Doc here,

Street Rod, Weekend warrior..on a Budget..

I'd Go Stock HEI, with an Oil Filled coil....

Can be had at a local bone-yard for about $25 bucks,

you can buy and test a module and get replacement parts ANYWHERE over the counter, not in the mail two weeks later.....

Minimum Wire Count.."BATT" And "TACH"...

Good To 5500 RPM..Will last FOREVER if serviced regularly...

Different story If you go to the strip 2 days a week..

Doc

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OK so I go with a stock HEI distributor. What oil filled coil? Go with a name brand or.......?

I run a Vertex OXC external coil Magneto With a converted OAC cap (fdthe wires come out of the side not the top). It gives a really hot, long duration spark. It hasn't given me any trouble in the time I've had it. The fringe bernefits are: 1. It looks really cool, and 2. It will pick a teenage neighbor kid (who can't keep his fingers off anything) about three feet in the air with just a twist of his wrist.

i like stock hei from jegs or summit one wire stabb it right to get the timing
right boom your done had msd bad out of box they wouldnt replace 600$ down the tolet

I downgraded my 66 396 with a Pertronix II had nothing but trouble tried everything grounds, power, wires... for six months gave up went back to points all is well. Will be trying a crane kit next I want to keep the stock Dist look and don't race it at all. Ran the living daylights out of a stock HEI on a 78 caprice 350 replaced the module in the dist once in over 400000mi (car got hit hard by a drunk and totaled) , the best car I ever owned.

Barry

I really enjoy the HEI setups. Very simple and easy. I just ran across this HEI distributor with Accel Super Coil and Accel wires for $50 but the only problem is the pigtail is setup for a '69 Camaro. How can I modify it to fit my 1987 Camaro? The pigtail on the dist. has three simple wires in a block connector. The plug on my 1987 Camaro has four wires labeled from A to D: Black w/ red, Peach w/ black, Light Blue w/ white, and solid Peach. Is there an adapter I can use for this?

~Glen

Megasquirt controlled Ford EDIS - this was my cheapest option to get duel spark curves (propane). Also alot more water friendly than a dizzy (4x4).

Junkyard parts + a $200 ecu =

downside is the mucking around with the crank wheel and sensor and the need for a dyno tune to reach its most potential. You also need to be good with electrics - It's not a plug 'n play setup. (took me a week to get it working properly and I'm a sparky )

I've been running this setup only for a few months and have had no problems.
(but i am keeping the stock distributer in the boot just in case)
Having the ability to set the spark timing to suit the full range of manifold vacuum is the biggest plus ( IMO ).

Well I have a problem here, my stock HEI on my 1970 SBC 355 ran just fine but the dist. shaft was a bit worn so I went to a MSD Pro-Billet 8365 unit that had module mag pickup etc. all included. Ran real well....for three weeks then left me stranded ....50 Km from home (thank you CAA Plus) so...now I've sent it back and will wait to see what happens. Another one I'll try because everybody deserves a chance....once!

Stay tuned.

I run a vacuum advance Mallory Unilite with the active power filter,Mallory Pro Sidewinder ignition wires and a Mallory pro master coil.I am happy with the performance and I can still listen to the stereo without any ignition noise.I have run this set up for 2 years and I have had no issues with it at all.I also like the clean look of the whole set up.

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I have been an avid ACCEL user and endorser for years. I tried the Mallory unilite conversion and an actual distributor. I did not like having to replace the module as often as I did points. When points got bad I could file and drive. I did like the stability of the unilite when it worked.

I have used Moroso and MSD wires on my vehicles. Neither on survived the header heat any better than the Accels. When I would do a tune up on a stocker for a friend, I usually put the super stocker on.

I went back to all Accel. I do use an MSD 6A on my Crown Vic and a 6AL on my truck. I used the full competition dual point Accel for about 10 years in 3 different vehicles and sold it for almost as much as I paid for it. I ran the usual HEI parts in my 77 full size truck and when the dizzy died, 200k+, I put in the Accel Blue Print dizzy.

If I were buying a distrubutor today, I would be inclined to give the MSD dizzy's a chance. Afterall, I am totally satisified with their ignition boxes.

Long as the battery has enough left to open the fuel solenoid, you are good to go! No points, no plugs, no problem! I kill me!

I've used MSD for years and had absolutely zero problems with any of them. I even bought a used MSD 6 on eBay and sent it to the factory to be checked out. When it came back it was completely rewired, cleaned and tested: cost: $0.00. That was the best part. I was fully expecting to pay at least something for their trouble. They said, nope, it's part of the customer service. One more story, my son had a 4.3L Chevy V6 in his Luv truck. We couldn't get to rev beyond 2500 RPM with the Chevy HEI system. Installed an MSD 6 box on it and it cured the misfire and ran flawlessly for years. Got an MSD 6AL on my 350 S10 and my Willys. Nuff said.

I use a Duraspark dizzy, an HEI module, and
a TFI coil, kinda cobbled together, but works
rather well...

K

Personally, I prefer Jacob's. Provided me with years and years of power and durability on my 454 LS6. Intially, the cost was more, and I never regretted spending the extra money, because I never had a problem. Doc Jacob's sure knows his stuff, and has a very knowledgeable staff to help with any problem you have in installation or use. I have used Mallory Hyfire with good sucess. MSD 6al doesn"t do it for me, there was always failures with them, printed circuit burnt out, etc. ProComp (MSD lookalikes) are just junk.

I will agree that stock HEI distributors are durable, but the large bulky head makes for firewall problems in transplant situations very difficult. Small head distributors and add-ons clean up the engine area on street rods. Better still, distributor-less ignition systems are beginning to come on really strong. I wonder who will conquer that market in the coming years.

I use the Accel 300+ in both of my hot rods.

I ran a stock Chrysler dual point for thirty-odd years in the hemi then I installed an MSD 6-AL when I switched from a Holley to 4 Stromberg 97 carbs in '94.

Roughly 300 miles after that it died on the way home from Bob Moscoffian's event in Boxboro on Memorial Day weekend.

I sent it back for repairs and it came back with "replaced fusible link" as the fix.

It lasted ALMOST TWENTY FIVE miles and fried again.

The WOULDN'T refund my money and, instead, sent me a new one.

I SOLD IT.

The guy I sold it to used it to replace the one that died in his '55 Nomad (before it even left the body shop i.e. before the car was even finished)

My old one lasted until the day he was supposed to pick up the car and it, too, died.

He's had TWO more since then. The last one's lasted a few years.

Anyway, I replaced the MSD with the Accel 300+. This was just after ACCEL had bought it from the developer in Hudson MA and had started mass producing it.

It's been in the car since 1994 and it's been so dependable that I put one on my sflathead ix cylinder powered '48 Chrysler. Man, did it wake up THAT engine. It's already got twin carbs and dual (2") exhaust but the Accel 300+ really helped the mid range and top end.

BOTH engines still run the stock Kettering ignition as triggers so I still have all the benefits of an adjustable (vacuum) advance curve.