I have a 1970 Riviera with a 455 engine with original points set-up. Can I put a 455 HEI Dist. into my year of car?? o No: And if so. What would I have to change? Any help or any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Bert
Yes, you can. You need to supply 12 volts to the HEI distributor. The points distributor gets a voltage less than 12v because the supplied power goes through a resistor. There's another issue with the wire to the starter, but I can't remember what it is. I have a magazine article which describes the conversion. I'll scan the pages and post them.
Crap. That's more than I can read in an afternoon. I did this 15 years back. Just dropped in the HEI from a late '74 motor and connected up the 12V wire. You mean to tell me it's not getting a full 12V?
The wire that goes to the + side of the coil (part of the engine harness) is a special resistance wire which drops the voltage so the points live longer. There is a wire leading from the small "R" terminal on the starter solenoid, that bypasses the resistance wire during cranking only. All you need to do is run a 14 gauge wire from the fuseblock to the HEI, and then it is a drop in. If you really want to do it correctly, you can replace the resistance wire with a plain wire, from the firewall, to the distributor. It is relatively easy. Let us know what you would like to do.
Thanks, Larry. I think I can follow what you're advising. I'll run a new wire and find something in the fuse box that's hot when cranking. Wouldn't be very good otherwise!
The HEI is a very good distributor. You'll get a performance increase you can feel. The big cap can sometimes create clearance problems (upper radiator hose, intake manifold, or air cleaner), but they are minor problems easily dealt with. Many HEI's do not have optimal advance curves for our engines, and that can be a problem. For a stock engine, I wouldn't worry too much about that. Just run your wire from a point in the fuse block that is hot in crank and run positions.
Larry- I have a rebuilt HEI from Autozone that I bought about 8 years ago that I never installed. The car was in storage until last week! I was thinking of at least replaceing the module in it with one from Accel. I have the Accel coil and wires already, and a crane vacuum kit. Will the mechancial advance be ok with a stock motor?
Aftermarket modules are meant to be run with the recommended aftermarket coils. I would contact Accel and ask. The mechanical advance should be OK with a stock motor, but I would set my total timing, not initial timing. I have no idea how much mechanical advance is in that particular HEI, and that affects how much initial timing you can run. Set the total timing, and let the initial timing take care of itself. Try reading this:http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?t=63475
Thank you to all who replied!! I just got home turned on my computer and have been reading all your awesome replies. I'm a detail person. Any will go to any lengths to make this swap look as original as possible. I hate wires hanging out everywhere. I will let you guys know if I have any problems. All you guys have been a great help. THANKS AGAIN!! :TU: Bert
