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Distributor/Coil Replacment (Pigtail Harness)?

2K views 3 replies 3 participants last post by  EOD Guy 
#1 ·
1964 Chevorolet Impala SS
327ci
350 Auto Tran

I will be upgrading my 15 year old failed Mallory Unilite Electronic Ignition (External Coil), with a ACDelco (See Attached Pic) HEI one piece distributor (Part 93440806) (internal coil).

Will I need to purchase a specific pigtail harness to accommodate my "stock" 1964 Chevy ignition wiring harness?

* If so, which harness will I need and where can I purchase it?

Thanks in advance....
 

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#3 ·
do you want to make your own HEI 12 gauge harness...

Catalog

you will need some of the third connector down and some of the 6th connector down.. the female version connects to the distributor cap end and the male connection goes into the bulk head connector..

the 10 gauge versions are on this page..

Catalog

if you have access to a wrecking yard that might have gm cars trucks or vans from 1975 thru around 1991 give or take when GM was still using Big cap distributors. i don't recall what year they stopped.. you could take a box cutter and a pair of wire cutters and open the harnesses and extract a decent quality red Hei power wire with enough length to hook up to your distributor and go over to your bulk head connector.

you have choices.. if you don't want to order the individual terminals online.. pickup a package of dorman 85376 crimp terminals it will have 2 of the male series 56 terminals but it will be in 14 to 16 gauge so you will have to solder it to the 12 or 10 gauge wire end and then flatten the solder joint with a hammer or vice to get it in your bulk head connector. .

before you are done... i would advise swapping out your stock ignition switch and pigtail connector for the available at almost every parts store 1975 G10 chevy van ignition switch that is dashboard mounted.. this gives you an IGN1 that does NOT open during cranking. you can easily move the existing wiring over to the new connector body without cutting.. this also gives the ability to add a second battery wire into the ignition switch to handle additional current needs of the HEI and the starter solenoid circuit.. huge hint.. when you have installed the connector body into the back of the ignition switch.. there are several tabs that stick thru the lock back plate. you can route a zip tie thru them and prevent the wiring harness from being unplugged from the back of the switch.. see attached picture at bottom.


you can remove or just tuck the wire from the R terminal on the starter back into the wiring harness ..

this is the ways i convert to HEI on many cars.. i did see the proper positive and negative HEI connectors someplace for cheap.. but i don't know where, there are.. when there are still so many decent ones at junk yards..

i ended voice mail and answering machine use over an HEI Conversion.. that i did not do.. i was out someplace.. somebody who had done their own HEI Conversion called me from palmdale.. truck died.. left a stupid message.. said its his last money will wait for me .. that's a 70 mile one way trip. .
i actually went. opened his hood.. plugged the HEI back in .. and he drove away thanking me with a wave.. he had used a used broken HEI wire connector.. typing this reminded me of it.. and its was almost 25 years ago. he never called back..

hope this helps..
 

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