Looking for distributor advice

[rechinca]

Originally Posted by RustyBucket

There's a variety of small cap/external coil H.E.I. distributors out there. Speedway sells one for under $70. Awhile back we replaced the tach. drive points distributor on a friend's '64 Corvette with a small cap H.E.I. tach. drive. Bought the stock looking one w/black cap & wires. The car starts & runs much better.

With the small cap style, does this necessitate the elimination of the resistor wire and adding a regular wire for full voltage like a regular HEI?

[geezer#99]

Originally Posted by rechinca

With the small cap style, does this necessitate the elimination of the resistor wire and adding a regular wire for full voltage like a regular HEI?

Some do, some don’t.
Some you use a ballast resistor. Like a mopar does.
You want to stay stock looking then this would be the way to go.


https://www.summitracing.com/parts/p...xoCd9kQAvD_BwE

[RustyBucket]

Originally Posted by rechinca

With the small cap style, does this necessitate the elimination of the resistor wire and adding a regular wire for full voltage like a regular HEI?

The one we installed used a straight 12v. Deleted the resistor wire. Bought a black stock looking high voltage coil with the distributor. The old Corvette doesn't get driven enough and it used to foul plugs and run crappy after it sat for a month or two. Much better with the H.E.I.

[Boog]

Switching to GM HEI is the best change I ever made to any of my vehicles. Starts easier and idles smoother due to a better spark. Set it and leave it alone. And the biggest plus is they are simple and you can find parts almost anywhere. I've only used the large cap dist but now that I have moved my engine to the 4wd location a smaller cap model would make it a bit easier to service. I'm not big on aftermarket units or conversions.