I have about reached my wits end trying to get the new HEI into the engine correctly and getting it to start. I have turned the engine so that the #1 cylinder is at TDC with the harmonic balancer (HB) timing line lined up with the bottom edge of the timing tab on the engine. My timing tab appears to have the numbers 2, 4, 8 and 12 starting at the bottom and going up the tab. I drop in the new distributor and the teeth engage but of course the male tab in the distributor does not align wit the female end of the oil pump shaft so the distributor won't seat. Is lining the HB timing line with the bottom edge of the timing tab the correct location for setting TDC for #1 cylinder? Any recommendations on how to get the distributor tab to mesh with the oil pump shaft without losing the position of the distributor? I tried bumping the engine with the starter switch in hopes that it would drop in but no luck. I also read that the HB line will align with the bottom of the timing tab twice. Once when #1 is at TDC and again when it is 180 degrees out. I do not have 2 people, so to determine if #1 is on the compression stroke I stuffed the end of a shop rag in the #1 hole and waited until the compression blew it out then installed the HEI. Thought I had it correct a couple of times but the first time the engine sputtered and backfired through the carb and the second time it cranked but would not start. Any idea on what I am doing wrong? Going out and try this once more before I give up for this evening.
I look at the distributor gear, note the position of the slot and turn the oil pump with a large screw driver to get it close so it can drop on.
John - Thanks for the help. I tried that a couple times but could not get it to work. Maybe I need to try again and be more patient. Retired USMC CH-53/CH-46 pilot. MacArthur's grave at the MacArthur Museum and Memorial in Norfolk, VA. If you ever have a chance to visit well worth the time. Thanks again for your help. Semper Fi.
It can be difficult, and the size of the bigger distributor does not help. As far as lining up the #1 cylinder at TDC compression, it helps to understand the mechanics. It takes 2 complete revolutions of the crankshaft to fire and exhaust all 8 cylinders. Our engines are 4 stroke engines. Intake-Compression-Power-Exhaust. You need to be on compression. If you split the firing order in half, 1-8-4-3, 6-5-7-2, 1- 6,.....8-5,.....4-7,..... 3- 2 are companion cylinders. When one is on compression, the other is on exhaust, and visa-versa. So when 1 is on compression, 6 is on exhaust, and when 6 is on compression, 1 is on exhaust. See why just lining up the HB and timing tab might not work? These are my tips. DON'T crank the engine, bump the starter a LITTLE at a time. Find a cork to stuff in the plug hole. BUMP the starter. The instant the cork pops out, STOP. Turn the crank the rest of the way CLOCKWISE with a breaker bar and socket. The HB mark should be coming around from under the water pump. Line the mark up with your intended initial timing on the tab, I suggest 10*. Once you do that, hold the distributor so that the VA is properly oriented and rotor is pointed at #1 tower. Now lift the distributor up and eyeball the the oil pump tab to see it's orientation. Take a long screwdriver and orient the oil pump drive shaft to match. Now this is important. The distributor drive gear is helical. That means the the shaft will turn as you push the distributor home. You need to account for this, so you need to note which way it turns and start with the rotor in a position so that as it turns, it ends up pointing at #1. It may take you a few tries. All this is made more difficult by the size of the distributor and cap. Getting it in right so that you have enough swing to adjust the timing is more difficult with the big HEI. Keep trying until it drops in, DO NOT crank the engine to get it to seat, that will only make things worse. This is normally difficult if you have never done it before. It may help to move the advance weights to get the oil pump to engage correctly. Good luck.
BTW, not posting your location can hurt you. Help might be right around the corner, and neither you or others would know it.
Larry. As I was reading through this and the only parts I do not fully understand are: 1. What is the correct orientation for the VA? 2. Rotor is pointed at the #1 tower. What exactly are you referring to as the #1 tower? Thanks again your explanation was very helpful.
#1 plug wire. I like to put the cap on and make a small mark on the distributor with a marker where the #1 wire lines up and then orientate the distributor advance about the 7 o'clock position (so room to advance or retard. As Larry said the gear is helical so you have to account for it twisting when meshing it with the cam. When you line the rotor up with #1 and the advance is where you want lift the distibutor up and look at the gear and note about where the tang in the gear is and then move the oil pump to match.
What John said. VA is vacuum advance canister, it should be pointed generally towards the passenger side front corner of the car.
have you seated the distributor and tried starting but no luck? remember the crank turns twice for every revolution of the cam, The distributor gear is driven by the cam. you MIGHT be 180 deg. out on your crank. spin your crank around ONCE and line up your timing marks on the crank.
This may be obvious but I thought I would mention it - put the distributor in without the cap on. Put the cap on once it is in and seated. Also, your radiator hose may get in the way so clock the distributor away from it. And, google HEI 455 and you will see pictures showing where the VA should be. Like this:
Va will be pointing toward the radiator cap. Mark num one from dist cap on your dist housing so you can see it without the dist cap on. A sharpie works. You can hook up a starter button or or have a wire long enough to go from battery to fire wall on the driver side. Find the big loom of wire that follows the firewall and open it to find the large purple wire. expose a tiny bit of the wire with a razor blade or strippers. If you touch a wire from battery to that bare spot. Positive side of battery, the starter will turn. Do this with the Key off. You should be able to touch a wire to it with one hand and with the other put your thumb or finger in the hole. From there you know what to do. Ounce you get it droped in to ware it will align with the sharpie mark. If it wont go all way down you can now bump the starter with a wire and put a finger on the middle of dist and it will suck down flush when you bump the starter. AND make sure you put a little grease or oil on the dist o ring.
Don't ever probe or cut a wire to jump a component or to check for power. This will come back to haunt you or someone else in the future looking for an intermittent problem. And a piece of electrical tape over the cut or probe will not prevent the wire from corroding. get an assistant to bump the starter or use a remote starter switch. I can't tell you how many hours in my life that I have spent looking for an intermittent problem just to find that somebody probed a wire.
I want to thank everyone that responded to my inquiry about installing the HEI distributor. Using the invaluable information from all the responders I was finally successful in getting the HEI in correctly, starting the car and setting the timing. Collective knowledge is always better than collected knowledge. Thanks again everyone.
