I have been thinking I sure like the looks of a points dist on a SBC better than an HEI for a period correct look. Is an HEI really alot better than a rebuilt points unit? The points dist smaller size is a plus as well I think? I've got both here, if I run the points, I can run a way kooler air cleaner than if I run HEI. What do you guys think? it's just a daily driver 50 Chev I'm doing.
I'm a big fan of points. I use em in everything i build. MILLIONS of miles. Use good quality points/cond/cap/rotor. I look for old Delco points/condensor on Ebay. Still in the 70's boxes and buy 5-10 sets at a time for like $10 a set. Good points around here are $25 alone, and may not be as good.
well for a daily..reliability is key..sorry guys HEI points can be fussy, bitchy, and a maintenance head ache. once i put an HEI on my sbc i was in heaven. oh and there is an HEI type dist. that is small like the point set up, i just forget who makes it..you get the look of the point set up with the HEI power and reliability //so so best of both worlds, sure some one will tell you what dizzy im thinking of, i jjust cant think of it now
You can convert a points set up with an electronic unit and none would be the wiser. It uses the points as a trigger from what I understand so carry an extra unit or a point set up in the glove box in case of emergency.
WOW! I've never had these probs. Hell, a GM with the window for access? It don't get any easier/cheaper. Set em, and forget em for MANY many miles. I've also never had points leave me stranded without running a little rough first for a warning. HEI (or any other electronic), ya never know when that thing's ready to fail. Shut car off, go get a Coke, and no start! Points? Mucho mild warning signs with lots of time to react. Sorry, that's what my millions of miles have led to. Mallory Unilite? The worst of the bunch
There is a small hei dist. I've seen at shows. But it's $150+ bucks. And it's billit with a red cap. Points is way cheaper. Easy to check too.
groucho you do have a point about the HEI moduals ..i carry an extra one just like a guy would do with a set of points. I guess it is a preference issue
I'm not sure i get the question. But, if you keep a spare, you're savvy of their evil quirks. A little prob with points? Clean with match book cover, start car, turn allen screw(window on GM) both directions til stumbles, then set half way between, and go. HEI takes a shit, and you're standin there with your dick in your hand wondering WTF. Like i said, it's just what my milllions of miles has netted me for experience. Just use good points. You'll grow old waiting for a failure. Trouble is, GOOD parts are hard to get these days from China. So, i get NOS shit from Ebay cheap since hardly anyone wants points these days
PS- there's a local guy that keeps modules as well, but runs points. Once in a while he makes a grip of cash rescuing someone who's car won't start mysteriously after a show, or a night at the local cruise spot. A car that ran perfect on the way in. It happens often enough to where everyone knows who he is. Me, i don't like mysterious, no warning components. That's what electronic ignitions are. I admit, they work fine. But, when they fail, it's without warning. I'm not feelin it
Mich. ? daily driver ? My experiance tells me you're gonna miss your HEI about the middle of Jan. when it's -20 deg. and the wind is blowing snow up your ass at 6 a.m. while you're spraying ether down the carb.
Not only do I use points, I use '55-'56 distributers so I don't even have the convenience of a points adjusting window. I too like the look of the (really) old points distributers. Just follow Groucho's suggestions and you'll be ok.
there is a hei adapter for poimts, the pickups are under the orignal point cap. pextronix, something like that, cannot remember the name.
No question...daily driver HEI. OK, back up module in the glove box but I bet you never need it. Is money an issue here and that why you want to run points...gap set..dwell...forget it. If you can grab a MSD box and you can do anything you want, they make some pretty slick units.
I guess I'm just lucky, but I have run both points and HEI and have never had to mess with anything ever on either one... My hotrod has an HEI, my 69 Camaro big block has a points distributor with a Pertronix conversion and 70 Nova small block LT-1 has original style stock points... I can't tell the difference between the 3 and have never adjusted a thing on any of em. I'm hoping to eventually put a 3x2 intake on my 32, so the HEI will be replaced with a good ol fashioned points distributor, and will hopefully perform as flawlessly as the one in my Nova. If not, I can always change it to a Pertronix, although I really don't think that will be necessary.
I've popped a few hei modules, I've had to fix points (repeatedly on mopars) and replace condensers, I've never had trouble with the MSD. In this case, I'd recommend points...because the distributor will fit better...and maybe stuff an MSD under the dash to help it get started in the cold winters, unless it's a summer car, then don't bother.
