What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

Hey guys, I went to my local junkyard and pulled a hei distributor out of a 81 chevy. And I'm wondering what I need to do to get it to work properly in my truck. I've got a later 70's 350 in it with a edelbrock 1406 carb and a edelbrock performer eps manifold. Thanks in advance.
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Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

Here's a stickied thread that should answer any questions. http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=13698


It's fairly straightforward.... remove the old dizzy, drop in the HEI, run a new 12 ga. power wire, replace plug wires with 8mm wires, and re-gap the plugs from .035" to .045". Of course if the plugs are worn, get new ones, same type as stock.

Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

Yep pretty much sums it up! Easy, breezy super greasy

Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

I would advise checking the old dist out for wear. Also be sure it has a decent brand us made module (ac delco/ standard, etc) Those cheap chinese ones (wells?) will leave you on the side if the road. I worked at walmart during high school in the late 80's and they actually sold modules and voltage regulators (junk).
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Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

I put an Ac Delco HEI distributor in mine a few years back. Like WIDESIDE72 said, make sure you get a good module. I had a problem burning modules out for some time. It seemed like I was changing them out about every three months. The problem always occurred after I shut the truck down. The module soaks up latent heat from the distributor body and dies. I tried Mallory, Delco, Accel, Davis Unified and Pertronix modules with the same results. Also tried different heat sink compounds to remedy the problem. I finally tried a Pertronix racing module, part number D2070 that only draws 7.2 amps and it has been working fine for almost five years now.

Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

I did check out the distributor it looks like its in good shape other then some rust on the springs from sitting. But then again I'm no mechanic so, I hope I got a good one. The coil cover is Delco but I'm not sure about the rest of it.
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Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

Here's a link for a tune up kit that will work with Delco.
http://www.pertronix.com/prod/ig/fla...cessories.aspx

Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

Be sure the mechanical advance mechanism isnt stuck and the vacuum diaphragm isnt ruptured in order to get best performance. Also a good idea to pick up an advance kit to tinker with springs etc to tailor the advance. Most 80's vehicles were pretty tame as far as advance.
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Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

When you have an HEI that eats modules, change the coil. A bad coil will kill them. Some shops won't install a new module without doing the coil also for this reason. A lesson I learned when I was younger from a much wiser old mechanic.
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Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

THAT is excellent advice tx ff, thx for sharing.
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Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

Yup, I tried that already. The only one that will work in my Delco unit is the Pertronix D2070.

Re: What do I need to put an hei in my truck?
 

Since i learned that an MSD 6 will make the module unnecessary, i have picked up several used ones at swap meets, always less than $50 as the sellers always say they dont know how to wire them up. Funny thing is, MSD has the directions on their website as a .pdf!
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