All of this Pertronix bashing has me concerned about mine now. The car is cutting out a bit when I rev her up. Enough to keep her at home. My Pertronix Ignitor must be the culprit. Yes, I left the ignition on recently for a whole lot longer than 30 seconds Pertronix says is the max limit. SO, I think I'll just get an HEI distributor instead. Isn't there one wire to hook up? Someone please enlighten me on this and I'll go from there. Russ Waters 1970 Skylark Convertible 455
Russ, HEI requires one wire, but it must supply full time 12 Volts. If you trace the + coil wire back to the bulkhead connector(down low under brake booster) you,ll see it also tees off to the "R" terminal on the starter solenoid. This is the points setup and the wire includes a calibrated length of resistance wire. You need to eliminate that and simply run a 12 or 14 gauge wire from the bulhead connector to the Batt terminal of the HEI. Simple as that. The bulkhead connector comes apart(single bolt in middle) and the wires lock into it with a barb type connection. Year One sells an HEI wire with the proper connectors on both ends. Part # L00510. If you do a search on HEI conversion, you'll come up with pictures and all. This has been discussed many times on this BB
Russ, Here's a picture of the Year One HEI feed. Notice the proper connectors for the distributor end and the barb type connector that snaps into the foward half of the bulkhead connector.
Thanks Larry! You have cleared up any confusion I may have had. This is a much better idea than replacing the Pertronix with a new Ignitor II. And a lot cheaper, too!! ( Local yard has many 455 HEI Distributors) Russ Waters:grin:
Larry, I guess I leaped before I looked. When I went to the local yard today, there were plenty of 455 distributors around. Points type... I'll keep looking, but how about this idea? Does the 350 HEI distributor have the same shaft length as the 455. I could replace the gear, which I think is different, and recurve the unit to fit my needs. But all that wouldn't matter if they don't interchange... Any thoughts on this one? RW
350 dist for 455 Russ, Yes you can swap the drive gear from a 455 dist and use it on the 350 dist in your 455. That is what I am running now. There are concerns with the HEI cap however. I don't recall if you are running a GS style air cleaner but the large cap hei won't fit under the cups of the air scopes. Also the heat from the coil on the cap type layout causes problems that could be eliminated by relocating the coil else where. And yes the advance cruve requirement are different from a 350 to a 455. I am in the process of having a distrutor built (OEM style HEI components in a pionts distributor. www.davessmallbodyheis.com is building a distributor for me. Check out Dave's web site. Pretty reasonable, does quality work and he will set it up exactly the way you want it. He will send you some pictures for you to see and other from here have used his stuff. I haven't seen any complants. Jake
Almost forgot If you go the 350 distributor route you need to drill out the shaft of the distributor to accept the larger roll pin that accompanies the 350 drive gear. Not a big deal however. Good luck Jake
Thanks Jake! I am going to a real old "yard" near Carrollton to see what he might have. My first choice locally wants 50.00 for a used unit. Too much, I think... I checked out dave's site. That may be the best choice for me if this trip doesn't pan out. RW
This all raises a question for me, a mechanical novice. Other than reliability, what does changing the stock dist to HEI do for an older car? I have a 64 Nailhead (401) that does not get raced but I am trying to get as much performance out of my car as possible. What exactly is recurving the distributor and is this something that can be tackled by a first timer? Does anyone know of a modern HEI unit that will fit the 401? Fundemental questions but, I joined to learn as much as I can from you guys. Thanks.
I know little about the 401 motor and what will fit it! You may have to use a Pertronix or MSD unit instead of an HEI unit. Maybe someone can clear that up here! Thanks for all the input from everyone on the HEI unit. I picked up a complete unit for 10.00 at the local yard yesterday. It is a 350 though, so I'll have to re-curve the unit. You gotta love an old salvage yard that has a Chow, a German Shepherd and a Black Lab sniffing at you when you walk in the gate. And "Bubba" takes the "cash" when you leave. Doubt that gets reported to the Feds. RW
Russ, if you still need a little more information on the HEI install look here http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2152&highlight=Yearto (just scroll down a bit). It will show the bulkhead at the firewall and how it can be removed for easier power lead installation.
