Installing a hei distributor

This kit only works with 12 volt systems. Do NOT put the high performance coil on without using approved plug wires! A crimping and stripping tool made for plug wires is required. An HEI coil that has. This is a 45, volt coil and will ensure best performance. I like it because it is the old fashioned can-type coil. You can still seal that assembly to the distributor per the instructions below, however, you could be happier with the later assembly like Here.

It would make it easier to seal the parts together. You would have a little grinding to do on the plastic to make it fit, but maybe worth the trouble. GM made two different types of lobe contact areas depending on the year of your Distributor.

To ensure you get the proper reluctor for your distributor, remove the cap and with a flashlight look carefully at the mounting surface where the points and condenser are mounted. Write down the stock number of the distributor and tell us what it is. The number starts with xxxx.

Also take a look at the lobes and compare them to the picture on the left. Be sure to specify this when ordering the kit! Remember, we can only upgrade a tall cap distributor. If you need a tall cap model, email deve speedprint. We will get you one. In your HEI Kit you should find the following items. The wires are the length required to work with the included HEI mounting plate.

It is okay to add length to the wires but ensure the same gauge is used. Remember length adds resistance which isn't a good thing. Reluctor sized for the distributor you referenced. It is specially drilled and tapped for the heat sink and HEI Module. It is set up for easy swapping of the HEI module should a problem ever occur.

It uses the coils mounting holes on the head using your existing hardware. This is ideal because the engine's cooling fan cools the mount and heat sink keeping it cool. All of the wiring in the kit is the proper length for use with this mount, so some modification on your part may be necessary. I will work with you on wire lengths if you specify a different configuration. I will even work with you on what is included in the kit!

To do this with any accuracy, we need to remove the Distributor. Please follow these instructions carefully! Especially if you have never done this before, or are not very comfortable with doing it. The picture on the left shows the distributor all the way down in its proper position while the one on the right is showing what happens when you pull it out. You want to write down both orientations so you can more easily install the distributor when the modification is complete.

It is best to take a picture of the entire side of the engine so you can see where your plug wires go, and then closeups of the rotor orientation before and after removal as well as pictures of the orientation of the distributor housing as it sits in the block.

Remove the plug wires observing exactly where the 1 spark plug is connected to the Distributor Cap. Write down where on the Distributor Cap the 1 plug wire is located. The sequence CW should be Observe exactly where the Distributor Clips and Wire conduit is pointing.

Remove the Distributor Cap and put a mark on the edge of the Distributor exactly where the Rotor is pointing. Both the orientation of where the Clips are positioned within it's degree radius AND where the Rotor is pointing are critical. Take pictures, make a diagram, do whatever is necessary so that you can get it exactly where it was upon re-installation.

It is not important where the rotor is pointing, just that you know where it is pointing when we put it back. Do NOT turn your engine over at all during any of this. Disconnect the battery so there is no question it stays put. Disconnect the wire at the Distributor. Loosen the clamp screw at the back of the Distributor Shaft.

This holds your Distributor in place. Loosen the clamp enough to be able to pull out the Distributor. There is no reason to disturb the Vac Advance for this. With a Sharpie, mark the distributor shaft as shown. This is how far you need to push it down when reinstalling to ensure you have oil pressure. It must be pushed down to that level before restarting the engine! Pull the Distributor straight out while pushing down on the clamp so you don't bend anything. Notice how the Rotor turns about 20 degrees clockwise.

This is due to the pitch of the Gear that drives the Oil Pump. Do not disturb the oil pump slot at the bottom of the distributor hole. When reinstalling, if you point the rotor to where it is when you fully pulled it out, it will drop back in without any issues. Note where that rotor is pointing when it's out to make life easier later.

Now we can work on the workbench rather than leaning over the fender! Remove the Points, Condenser and Rotor. In doing so, you will also want to remove the long screw that goes from inside the distributor to outside the distributor.

