Time to change the points distributor to electronic

Discussion in 'Sparky's corner' started by 71 GS, Mar 2, 2019.

  1. 71 GS

    71 GS Well-Known Member

    What's the recommended electronic distributor to by online that will fit right in to my 1971 GS 350 4bbl
    Open to any advice, thanks guys
     
  2. BYoung

    BYoung Stage me

    bostoncat68 and BuickV8Mike like this.
  3. CJay

    CJay Supercar owner Staff Member

    No reason to change the whole distributor. An electronic ignition conversion kit like Brian mentions is all you need. That way you retain the factory distributor. The only real advantage to getting rid f the points is ease of maintenance.
     
  4. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    Nothing wrong with points. The ignition timing advance curve is way more important.
     
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  5. Quick Buick

    Quick Buick Arlington Wa

    Honestly. If your points dist is not worn out ( excessive play) there is no real reason to change. OLD school will always get you home.
     
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  6. BRUCE ROE

    BRUCE ROE Well-Known Member

    I expect Buick had an HEI you could drop in. Cheap and easy to get
    parts for, update the advance curve if needed. That big cap plus
    wires will deliver more energy under worse (wet) conditions than
    any conversion. I had at least as much problem with points systems
    back then, as with HEI. Bruce Roe
     
  7. 71 GS

    71 GS Well-Known Member

    If I wanted to change the whole distributor and drop in an electronic one what would be the best way to go .
    Appreciate the help guys !!
     
  8. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

  9. 71 GS

    71 GS Well-Known Member

    Thanks Bruce, well my new HEI turned
    up today, had a quick look at the instructions not the best explanation but should be able to work it out . Are there any tips you could give me & do you think I need to change the spark plug gap ?
    Appreciate your time & happy for anybody's comments.
     
  10. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

  11. steve covington

    steve covington Well-Known Member

    I found that using a stock Buick HEI distributor on a stock Buick 350 manifold had a minor conflict/ interference at the corner of the manifold and the HEI base. A minor cleanup with a rotary burr took care of that offending corner on the manifold.
    This was on a 1971 Buick Skylark as well...
     
  12. 71 GS

    71 GS Well-Known Member

    I was thinking of doing that but didn't have the confidence to grind the manifold but looking at now there's plenty of meat on the factory cast manifold I think! anyway I just keep changing my number 1 layout & repositioning the distributor at TDC until I got it right , the distributor sits in between the cap screws before it hits the manifold but I have plenty of adjustable area for timing etc.
     
  13. BRUCE ROE

    BRUCE ROE Well-Known Member

    If you do the HEI conversion, that includes the fat wires to contain the higher
    energy, and a larger spark gap to make use of it. Any ballast resistor must be
    shorted out. Bruce Roe
     
  14. 71 GS

    71 GS Well-Known Member

    How big should the spark plug gap be once you have made the change to HEI distributor
     
  15. LARRY70GS

    LARRY70GS a.k.a. "THE WIZARD" Staff Member

    .045" is plenty. Leave it there. Running big gaps just taxes the ignition system more.
     
  16. 71 GS

    71 GS Well-Known Member

    Ok thanks Larry I'll check mine and leave them at that gap.
     

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