How to replace a points distributor with an H.E.I.?

[Gregski]

apologies for asking if this has been asked before, but the search on most forums leaves something to be desired (I actually have better luck Googling something only to find it in this forum than using it's native Search)

anywho... I bought this Proformance distributor and it comes with a three wire plug, red, black, and brown, and no where in the instructions do they tell me what these wires are for, they just say plug it in into your trucks connector, well duh, I wouldn't be asking if my truck had a matching connector.

I have Googled a bit and found that second pic, so I can see what they supposedly are, but I am still too dumb to know where to wire them up

Red - Batt. (+) to module

Black - Ground to coil

Brown - Command to coil

Do I just cut the plug off and crimp on some loop connections, or do I look for a matching plug? I like to do it right/clean, please be gentle as I have never replaced a dizzy before like this.

[enaberif]

You know its funny. I was looking up this information the other day myself and it seems like a lot of the key or critical things to know how to do is all black art or kept to a person.

You are right in that you plug that into the cap as shown but then you have to run a 10g minimum wire from the firewall bulkhead to the distributor.

With a truck that had points I've read that people say you can push the connector for the power wire for the distributor out of the firewall bulkhead because the feed wire for a point distributor only feeds if I remember 5-9v or something. So you have you have to pull this wire out and replace it with a proper wire to feed to the distributor.

Its the wiring from the bulkhead connector to the distributor which still has me confused.

[Jeramy]

only thing you need is a switched 12 volt power source to connect where it is labeled battery in the last picture.

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by Jeramy

only thing you need is a switched 12 volt power source to connect where it is labeled battery in the last picture.

Yup which you can run through the firewall and hook up to a IGN source on the fuseblock.

[Jeramy]

yes sir, that is definitely the best place to do it.

[77 350 Shorty Wide]

Good Evening, try this link out. Looks like step by step with good explanations to why.
Hope it helps.

God Bless, Terry

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=17403

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by enaberif

... it seems like a lot of the key or critical things to know how to do is all black art or kept to a person.

I could not have said it better myself.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by Jeramy

only thing you need is a switched 12 volt power source to connect where it is labeled battery in the last picture.

thank you, that's what I believe the LMC Truck one wire distributor seemed to claim as well, but I don't know what "switched power means" or where to get it, not being difficult just being honest

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by 77 350 Shorty Wide

Good Evening, try this link out. Looks like step by step with good explanations to why.
Hope it helps.

God Bless, Terry

http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=17403

Terry you are Da Man! That write up is spot on brilliant, just wish it had pictures for dummies like me.

[ron350]

Gregski I had a 72 LeMans with a 400 motor that ate up points every year or two. I went to the salvage yard and picked up a HEI distributor and cut out a red 12 volt HEI power wire that has the HEI plug on the end. I replaced the factory dist with the HEI and soldered the HEI power wire to the factory resistor power wire and the car ran great. Every one told me the resistance in the factory power wire from the ignition switch would kill the HEI or make it run poorly.

Twenty years later I sold that 72 LeMans and the HEI dist was still working fine. May be I just got lucky or may be the HEI will work just fine on less than 12 volts?

[cadillac_al]

Originally Posted by ron350

Gregski I had a 72 LeMans with a 400 motor that ate up points every year or two. I went to the salvage yard and picked up a HEI distributor and cut out a red 12 volt HEI power wire that has the HEI plug on the end. I replaced the factory dist with the HEI and soldered the HEI power wire to the factory resistor power wire and the car ran great. Every one told me the resistance in the factory power wire from the ignition switch would kill the HEI or make it run poorly.

Twenty years later I sold that 72 LeMans and the HEI dist was still working fine. May be I just got lucky or may be the HEI will work just fine on less than 12 volts?

I did the same thing with My 70 Impala over 10 years ago. I looked for some kind of reisistor to eliminate and couldn't find anything. The coil wire was already giving me 12 volts, I think it was white, so I just used that one and spliced it to an HEI plug and it has worked fine all these years. Looking back I think the resistor s mounted on the coil and the wire going to the coil is 12volts. Check your coil hot lead and tell us what the voltage is.

[Just call me Sean]

That's funny. I had a '72 LeMans I put an HEI in. The wire is a resistance wire, the whole wire. I desoldered the wire at the bulkhead connector and soldered a new wire in for the power. If I remember right the white wire only has 12v in the start position, to make starting easier, so it doesn't get used anymore.

[gramps77]

If you still need help, let me know GREGSKI and I can head over from Marysville and help. Only tricky thing with a "switched power source", is sometimes when you got to start, a lot of other circuits will shut off to dedicate power. Any voltmeter can narrow it down though.

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by ron350

... I went to the salvage yard and picked up a HEI distributor and cut out a red 12 volt HEI power wire that has the HEI plug on the end. I replaced the factory dist with the HEI and soldered the HEI power wire to the factory resistor power wire and the car ran great.

