re: HEI Distributors
 

Go GM if you can. Avoid no-name Chinese units... I'd take a well used GM HEI over a no-name unit any day. I've heard good things about Skip White, but no personal experience.

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x2. Many years ago I picked up a used 1980-something GM HEI and it's still going strong.

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If you go with a cheap Distrib, Skip White or others, carry a spare module with you. Don't ask . Brian

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The HEI conversion is one of the best changes you can make to your chevy. You have many options. Grab one from the junk yard and take your chances or rebuild it or buy a new one complete from someone like O'Reillys for $125 or so with warranty or spend more on one from Accel, Taylor or others. You can find Skip White distributors new for around $50. Yeah they are pretty and I believe imported but for something driven occasionally they should be ok.

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Am I reading that right ? 39.50 for a distributor ? :smoke:

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What is the deal with those conversion modules that you install in the old points distributor to convert it to electronic? Are they a good idea? Do they need the resistor wire replaced just like HEI? I may have considered one if a friend didn't give me an HEI out of a later model Chevy.

Re: HEI Distributors
 

Either the Pertronix Ignitor (or Ignitor II) or Mallory Unilite conversion work great. But harder to replace when they break.

For my money, I'm all about the cheap Chinese distributor and sourcing some parts as spares. A coil and a module.

The MSD Streetfire is probably a little better. They say it has same melonized gear as their other distributors. Just bought one myself for hydraulic roller compatibility. $160. But I'd have no problem running the cheap Chinese distributor.

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Yep. And I had a technical question and they responded to my email within a dew hours - on a Saturday.

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The Petronics is good if you have clearance problems with the big GM HEI or want the original look, but you can't beat the OEM HEI for performance & reliability.

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I bought a Skip White about three years ago(it was called the "Ready to Run"). I have a tired 350. The simple HEI is a good upgrade. Spend your money on wires! Wires are important! All things equal, and especially for a stock type engine, you can use the cheaper distributors and be fine. I'm of the opinion that the basic swap out HEI distributors have reached appliance status. Again all things equal, they are a straight plug and play and you will burn the fuel.

Also, I should have mentioned, the "Ready to Run" is designed to run with an external coil. This distributor is designed to look like an original and resolves any firewall clearance issues. Just google Skip White ready to run and you can see it.

Re: HEI Distributors
 

I just converted to a GM HEI distributor a month or two ago.

Just to touch on a few things not mentioned already in the previous posts...
1) The part number for that spade terminal - NAPA 725145
2) Unwrap your harness from the PASSENGER SIDE FIRST!
3) Add your 12 gauge wire to the harness as you remove that resistor wire and re-tape the harness to MAKE IT CLEAN.
4) The distributor's firing order should match what you had on the points unit. Don't rely on Google search results, because cylinder #1 will be where it was before where you took out the old one.
5) I got a Summit Racing Ready to Run Blueprinted HEI distributor and it works great.
6) Use black RTV on the firewall plug where you replaced the old wire for that OE look.
7) Stick with vacuum advance
8) Ignition wires use 1975-1982 Corvette or better yet MAKE YOUR OWN!!!

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I installed a Streetfire HEI distributor on my pickup last year when I put a goodwrench 350 in. I haven't driven a huge amount of miles, but I haven't had any problems yet. It was a big improvement over points. My old points distributor had the timing moving around at idle when I checked the timing. This one is nice and steady with seems to start up faster. I just removed the resistor wire from the harness and replaced it with a 12 gauge wire with the proper connector. It's an easy project.

I installed an Accel blueprinted HEI on my Chevelle about 20 years ago. It's still working perfectly.

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I put an Accel Blueprint In my Chevelle and followed the "curve" instructions. You will be pleasantly surprised with the results far outweighing the cost. It's like installing a new brain in your engine.
I then started doing this to customers cars. Oh my were they surprised as well.

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That's the same dizzy I put in my stock '72 350. I bought it several years ago for about $75, but it came with a full set of the 90*, 8.8mm spiral bound Accel wires. Bought the crimper too. Custom fit the length to your appclication (plug end came finished, just cut to length at distributor end).

But I only recently installed it. I probably have less than a 1,000 miles on it, but no problems whatsoever.

The biggest difference I noticed was idle smoothness. The points/distributor I was replaced was probably fried/sloppy. Now, the timing is much more stable, and my hood is not bouncing/oil-canning at idle. Seems to fire up a bit quicker as well.

Time will tell on the durability, but so far, all good.

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Don't forget to regap the plugs.

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I dropped a used gm HEI in mine and it hasn't missed a beat. Very dependable.

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go to Pick A Part and get a HEI for $20-25

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I have installed 4 pertronix kits in a variety of vehicles (Cadillac, Chevy, and Buick). Of them, one failed in about a year and one was bad out of the box. the others worked great, several years in.
I have installed 3 HEI units from GM and I have never had a problem with any of them.