Cheesy distributor

V

vilanar

Senior Member
Hi guys ,
I bought Panel Truck while back with 302 in it .
I´ve been driving it for a while and thought that it don´t perform like it should. Not enough advance I thought.
It has that cheesy looking GM HEI dizzy which is converted for Ford .
They seem to sell those things in evibay...

So, I took distributor off and put it in my SUN-machine for a spin.
Result , NO mechanical advance at all . Ford spins counterclockwise and
that thing is made for clockwise rotation. I did spin it CW and it worked
perfect . Vacuum advance worked ok.

While looking ugly it is also useless.....

Anybody else have similar experiences ? They seem to sell those things a lot , it´s so cheap.

Original Ford distributor is going in .....
 
x2 on the ugly part. They look like a big pimple on a Ford engine IMO. I wonder if they're all set up that way. Anyone else here running one? If so, could they check the mechanical advance on it. Don't need a distributor machine to check it. Just disconnect the vacuum line and check for advance with a timing light.
 
Hi guys....running stock '77 302 with Pertronix in my 50 Ford coupe. Starts instantly, runs great. Wouldn't change a thing!!
 
I think it was Ol' Ron who said in another post that the pontiac distributors turned reverse to ford.
 
My HEI unit has been on my 302 for going on five years no issues with it at all. It uses the same parts as a Chevy HEI so parts are everywhere if needed not like if you break down on the road with a Pertronix. And I like having only that one wire hookup to keep it simple.
 

Attachments

  • 302ac.jpg
    302ac.jpg
    75.8 KB · Views: 27
Last edited:
I have an eBay special in my car (small body GM HEI since I have a SBC). It came with coil, cap and wires, so far so good. The first sign of trouble, out it goes and I'll use a new Pertronix unit.
 
My 289 runs great with one.. I do dislike the looks but it runs far better than the old stock distributor..
 
Last edited:
I'm a huge Dura spark fan. Have one in the 351C in my 36. Been there since 1980 little over 137K on it. All the "stuff" has run out of the box. Car starts on the first turn every time. I do carry both the box and sender with me though....
 
A timing light and tach will show you why one should shun the temptation to go HEI. First, as the RPM increases, the timing will start to jump all over the place. Next, if you lock out the vacuum and mechanical advances and increase RPM, you will note that the timing retards at higher rev counts. In racing applications I tested several GM and after market distributors and they all had the same issue. The first problem is mechanical and the second one is in the electronics. I purchased an after market high dollar distributor of conventional design and the problem went away. Having raced Fords for years and being familiar with the Ford parts, I noticed that the so-called high performance after market electronic module used in the GM distributor was a stock Ford module. Lesson learned.

The HEI enjoys a good reputation for the street because it is cheap, simple to wire up and people don't really thoroughly check things out. Ever notice that hard core racers don't use HEIs?

As for being ugly, if it works good and is reasonably priced, it is beautiful.

That's my opinion and worth every penny you paid for it. :-)
 
Hello all
I started out with a 77 Ranchero, with the Dura spark, lets face it 40 + years
old, and you can't buy a new one. I live in Calif. been here all my life and way
before the Commie's took over.
years ago I ran across an article on using the GM style HEI modual wired into
the Dizzy. $10 on Ebay, some wire and connectors, and it worked fine, without
all the spaghetti loom under the hood. It needs a good heat sink, and you can
keep a spare in the glove box. I latter bought a MSD HEI unit... got a real
good price on it, and just fit better with my Cleveland.
Dura spark was good, but all those wires, nasty... and different units for
Calif, and year of car...
 
I'm with Ford Blue Blood. Converted my yblock distributor to Duraspark years ago and haven't had a bit of problems. Get a lot of guys pointing and scratching their heads when they look at it.
 
I got a 302 with an HEI in my 64 Fairlane. The prior owner of the engine ran it that way for years with no problems. It seems to work good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top