Here are some advantages of a large distributor cap- LARGE ONE INCH GAP REAL FIRE-POWER! Difference between big-cap and small-cap terminal spacing. HUDSON HEI One of a boxful I made for Clifford Performance quite a few years ago. HEI VS STOCK Hudson. Stock Hudson would crossfire very easily. Funny thing- Hudson dist was a mirror image of the Stude 6 dist. tang vs slot, ccw vs cw rotate, depth, size, mount.. I wonder who cloned who.. Stude Champ started in 1939, when did Hudson start using this style? Studebaker V8 HEI I used to build for the racers. AMC HEI I used in my Eagle, and I used to sell copies of it. I DON'T BUILD THESE ANYMORE SO PLEASE DON'T ASK ME TO MAKE ANY. THIS IS JUST FOR HELPFUL INFORMATION.
If I may quote RichardD in the garage one night; "An HEI looks like a dog crawled up there and took a dump on your motor!" Just another tip from yer UNCLEE!
<TABLE id=HB_Mail_Container height="100%" cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width="100%" border=0 UNSELECTABLE="on"><TBODY><TR height="100%" width="100%" UNSELECTABLE="on"><TD id=HB_Focus_Element vAlign=top width="100%" background="" height=250 UNSELECTABLE="off">HEI no question, and they make small after market. Rags </TD></TR><TR UNSELECTABLE="on" hb_tag="1"><TD style="FONT-SIZE: 1pt" height=1 UNSELECTABLE="on"> </TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
Pertronics conversion. 5 years, haven't even had a timing light on it. Starts immediately, haven't had a miss yet and I wind it pretty good on occasion. Somewhere in my tool box (small carry around) is a set of points and a condenser if it ever fails. Looks stock, hotter spark, no maintainance, win/win. Frank
Im nutz but I dont really care. Converting EVERYTHING to POINTS! Why, you may ask? Well, first of all there is the possibility of the increasing 'sun spots' emitting enough EMPs to fry everything electronic on the planet. And, the current wisdom for the use of Nuclear Weapons is not to destroy the place but to cripple it. An air burst 200 miles high would destroy everything electronic in North America and probably then some. If you want a ride in the event this takes place, not if but when, HEI aint gonna get you out of the driveway. If you are playing devil's advocate, I got gas and diesel engines, cars and generators, oh and LP too. With 1000 gallons of LP and 500 gallons each of gasoline and diesel fuel, Im gonna ride. Nah Im not really a prepper, but dont forget people also laffed at Noah.
Funny you say this. I remember my freshman year at Northern Michigan University. After a week long Marquette blizzard with -20 temps and -50 windchill, my '72 Chevell with 250 six and points distributor (you know the kind with the wobbly shaft) was the only car in the parking lot that would start. Mind you it ran like crap until it warmed up,but it started.
I run HEI on everything, have not lost a module yet. First thing I do is pull the module and add extra heat sink grease. Seems to be pot luck whether they come with enough grease brand new out of the box. Tunnel ram engine in the T bucket will get a small cap HEI distributor.
Pertronix igniter trigger conversion in a points dizzy as stated by others is the best of both worlds.
I run points and have in my little 283 for EVER... I drive my truck an average of 2,000 miles a month. The current set has been in there for over 2 1/2 years now. One clean and adjustment about six months back. Good new points are both expensive and hard to find, but last a long time with a good distributor. Bad bushings, rough point cams, etc EAT them up. I own a distributor machine and that helps initially, curving, etc, but there are other ways (adjustable advance timing lite, degreed balancer) to do that. Pure traditional and reliable for me....
The last time I messed with my points in my vette....lets see....the guy I used for a tune up was still building V-6's for Nascar....in the early 90's maybe....20 something years ago... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TgBFh7m_45w
While mine is not as good of an explanation as this guy's, I like to use points, just because it looks more traditional and fits the theme of my cars.
No disrespect intended, but look at the location of points users vs. HEI. Disneyland Hot Rodders need to spend a winter in the NW wet zone and freeze, scraping ice off the windshield of your daily driver HAMB vehicle so you can scrape the ice from your breath off the inside windshield as the 60+ year old vehicle tries to start. Ya, I remember points before I could afford to have HEI. I suppose if I only drove my garaged play car on sunny days with the hood off, I would run points.
REALLY??? Hmmm That is simply NOT True... I am at 3650' & it snows about 3' here in a mild winter... If your ride is in a GOOD state of tune there is no problem firing up on a 25 degree morning...! My 283 lights off just as quickly as the little woman's all electronic Jeep Liberty... It does take longer to dig the snow out though so I can get moving in the morning.. 'Cause the Jeep has 4 wheel drive But I ain't going there
I do like the idea of locating the HEI module under the dash of the interior though... Hell, you won't even have to get your hands dirty swaping those out...
I run a small HEI for a tuned port motor with a boat module. Don't know the numbers, we called it a 299 module for boats. I worked for Delco-Remy and that is what the engineers came up with. It looks like a small points distributor only is an HEI with GM parts. I couldn't run a large HEI because am running inline dual 4's, and I also wanted the old timey look. I'll try to get pics and numbers later if anyone is interested.
When Hei first came out I hated them. I used to run dual points and a mallory coil ,Packard 440 copper plug wires. Now with todays resistor plugs and sorry corn gas it just dont work as well as a HEI. and the thing about the HEI maybe quitting and leaving you stranded. I just keep a complete spare distributer wrapped up stored under the seat of my old PK,s & cars. if you convert just keep the old points parts you removed with you. Ive even installed electronic ignition conversion kits on my old 1940,s farm tractors. For me electronic ignition is the way to go. OldWolf
How did you all get around from the 30s through the 60's? It must have sucked walking everywhere in the cold.
When I was little we lived in northern indiana. One winter My dad had a old 42 ford bob truck. 6volt. He carried the battery inside the house every nite to keep it warm. before breakfast he would go out and build a fire under the oil pan. and he usually got it to start. then he used a chain to pull the neighbors vehicles to start. one neighbor (believe it or not his name was Bob Funky. bought a brand new 56 buick. it wouldnt start so dad was giving him a pull and it was automatic so dad had to get up some speed to get it turning over. when it finally started Bob apparently had it flat on the floor and drove under the back of that ole 2 ton flatbed . totaled a brand new buick out. everyone had jumper cables and it was common for many to keep their vehicles in the garage in cold weather. Back in the sixties in Arkansas I always parked my stick shift old 1946 flathead bob truck at the top of a nearby hill so i could roll it off the get it to start in cold weather. Ive got a M farmall that back then had a magnito. no battery just a hand crank. In the winter I would build a fire under the oil pan. And pour a pint gas down the exhaust and light it to warm it up . We cut and haulded 40 inch oak blocks to a chicken coop factory. it was necessairy to work when the ground was frozen so the trailer behind the tractor wouldnt sink in the ground. I still have that same M farmall tractor today with a distrubuter and electronic ignition and a 12 volt battery on a 6 volt starter and it will start in the coldest weather. OldWolf
My question how many have replaced the HEI in there later model rides because the point units won't let you down out on the road? Or got 80'000 miles on a set of plugs with points?
The Jalopy Journal
