Car is going to need a tune up soon. Instead of spending money on points condenser etc etc, I might as well spend a little extra converting over to HEI. Engine is a stock 72' 350. However, in the grand scheme I plan on a rebuild in the future to up it 400hp-ish.

 

I have been very satisfied with Pertronix.

 

Its more than a little extra comparing the cost of tuning your current points setup to purchasing an HEI. Plus you won't see a real gain in performance, you just wont have to mess with them anymore. You can get a decent Summit or Jeggs brand for cheap or go all the way up to big $$ it all depends on what you want to spend. A stock rebuild will set you back a couple of hundred in parts plus distributor. You'll also need plug wires.

You might also consider a pertronix conversion for yours. Not real expensive an can be done at home.

 

All great advice. Get Taylor spiral core plug wires and run Autolite plugs gapped at .040" What ever route you go be sure to custom tune the 3 timing events. Get an adjustable travel(not rate) vacuum advance canister. Several companies will do a custom curve on your dist. Even if you go with the original have it tuned. You wont pick up HP but it will accelerate smoother.

 

Using the stock distributor with electronic triggering has several advantages, not the least of which is that the timing curves remain unchanged. Of course you can still alter the vacuum canister and mechanical advance with kits and donor parts to suit your engine's current configuration.

 

If you do decide to switch to HEI make sure you get one suited to your application. The ones from the '70s are curved for smog motors and it can be difficult to integrate the vacuum advance with a new curve. Best bet here is to go with a purpose-built one from a specialty manufacturer.

 

I went with a cheapo eBay HEI, and it worked for me. Others will say that the cheap eBay HEIs are a dumb purchase, but it worked out of the box and was only $60 (new).

For mechanical advance in the cheap eBay HEI, the 20 degree total worked fine, but I changed the springs to bring-in the mechanical advance a bit earlier (from 4000 to 3400).

Since it's cheapo chinesium 'stuff', I still keep my old distributor in the trunk, but for $60, it was worth it in my case. Later, I may buy a quality unit, but only after this one fails. I've been driving it for over a year now. Let's hope the electronics survive the hot summer (lol).

 

That is what I bought also but mine was only 40 bucks Lol. It was cheaper because it had a red cap. If I ever get my car driving again I will carry a module and coil because I know it will fail eventually but for a cheap new distributor how can you go wrong.

 

I'll be honest with you, the $40 bucks would have been better spent on a new set of points, condenser, and cap for your old one. Just my opinion.

 

+1.

And you could have got 'em all for $20 at a flea market.

- Eric

 

Eric:

Would you really trust parts you bought at a flea market? I don't think I would.

 

Are you kidding? You mean you'd turn down sealed NOS parts for a small fraction of the average on-line price, just because it's at a flea market?

I honestly never expected that sort of snobbery here on ClassicOlds.

More for me, I guess.

- Eric

 

If they were NOS parts, only a fool would turn them down. I would expect Chineseum at a flea market. And for the record, I sure as hell am not a snob.

 

AC Delco NOS. They come in sealed cardboard containers with metal caps, with the little pulll-string to open them.

Also card-mounted.

There are always a few guys at every antique auto flea market with NOS stuff - front end components, electrical stuff (starter drives for $5, solenoids for $10, etc.), shock absorbers ("Pleasurizer"), and tune-up parts -- you've just got to find them and search through it to find what you want.

- Eric

 

Chineasium junk on an American muscle car...shame...stop lining their pockets

 

With the petronix conversion, would I be able to keep the vacuum advance as it now?

 

Yes, it is a points conversion kit. Nothing else changed inside the distributor to change your timing curve.