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American made HEI

Discussion in 'Intermediate CJ-5/6/7/8' started by 5foxes, Mar 28, 2014.

  1. Mar 29, 2014
    74Cjake5

    74Cjake5 Member

    louisville colorado
    Joined:
    May 30, 2011
    Messages:
    102
    The factory cap won't fit the HEI style 8mm wires. But your local auto zone sells spiral would 8mm wires that will fit your cap (and in four colors too) 60$ here in CO. If you upgrade to an MSD module you may want to look at finding a cap that isn't black because from what I understand the pigment in the black can arc.


    I would think that a MSD and factory dist. Would be an upgrade from the China parts, I read a lot of honor stories when I was researching my upgrade about messed up engines due to Chinese HEI parts.
     
  2. Mar 29, 2014
    5foxes

    5foxes '74 CJ5

    Dayton, Minnesota
    Joined:
    Nov 23, 2006
    Messages:
    139
    "messed up engines due to Chinese HEI parts"
    Now that's exactly what I'm afraid of and why I plan to change things.
    On the other hand I do have a '91 chevy. 4.3 L with 130k miles on it in my garage on a stand waiting to go in when my current motor gives out. It came out of my pickup a few years back, I've driven the truck for 18 years, it had 28k on the clock when I inherited it, and I've taken very good care of it since. Eveything is good on the motor except the #6 cylinder compression is at 25 lbs. I haven't opened it up to figure it out yet but hope it would be an easy fix.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2014
  3. Mar 30, 2014
    nickmil

    nickmil In mothballs.

    Happy Valley, OR
    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2002
    Messages:
    12,529
    Uh, 4.3 small block? Small block Chevs are V-8's. all the 4.3's I'm aware of were V-6's. great engines. I used to race one. But not a small block Chev (V-8).


    Sent from my iPhone
     
  4. Mar 30, 2014
    timgr

    timgr We stand on the shoulders of giants. 2022 Sponsor

    Medford Mass USA
    Joined:
    Aug 10, 2003
    Messages:
    23,596
    Yes, I noticed that.

    Yes to both of those, IMO. Other than the CDI, all these parts are just incremental improvements over the same old Kettering ignition design introduced in the 1910 Cadillac. "Electronic ignition" just replaces the points (Kettering trigger) with a big transistor that is switched electrically rather than mechanically. That's all the difference is - it does not change the spark character. Then you add the hotter coil, big cap and rotor, better wire design - these are all just tweaks on the same circuit. The CDI is a different circuit type. It adds a switched capacitor that makes the inductor (the coil) into a tuned circuit that can spark multiple times on each discharge cycle. It's a different technology, with a hotter and longer spark.

    But actually, If your eBay HEI works ok now and isn't tearing up your cam gear, you could upgrade it with quality USA parts and call it good. Put a quality new module in it, get some MSD or Standard Blue Streak or equivalent plastic parts, get a new quality coil, new wires, and put the old parts in a bag for trail spares. Then the only thing left that's left is the distributor body, and if it's stable now I would not expect that to change.

    You may see an improvement with the CDI compared to your HEI, in terms of cold starts and such. But if the HEI's performance is acceptable, I would consider whether that is sufficient return on investment. I doubt you'll see any measurable difference in power or economy, unless the existing system is worn out or broken. But the engine will probably start easier and run better when it's cold.

    If you are simply worried that you are damaging the engine with the eBay HEI, going back to the OEM points distributor would be the safest thing you could do. If you do that, you can still have the CDI module and the HEI wires, using the parts I mentioned above. NB I have no personal experience with the cap and rotor, but MSD says they fit a Chevy six cylinder distributor, and the AMC Delco distributor uses the same cap as the Chevy Delco distributor. And I recall from reading that they will work. But I'd get the cap and rotor first and make sure they fit on the OEM distributor, just to be sure.

    Afterthought - looks like the 8467 will only work with the V8 distributors or the MSD billet 6-cylinder distributors. The 6-cylinder Delco distributors use a button rotor like this http://www.rockauto.com/catalog/moreinfo.php?pk=2066732&cc=1056912 as does the AMC six-cylinder Delco. As I understand it, the 8014 is just a Chevy 6-cylinder distributor cap made of best-quality materials, and with HEI-style posts. You could call the MSD tech line or send them an email. Ask them if the cap will fit a 1970 Chevy Nova with a 230 cid inline six. I'd ask that rather than ask if it will fit a 1974 AMC 232 ... since they likely have no idea what kind of distributors AMC used. The Nova uses the same cap as the Jeep, so if it fits the 230 it will fit the 232.
     
    Last edited: Mar 30, 2014
  5. Mar 30, 2014
    5foxes

    5foxes '74 CJ5

    Dayton, Minnesota
    Joined:
    Nov 23, 2006
    Messages:
    139
    Thanks Nick, shows what I know. I fixed it.
     
  6. Apr 14, 2014
    5foxes

    5foxes '74 CJ5

    Dayton, Minnesota
    Joined:
    Nov 23, 2006
    Messages:
    139
    Well, I went with a Cardone Reman Duraspark, used a Summit Coil and an MSD 6AL module, new plugs and 8mm spiral wires, new cap & rotor and it runs like a top. I'm happy with the change. Thanks for all the input fellas, it really helped.
     
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