Dui Ignition Performance? Other Dauntless Hei Results? It's Replacement Time...

Argh, that shirt reminds me that I'm backwards. It from #1 150 degrees to #6. then 90 to #5, 150 to #4, ...etc. It's always 90 degrees when going from the right bank to the left and 150 degrees when going from the left to the right.

Sigh. Fixing my previous posts to remove confusion.

 

You get it. Thank you. The three positions give roughly 120 degrees of area for find the correct timing adjustment if the distributor movement is available.
Like you said...not hitting things. Most people settle with where it finally gets running correctly or what the picture showed them to do. Once running correctly
they are happy enough to not mess with it any further. That is understandable. Moving one tooth or so, lining up the pump drive or moving plug wires on the
cap can become Daunting.

The points distributor can be moved also, though one may not give good access to the window for points adjustment. The cap can be easily pulled for dwell adjustment
like was done in caps with no window.

HEI was a move to reduce emissions for persons that could or would not keep their engines tuned. It can have a little hotter spark and a wider plug gap giving a more complete
burn of the fuel. This was an emissions move and not a go fast part. MSD and others were doing that with multi-spark ignition.

 

I'll keep my HEI rant short.
These used to be a great upgrade. Way too many 'high quality' NAPA & Delco components are made in China now. They are poor quality. I've had modules and main coils fail with no warning.
Carrying an extra HEI dizzy body and related parts has become necessary, but a hassle.
My next failure will be met with a new DUI unit. These seem to have a much better track record.
Good Luck!
In closing, I will say the HEI system is fantastic when operating correctly. The engine starts just as fast as a FI engine.

 

Yeah, that's part of the reason I was asking if anyone has had any problems with their aftermarket HEI's. My Delco looks pretty old so I'm thinking it may be old-school enough to be a USA unit, but who knows. I just don't want to be hiking out of the wilderness when I should be driving, as has already happened more than once.

I too will be carrying a spare coil and module with me, and possibly an extra e-fuel pump, though I plan to keep the mechanical attached and plugged.

All of this chat regarding #1 has got me wanting to check mine again. My cap is oriented a bit differently than shown in the pics, but it seems to me it'll only go on one way. The guys who did the work on my CJ were pretty adept in the upgrades they made, so it seems to me they'd have made sure they got the HEI installed correctly after going through the time and expense to get it all hooked up. I'll have to check.

Great discussion, helps a lot!

 

I saw that shirt recently and I have to admit it was a good idea. Maybe he wouldn't mind if you steal it...

 

Thanks. That is a good explanation with first hand experience. I could see a possible intermittent miss happening. Funny that Performance sent me a picture to
put the #1 on the #5 post. You would think they would know better. Odd-fire quirks. The guy that figured this all out to build the first Buick odd-fire must have
really been something. It seems like people must have been smarter concerning the engineering done back in the day.

 

Victory.

This thread has helped me move along another notch.

I'd assumed the prior owner who installed my EFI had done so knowingly, following spec, since both the cap and intake had been ground to accommodate fit, and things seemed to otherwise run 'fine'. Not sure if 'fine' is the right word...

I'd been studying HEI's in general, as well as odd fire applications, and the photos from yesterday allowed me to nail things down even further.

I pulled my cap and rotor and first checked the plug wires. They got it right. #1 on #1. But my cap is twisted a bit more than those in the pics, so I checked that as well, and even moved my cap clockwise to fit the rim tab into slot #2, placing the cap closer to the pics you all have posted. The motor wouldn't fire; only a bit of backfiring. I moved it back to the original position, and that confirmed that things seemed right. I wasn't aware there were two tab slots for the cap to drop into until I checked yesterday. I did NOT verify #1 was set at TDC, but all else considered, I think they probably got it right. When I pickup a new distributor I'll go through that process when poking it in.

The next thing I checked were the metal vacuum advance wings themselves. They are tight and working fine. No loose or wallowed-out holes or connections. Seems good for now. The stripped screw holes are my only concern.

One thing I did discover, from watching Holley videos, is that my vacuum advance tube was connected to the wrong port on the Holley 390 carb. The carb has two ports, an upper which is metered through the plate, and a lower which is pure manifold vacuum. Holley recommends the upper metered port, so I switched to that. The theory is that it allows the motor to work better at lower RPM. A lot of guys disagree and go with the manifold vacuum, so your mileage may vary. Motor was happier with the upper port, however, so that's what I'm going with.

