Hei Conv. On My 73 304

Hey guys,
Quick question here.
Im putting a Performance distributors D.U.I.
on a 73 amc 304 with power steering and unfortunately its hitting the steel fuel line coming up from the mech. Fuel pump.
Now i plan on a TBI swap in the near future
and said pump will be going bye bye.
but for now i was thinking about cutting the steel and running rubber fuel hose behind the PS brackets. Does anybody see any potential issues here? As a side note i just noticed a spark plug non fouler on my number 8 cylinder.
I have had an engine fire once in my lifetime
and thats plenty

 

Non-fouler means that the cylinder has a lot of blow-by and the plug fouls from oil. I'd do a compression check, wet and dry, before I did anything else.

The MSD capacitor discharge module might be a better choice than the HEI. It can be triggered by the points ignition, and provides a long and intense spark. Might help prevent plug fouling that the anti-fouler is addressing.

 

I had small sections of fuel hose between the p7mp and carb on my Dauntless. I’m not familiar with your engine but as long as it’s all secure you should be fine. Temporarily

 

You can use fuel hose in place of the steel line, but it's not a safe long-term solution IMO. Even the short lengths of fuel hose on the top of the engine are a fire hazard. When owners skip maintenance and don't replace the fuel filter, or replace the filter and use the old hose, these hoses are prone to crack and start an engine fire.

Not a fan of the HEI distributor on an AMC. IMO there are better alternatives.

 

I thought about doing an msd cd but from what i read it shortens the spark duration but steps up to approx 45,000 volts.
The D.U.I. system is supposed to increase the duration while producing 50,000 volts.

 

The DUI distributor should work fine ... I hear they are likely the best choice is you want the one-wire GM "HEI" type distributor.

However, I think you are misinformed about what the HEI is and how it works. Sorry, it's not you - it's that I don't understand why the HEI distributors are so popular for the AMC V8s.

The only thing "high energy" about the HEI is the coil design. The coil is a passive device; an iron core with wire wrapped around it. The HEI module in the distributor is a big transistor that turns on or off. Just like points ignition, it allows current to flow through the primary side of the coil to create a magnetic field in the coil. The module then interrupts the current to make a spark when the magnetic field in the coil collapses. There is no "active" lengthening of the spark, no more than points ignition with the same coil.

The Motorcraft Duraspark distributor used by Jeep starting in 1978 uses exactly the same principle; a hefty transistor that switches the coil in place of the points used in earlier Jeeps. In fact, the Duraspark and HEI are 100% compatible - you can connect a HEI distributor to a Duraspark module, or vice versa. Electronically it's a transistorized switch - nothing more. I think the DUraspark is a better design, lacking the goofy coil-in-cap feature of the HEI. And the Duraspark can be fitted with a big cap and modern wires, like HEI. So can the Delco points ignition used by AMC prior to 1974.

The MSD module operates by repeatedly charging a capacitor to a high voltage, which discharges through the ignition coil. It takes the place of the module in the HEI or Motorcraft distributor, or it can be driven by ignition points. The capacitor in the MSD module is charged to around 400 volts, which provides something like 30 times the high tension voltage at the spark plug compared to the normal 12 volts. And the capacitor is topped up and discharged by the module multiple times, depending on the engine RPM.

The HEI is fine if you have no other options. The 225 V6 guys like them because they are available for their engines and there are not a lot of options other than the Delco or Prestolite points distributors. There are better options available for the AMC V8s, IMO.

The HEI does have a higher voltage spark than the usual points ignition. That it has a a longer spark than any other conventionally triggered ignition? I don't see how that's possible. The MSD module supplies many times higher voltage to the coil, resulting in a much "hotter" spark than a conventional trigger. It also has a longer spark, with the capacitor repeatedly discharging into the coil at each trigger.

Ok, enough. Sorry for ranting.

 

I had to replace the fuel line in my 73 a short time back. My engine is a 360 from a 72 Wagoneer. If I remember correctly, I ordered that fuel line for a Wagoneer model and not the CJ. It didn't fit all that great. I had to reshape it a little bit which was not easy, that stainless is hard to bend by hand.
The fuel line I got has some weird bends right in the area of the power steering pump. When I ordered it, there was another one that looked to be straighter in the area of the ps pump. Comparing the pictures of the two online, you could see the difference easily. I might have to go back and get that one once I get everything put back together, it may fit better. Don't forget AMC Javelin and others also used the 304 and there might be a source going that route, keep in mind the power steering may be mounted differently. My other option which I am considering is go with fuel injection and do away with all the stainless line anyway. We'll see.

 

There are two different fuel pumps for the 304/360/401: one that points down (through '75) and one that points up ('76 on). You can fit either, but the plumbing is different. The tube from the pump to the filter is the same for all the V8s '73-75; Jeep PN 3215899. The number for '72 and earlier is different, though I'm surprised its so much different that it would not bolt up and be ok. If the previous poster knows of pictures of these that are online, it would help a lot if he posted links to them. '76-80 there are five different parts for that tube depending on year and 2V or 4V. If you are interested in '81 on, you can look that up in the parts book on the Tom Collins site.

These engines are a commodity that AMC supplied to the Jeep division - no different from what went into their cars. I would expect the engine parts to be exactly the same within each year, cor or Jeep.

 

I put in a DUI HEI on my 258. The HEI module fried after a year. Replaced it with a standard GM part and had no issues with it after that.