Distributor Selection Feedback

[mhicks]

What kind of HEI distributor do you like. I am in the market for a new distributor. I have about $200.00 to spend. What would you recomend and why. It will be going in a stock 290 HP crate motor with 600 CFM edlebrock carb. with edelbrock intake and headers. '73 Chevy half ton.
Thanks,
Mike

[beaterC10]

I would look for a GM ZZ4 distributor. It has a nice curve and is real reliable. I found mine on Ebay for around $100. I have looked at some of the aftermarket distrubutors and wasn't impressed with the made in China quality.

[Billy81]

Originally Posted by beaterC10

I would look for a GM ZZ4 distributor. It has a nice curve and is real reliable. I found mine on Ebay for around $100. I have looked at some of the aftermarket distrubutors and wasn't impressed with the made in China quality.

I agree i bought one of those aftermarket distributors on Ebay and the coil went out in mine after one week.

[Pyrotechnic]

I run an MSD Streetfire HEI and it's been good to me so far. It's MSD's budget line for those who can't afford a Pro Billet but still want a quality part. They state that they use the same drive gear on it as the higher end distributors.

[mhicks]

So this is made by GM? I think it would be nice to have one so if there was a breakdown any auto parts store would have the parts in stock.

[mhicks]

I ended up buying a MSD Spitfire for $188.00. I know to set the timing to about 10 degrees with the vacuum advance disconnected but when it comes to setting the adjustable advance in the distributor with the allen wrench how is that done or where does it need to be set at?

[Ivan D.]

The way I do timing on carbed engines is I set the initial, then I set the centrifugal (on WOT runs, vacuum advance disconnected), and only after that I play with the vacuum so that I get the most advance without pinging under load. Read here for some baseline settings for an HEI dizzy:

http://www.73-87.com/7387garage/drivetrain/hei.htm

[LONGHAIR]

Centrifugal advance assy. on the HEI is pretty darned good. The stock weights and advance plate are perfectly acceptable for all but the highest HP/RPM engines. ALL stock HEIs that were installed in V8s are designed to have a total centrifugal advance of 20 degrees, +-1 degree due to production line tolerances. This is as measured at the crankshaft (10 at the cam).

This statement from the link above is not entirely true. The distributors from the early emissions era have a lot more. They ran with "ported vacuum" and very late initial timing. This meant that they had to have more centrifugal advance built into them so that they could get to the 34-36 degrees needed at higher RPM. They are not all the same. You have to know what you are working with and adjust accordingly. This is the reason that I always caution people against "just switching" their vacuum advance unit's source. I do believe that you need to be running with "full" manifold vacuum, but you can't just go "messing around".

[pa_snowman]

anyone rebuild a stock hei....replacd the flyweight bushings? not switched over to the recurve kit but just refreshed the stock setup?