OK guys, I gave up reviving my old distributor. I am going to buy an MSD HEI. I'm looking at Summit, they have Pro-Billet HEI for GM, part number MSD-8474. It is smaller diameter with an un attached coil, doesnt say anything about a tach drive. The other is MSD-8571....Chevy V-8 with tach drive. I am putting it in a 72 chevelle 454, punched to 468, balanced and blueprinted, slight cam, Holly 750 quadrajunk with performer intake. I'm guessing its about 420-450 ponies....I think the two distributors are the same cept for the being a remote mounted coil....any suggestions?
I lean more toward the big diameter distributors. The larger the diameter, the more distance between the firing pickups, thus less chance of misfiring. I also like the concept of coil contacting directly with the rotor. A remote coil has a minimum of three connectors and the more the connectors, the higher the probability of increased resistance due to corrosion, moisture etc. Believe it or not, but there was a lot of engineering put into GMs big old clunky looking HEI. The return of the later model small distributors was a space issue, not a better preformace issue.
Mr Trees,
Are you up on MSD I think it is a 8536 SBC BIG cap HEI
The question is the total advance:
8* inital
20* Centrifical
16* vacuum
_____
44*
How do I change the total from 44* to 32* or 34*, what do I need to do to change the vacum advance it is on ported at the carb, only inital at idle is 8* with no vacuun at idle
The inital + cent. 28* is fairly soon did not look at the tach!
and the total comes all in at im guessing about 3K
as centrifugal adv increases vacuum adv decreases and vice versa. You do not add them together.
you disconnect your vac adv and set timing to 10 deg initial. then you insert the little stop of your choice that msd supplies. then you choose the springs you want to use. also supplied. there are little charts in the instructions explaining what each part will do performance wise.
Thanks,
It sounds like I am missing some parts, and I did not have any instructions with this GIFT !!!!!
Can I find instructions on line from MSD ?
What kind of spring or stopper kit do I need to order !
Question on the little stop, is this a bushing that stops the total vacuum or cent. weights from moving too far or does it go on the vacuum arm ?
What should my total advance be at 3K RPM
Well thanks for the site, I will start with the vacuum disconnected seems like that was 28* at 3K. I will set initial at 10* and try it again.
When I connect it back up and use a set back timing light and I read 44* at 3K + what do I need to change, what am I missing here?
You can change the stop or set initial back to 8 deg. Sounds like your timing tab is off. The smallest stop (red) is 28 degrees. With 10 initial you are looking at a total of 38. MSD suggests using the 2 blue springs for street. A blue and a light silver for street and strip. And the 2 light silvers for strip only.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Hot Rod Forum
2.2M posts
175.7K members
Since 2001
A forum community dedicated to hot rod owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about restoration, builds, performance, modifications, classifieds, troubleshooting, maintenance, and more!