I ran the car last night, got it real hot and had an intermittent stall, it tried to die, it backfired going down a hill which meant there was a momentary loss of power.

Can the coil become defective when it is hot? I tried installing a new one from a parts house a while back when I had the same problem and couldn't get car to start, so put old coil back in and it has been working. Last night I ran the car real hard, had a backfire, managed to get it home by keeping rpms up. I have checked the two red connection wires into the side of the distributor and they are connected. This has happened before so this malfunction is intermittent.

At this point I think it better to replace the whole distributor to solve the problem.
Is there one reliable place to order one that will work for the 330? I also think I should have a mechanic do it so it is done properly.

If the connections are good , am I right to assume that the coil in an electric ignition system can have an intermittent loss of power to the engine causing backfire or total stall?

Thank you for your input. As you can tell I am somewhat of a novice at this.
JM

 

Sure a coil can get hot and die, but from the engine heat? Unlikely

HEI wired straight thru, not via resistor wire right?

Chief suspects for HEI are
voodoo module - typically they live until they die then suddenly stop for good, not intermittent.

Wires to the pickup coil flex to death- replace the pickup coil if in doubt, mitaswell refresh the grease and ck the bushings/ replace as needed.

Any Olds V8 dist'r from 330 era on should fit right in, no worries.