Pertronix. Easier starting. Old look. Have not been left at the side of the road yet because of it. Neal
If points screw up in the middle of no where you can usually fiddle with them to get you to the next big town. If an HEI or pertronix screws up, your a walk'n.
I gotta agree with Squirrel here. I've run MSD's in circle burners for a decade and never had one die on me. I've run HEI distributors with welded crosses and the coil pulled, stock HEI's with the coil pulled, Points Distributors with the conversion boards, and finally an MSD ProBillet Distributor. The best of the bunch was the MSD ProBillet, it was head and shoulders above the rest. Remote mount coil, centrifugal advance, remote mount box with a rev limiter inside, and it's the same size as an old points/condenser distributor, but about 400% more reliable and durable. That distributor has ran four full seasons of roundy round races, same box, same module, same body. We change the cap, rotor, and coil every season just to be safe, but we've never had a failure of any of those components either. I'd not have any other ignition system on an auto of mine, that is for sure and for certain.
Once I went HEI I never went back. Hotter spark, turns a few hundred rpm more before it runs out of steam, no points to change, no adjustments, everything in one convienient package. Alex.
the oem manufactors would not go to the extra expense of a hei if the benefits were not there. ran a hei in a dirt track car three years and never touched it ran one in a 235 for five years and never touched it or the plugs.
Pertronix conversion dude! This is a no brainer, it's the look you want with the performance you want. Don't second guess it!
The "benefit" that drove them to put HEI on new cars was the federal emissions law that required the emission systems to be warranted for 50,000 miles. Points won't last that long without maintenance, but an HEI usually will.
MSD makes a small body HEI for the small block Chevrolet. I bought one for the 40 Ford with SBC ... even with the engine adaptor ( Wilcap ) and a stock firewall ... the MSD HEI small body fit. Had a vacuum advance and really helped the 40 on mileage, driveability and starting. It was a stand alone unit ... no extra boxes or anything. They did suggest using a MSD Blaster coil ( which I already had ) ... Looked like a stock old timey Chevrolet distribtor. .
I have thought about this myself, and I prefer not to have to pay for aftermarket (quality aftermarket = $$$). I saw somewhere a schematic to trigger a GM 4 pin HEI module with points. Naturaly now that I have been looking for it again all I can find is for the 7 pin. http://www.mynode.com/2wheel/?t=simple.html&v=hei/index.html It would let you run the points distributor, with the points intact, and if the module screwed up you could just hook the points back to the coil (might want to carry a spare set of points and a condenser, which several have recommended already). Just remember whatever you screw the module to needs to be able to act as a heat sink. Hope that helps.
FOR HEI USERS-- If you take the module, get it out of the distributor, and mount it in the passenger compartment, say under the dash, it will last much longer and you won't have to lift the hood to change it. I used to be forced to change mine every couple years in a parking lot when it would catch me by surprise by not starting. After I mounted mine in an easy-to-change location under the dash, I haven't had to touch it in over 10 years of daily driving so far... It is truly a maintenance free unit. I'll bet the cap and rotor is pretty crummy by now, but it doesn't miss a beat. Cooler location seems to be the cure. All it took was some wire and a couple screws. If I ever have to change it, it will look like I am searching my glovebox for something. No one will have any idea I am doing a 3-minute repair.
Are you guys that are changing your module using any heat sink compund? I recently used an MSD module (the one with the rev limiter built in) and they REALY harped on using theirs (too bad I lost theirs, found some at an electronic components store though). Just curious.
Great point. Always use the heat sink compound. I guess many people forget that or don't know. Usually it is a dab of dielectric grease to help transfer the heat to the dist. housing. If the distributor is in a really hot location though, it would still let the module get hot. When I put mine in a cool location, I used a $2.00 heat sink from Radio Shack, and a dab of grease of course, but the same effect could be had by just screwing the module against a cool sheetmetal panel such as a dash brace or under dash panel, and a dab of non-conductive grease of course. And by the way- the large cap of the HEI was made that way mainly to help prevent cross-firing when they tried to run with those huge .060 gaps they abandoned later. The larger the spacing between the terminals, the less of a tendency for the spark to jump across. GM started using closer terminals and some smaller caps after the HEI days when they went back to using smaller plug gaps. If you have the room, the large caps have a bit of an advantage over small caps if you are trying to push a lot of power thru them.
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