![]() I can’t be happier with the HEI setup in my ‘bird. No need to have to deal with gapping the points every other month, or having to adjust the dwell. The maintenence can’t be easier, just replace the cap and distributor every once in a while, and do a recurve every once in a while. If you plan on showing the car, don’t.Ī: I’ve been very happy with the HEI system in my 1968 Firebird 400. If you plan on driving the car a lot, do it. Like I said before, it’s hard to get use to seeing that big distributor in the back of the engine where a little on used to be. The only disadvantage I see is for us purists. My ignition system used to always be a concern, but it is not anymore. ![]() The advantages of using the HEI unit that I’ve seen are: the spark plugs don’t foul out anymore, the car cold starts much easier, and I’m not forever messing with dwell settings. I’ve been driving 1967 400 firebirds since 1979 and I have to tell you the performance with the HEI is much better than the breaker/points unit. (Please no flames!) So the HEI distributor is a nice compromise. I’m into originality and as a rule don’t think that aftermarket parts are up to the engineering standards or quality of genuine GM parts. No modification to the firewall was necessary, but there certainly isn’t the room around the distributor like there was with the original unit. Unless you are running some serious compression ratios or are going to be drag racing and consistently revving your motor above 7500 RPM, the HEI will serve all your spark needs.Ī: The guy that rebuilt the 400 in my 1967 replaced the stock distributor with an HEI unit. They outperform stock breaker point distributors in all areas. Stock and performance parts are cheep and easy to find. Good luck!Ī: The HEIs are virtually maintenance free. Most of the Performance catalogs list them. The cap is red, other than that it looks stock, and you have a choice of vacuum or mechanical advance. You can install the distributer, but the cap will not go on. If everything is pushed back for tight body seams you could run into clearance problems.Ī: The GM HEI will NOT fit. The other problem could be position of the sub-frame relative to the body. If it still doesn’t fit, check to make sure the transmission and motor mounts are in the correct location. You may have to rotate the oil pump keyway (stick a long common screwdriver into the distributor hole) to get the HEI in the approximate location as you’ll only have about 20 degrees of rotation. The + side of the distributor should connect to +12 volts that goes on and off with the ignition key.Ī: The fit of the HEI is close but it worked on both my 350 and 400 (same block). Also check to make sure you do not have a resistor wire going to it. Make sure you get the little wire clip that connects to the distributor or you will be going back. or contact you local speed shop.Ī: I got mine of a 400 firebird in the junk yard. Check the ads in the back of Car Craft, Kit Car, etc. Looks clean and there’s no hacking involved.Īnother would be to buy a kit to convert your points to electronic breakerless ignition. I then taped the new wire to the harness and taped up the old wire there it comes out of the harness. One trick I did so I could change it back later (for show purposes) is I traced the wire back to the firewall connecting block and soldered a #16 wire to the same terminal (This parallel the two wires. If you decide to do this, you’ll need to run a 12 volt wire to the distributer (the existing wire is a resistor type and will only supply about 6-8 volts). You can pick one of these up at a salvage yard for about $10. Think this is a good idea? Where is a good place to get the parts needed for conversion?Ī: The cheapest by far is to convert it to HEI. The car is used mostly for crusin with no strip action. I’m considering changing over my 69 Firebird 350 to Electronic Ignition.
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