This is the contact system for the wire that goes to the negative side of the coil. The two plastic pieces that the screw runs through will be your conduit for the new system. This helps to make everything look stock. You will want to seal those two pieces together and to the distributor housing so they cannot come apart. This will have no effect on operation of any system, but will ensure a nice wire conduit.

The wires are sized to go through this conduit. Save the screw and all associated hardware. To get to that rounded nut with slots on each side of the screw, I just squirt it with WD40 and use a very small screwdriver on one of the slots.

So far, it has worked every time. Clean the two pieces thoroughly to remove the WD40 or any other residue then put a good coat of Permatex Gasket Maker on the two pieces and put them back on the distributor housing exactly as they came out. The outside piece is concave to form to the round of the distributor housing and the inside piece is oriented so that the screw slot goes down. Clamp them in place. You can use the screw that went all the way through only backwards to accomplish this.

Come back the next day to install your new system. Do not get any sealer in the through-hole. If you do, use a paper clip or something to clean it out to the same size it was before. Use the long screw as a clamp while the Permatex sets. Put the nut on the inside and the head on the outside. If you want to keep working while the sealer is setting up, install the Distributor to HEI Module ground wire. The perfect place for this even if it is hard to get to, is the small screw at the back of the distributor that holds the points and condenser plate in place.

There are three screws that do this, but two of them are used for the cap clips. Install the small terminal end of the Black ground wire that comes in your kit to the Distributor connection, and the large terminal end to the longer mounting screw on the HEI Module. This grounding wire is insurance that we have a good ground throughout the system. The idea is to drop it down over the points tower and cam screw while having the points mounting screw visible.

You WILL have to adjust the cam screw to go into the adapter plates hole. Just turn the screw until everything aligns. Once it is in place, turn it so that the mounting screw and everything else is in the middle of the elongated holes. If your cam screw is not in the middle when everything else is, turn the cam screw a little less than degrees and everything should be in the middle. Using your existing points and condenser hold-down screws, tighten it down securely.

Use the smaller headed screw on the old points hold-down and the larger head on the old condenser hold-down. Thread the wires through the wire conduit hole until it stops due to the thicker heat shrink not allowing it to go further.

This enables a nice tight fit inside. Knead the wires in place inside the distributor to the outside edge so they do not interfere with operation. Your new adapter plate is made out of 11 gauge stainless steel and will last a lifetime. Thread the two wires through the wire conduit it's tight but very do-able , then thread the long heat shrink that is included so that it is tight up against the wire conduit.

With a heat gun, shrink this long tube so that it keeps the wires tight both inside and out. Pull on the wires at the end while pushing on the tubing to ensure a very tight fit. To differentiate the two wires, I have included a piece of red tubing and two black ones. Place one black one over the entire wire assembly and slide it down and out of the way. Put the red one on the yellow wire, then crimp the terminal on. The wire has been tinned so that you have a stronger crimp.

Shrink the red one so that it's even with the end of the spade terminal. Do the same with the black wire with black shrink tubing. Lastly, slide the other black one up to meet the connectors just to seal things off. Watch the video to make things clearer. Install the Reluctor Slide the Reluctor over the lobes in the center with the concave part facing up.

If it's a bit too loose, lift it out and try it on another side of the lobes until it is as tight as it gets before the set screws. There should be no contact with moving parts at this point. Tighten the two set screws securely. Use medium Loc-Tite just for peace of mind. The Reluctor is one of the integral parts of the mod. Because the 6 lobes are exactly the same distance apart from each other, there will never be a situation where wear will cause inaccuracies. This Reluctor is especially useful for our purposes because the rotor will drop right down where it belongs without interference.

Also worth noting, this system does not put a small spark to a breaker points system, rather a magnet and a magnetic field causes a very clean trigger each time the Reluctor passes the Reluctor Pickup. No voltage is required because it makes its own! Loosen the Reluctor Pickup screw with the elongated hole and slowly and carefully move the Reluctor so that it is gapped to. Learn about some of the differences between factory plug wires and the improvements you'll receive with a quality set of aftermarket performance wires in our spark plug wire buyer's guide.

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