Thanks, this is why I wanted to engage in this discussion to hear all these methods. At this time I plan on going to some junk yards and documenting the OEM configurations / wiring and maybe pulling some complete sets out, like I did with my Ford electronic ignition upgrade (yes I said the F word).

[Gregski]

Originally Posted by cadillac_al

Check your coil hot lead and tell us what the voltage is.

Good advice, thanks, will do.

[Dead Parrot]

#5 in this writeup: http://67-72chevytrucks.com/vboard/s...ad.php?t=17403 mentions connecting the vacuum advance to ported vacuum. If your state's emission laws allow, you will normally get better results by connecting to manifold vacuum.

Depending on what year vehicle you have, it may be tight clearance between the firewall and the HEI.

[400/400]

You can also buy the tach/ power pigtail with the correct connector and wire it in.

When I rebuilt my distributor I remember it being listed on one of the auto parts sites.

[Gregski]

well fellers check out this video, if this man can install an H.E.I. General Motors distributor into a blue oval Ef Oh Are Dee pick up, than I believe we have a chance too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-So1rDLsCVE

[Gregski]

Wow this dude is money!

http://www.oldengine.org/unfaq/hei.htm

HEI Conversion
Alexander M. Bilan
gmguy89@netscape.net

[jjzepplin]

"Switched power" just means that when you turn off your ignition the power to that wire shuts off too.
I follow the coil wire to the firewall and replace the entire wire. It is the wire itself that has resistance built in to it. This leaves one more spot open on your fuse block for other accessories.
If you get a full 12 volt with the key in the run (not cranking) position - this would be why you are burning up points. Too much voltage.

[hatzie]

Originally Posted by enaberif

You know its funny. I was looking up this information the other day myself and it seems like a lot of the key or critical things to know how to do is all black art or kept to a person.

You are right in that you plug that into the cap as shown but then you have to run a 10g minimum wire from the firewall bulkhead to the distributor.

With a truck that had points I've read that people say you can push the connector for the power wire for the distributor out of the firewall bulkhead because the feed wire for a point distributor only feeds if I remember 5-9v or something. So you have you have to pull this wire out and replace it with a proper wire to feed to the distributor.

Its the wiring from the bulkhead connector to the distributor which still has me confused.

The wire feeding the points coil is supposed to be a resistance wire that cuts the voltage down to @6vdc to extend the lifespan of the points. The start terminal on the starter feeds the coil 12vdc to give you more fire while cranking.

According to the wiring manuals... GM used 12awg or 3mm² SXL Pink BATT wire on the HEI trucks. This wire is terminated with Delphi Packard 56 terminals that can be purchased almost anywhere. In my recent experience... It's worth noting that NAPAs' supplier has cheaped out on their Delphi terminals... many of them are too thin to hold a crimp on the wire now. You can use them with a little solder but they are thin enough that the female terminals loosen on the male mates too. I use them as non damaging meter probes but you're better off to go online to Mouser or Del-City or... for terminals on your wires.

ACCEL makes a slick two terminal plug that contains the HEI BATT and TACH terminals (GOOGLE ACCEL 170072)... See Post #17.

Remove the tach wire from the ACCEL connector and put it in your toolbox or the circular filing cabinet. If you install a tach later on, or right now, you can slip the female terminal out of the single connector on the distributor end of your Tach harness and install it in the ACCEL connectors' TACH position.

I'm not a big fan of soldering wires where I don't have to. The Packard 56 Male terminal will carefully slip out of the firewall plug with needle nose pliers. You can liberate the HEI Power Wire whole from a salvage yard truck or make your own.
The Packard 56 Female terminal should slip right out of the BATT position of the ACCEL plug and the GM plug using a #00 or #000 slotted screwdriver to depress the retaining tang.
OR Get a 24" chunk 12AWG SXL Pink wire, route it as needed, and crimp on the correct terminals with a decent tool.
I used one of these for a while Amazon.com Delphi-Packard-Weatherpack-Crimper-Tool along with a pretty universal MOLEX 63811-1000 tool.

Ratcheting tools have the advantage that they do not open till you have crimped the terminal completely making a pressure welded bond between the terminal and the wire. If you intend to do more than a little wiring they are well worth the money and can usually be found for less than $100 each brand new. They hold their value fairly well so you could fleaBay them after you finish and end up spending at or less than the cost of the $20-$30 tools.
The first one to find, and the one you'll probably keep, is a GM 12085271 Open Barrel Terminal Crimping Tool. I've done a lot of Delphi sealed terminals using the Delphi 12085271 on the wire barrel and the non ratcheting Weatherpak tool for crimping the retaining tangs around the seals on MetriPak and WeatherPak terminals.
I splurged and bought a Delphi 12085270 somewhere between $85 & $90 in the last couple years so the 12085271 tool only gets used on connectors that don't have seals or on smaller gauge terminals and wires.
More recently I picked up one of the Performance Plus WHPT-17 MetriPak 280, 480, & 630 10-12ga terminal crimp tools for around $110 to round out the collection. It works quite well on 10-12ga non sealed terminals as well.