Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines HEI dist. swap

A friend gave me a used HEI distributor he said was from a GM L6. (I have a non-hei 250 c. 1973.) The HEI is the non-integrated coil type. Is it possible to convert it the coil-in-cap type (just buy the right cap & coil?)? It would make the installation much cleaner.

The HEI looks quite a bit fatter than my current dist. Will it really fit, or is this the wrong part?

Anything else I should know before attempting the swap?

Thanks,
Joe

You can convert the non-integrated type to an integrated unit, but you will need the coil, cap, the little ground strap under the coil, and the coil cover. The last two are not easily purchased. You may be able to get the ground strap through a parts house, but a junkyard is about the only source for the coil cover, not to mention the 2 screws that hold the cover down. Make sure you purchase a cap that has new screws for the coil, also.

And yes, it will fit, not to worry. The only other thing you may want to do is to make sure you put a new gasket under the housing flange when you install it.

Don't forget that you need to upgrade/replace the wiring to the HEI (+) terminal. The original used a resistor wire, and the HEI needs clean 12V power from an ignition source. The resistor wire takes it down to about 9.5V, which is way too low.

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David
newbie #4153

just a six is right,

The 250 points to HEI swap is easy. The distributor head is much larger than the old points distributor. I even managed to fit one on my 292 (see pic in recent post on "How headers should fit" by 66chevy truck). That is not as easy a swap. When you drop the HEI in a 292 you get about 40 degrees rotation. If you want to change the position any further then you must remove the distributor, reinstall it and reset the timing.

You don't have to worry about that on your 250.

-magic mike-

any v8 coil cap will work. You can also buy the cap with coils in them accel, mallory DUI Take a look in a jegs or parts house/speed shop. Hope this helps }[oooooo]
Ps they also come with the screws for them in cap coils and are 40000-50000 volt coils.

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NovaMan/Twisted6/Larry

[This message has been edited by Twisted6 (edited 07-29-2003).]

Thanks for the info, guys.

Twisted6 -- I trust you meant any --V6-- cap would work.

Joe

The cap that covers the coil Their all the same. And Yes the v6 dist cap will also our L6 dist. hope this helps.}[oooooo]



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NovaMan/Twisted6/Larry