So the next thing was to do what I've had scheduled next for my 225. Timing. Once warmed up, I found that the timing was set at only 5*. I have the HEI and everyone seems to suggest 12* on initial setup, and up to 15*. I decided that since it was running 'OK' at 5*, 12* should be a pretty safe setting as a whole, so that's where I left it. I adjusted the idle a bit as well, now at 500-600 RPM, which the motor really likes.

Took it out for a drive, even wanting to do some offroad tests, and it ran better than it has since I bought it. No dying at stops, nice acceleration, no flat or dead spots, and I ran it up to 5k RPM on acceleration more than once, and the motor was happy. Didn't take it offroad because nightfall was coming and I was 7 miles from home with my better half still on the road coming back from the airport. I'd planned that for today but we went from sunny and 80* yesterday to rain and 55* today.

I'll have to get it offroad and do some steep climbs before I can assess how well my carb is really working right now, and whether other mods will be unavoidable. My e-fuel pump comes in Monday. I'll hook that up and get it offroad for a full assessment.

Thanks again for everyone's input! CJ is running better than it ever has since I bought it. Now sure it's pulling as hard as it could, but it seems pretty 'normal'.
Maybe now I'll FINALLY be able to get it out on the road, and OFF road!

 

Does anyone know what HEI distrubutor will fit a Dauntless V-6 with an Offy 360 intake manifold. I tried a HEI that was on a Stock V-6 but it would not fit with the 360, even with significant grinding

Fltfndr

 

I have the same as you. 225 with Offy Dual Port 360. My CJ came that way. It has a Delco-Remy HEI built for the odd fire.

The prior owners ground the corner of the manifold away nearly to the bolt hole itself. They didn't even replace the bolt! They also ground off one of the four cap hold-down connectors from that area, which makes no sense since there is room for it.

There are a couple of companies who offer the extended height HEI for our rigs. DUI is one of them, but I don't recall the others I've seen. More $$$ though.

 

I just wanted to post a couple of pics from yesterday while out test driving and enjoying 'the fruits of our labor'.

I grabbed my better half, who once again didn't dress warmly enough, LOL, to head out to my go-to offroad test pit that's close to town.

The CJ motored down the road without issue. Seems like the motor should be more crisp, with a bit more snap, but I'll be working on that later.

Got to the quarry and began to pick targets for some offroad stuff, primarily steep climbs. I needed to see if the carb was going to continue to have issues while pointed skyward. Sure enough, I pointed the nose up a short 30* climb, and once both sets of wheels were on the hillside, sat there for a few seconds to see how the motor was going to respond.

It died. Don't know if it flooded or starved itself from fuel. Wouldn't start. So I put the manual tranny in reverse and cranked the starter to back myself down to a flat surface again (sandy loam hillside, dug in a bit). Started right up on the flat again.

So we ran around playing on the obstacles and had some fun while ignoring a similar scenario. In general we had a great time.

Rather than head back home, new knowledge in hand, I opted to do some exploring on back roads that are new to us since we've only been here a couple of years. Mostly hilly wheatland with occasional mixed-terrain. We began discovering abandoned farm houses, one of which I'm going to try to buy. Fingers crossed. But another was remote, accessible by 4wd only, and I was loving it. This is why I have a Jeep. I was FINALLY able to explore again. And the soil was perfect, fresh after a rain the day before, with plenty of bite for my tires without sinking into any muck below.

Still more mods coming up, with an e-fuel pump arriving tomorrow, but looking forward to lots of offroad adventures in the coming months. FINALLY.

Pics from yesterday--

Getting ready to head out.



End of the road turnaround



Taking a break down at the lake.



Amazing abandoned farm house complex



Hoping to convince an owner to sell me this place. Awesome view! We restore historic buildings, so this one will be a fun project.



My future workshop, just to the left of the home above.
There's a late 40's Packard coupe sitting in the garage, to the right of the house above (not shown), last plated in 1967.



Farm rig sitting behind the damaged home above



Should I buy this one and haul it home?



One of the MANY farm implements scattered across this complex



Spare parts for my CJ



A tidy kitchen always reflects the values of the homeowner

​

 

Wow. First, you should be able to keep it running at 30*, check the float level, either too high or too low. Second, amazing property there, like a ghost town where everyone just left. Third, nice jeep. You look ready for the Rubicon. Fourth, I like your fenders, is that the kit, or did you fab them yourself?

 

Yeah my local mechanic who claims to be a carb specialist adjusted the floats last year and it helped a bit but obviously not enough. I'll have to try both sides of the equation, higher and lower, but first I'm going to put an offroad kit into it to see if that does it. It acted like it ran out of fuel. I'm waiting to put the e-fuel pump on it to see if that helps. That pitch may have been steeper than 30*, can't remember if we checked. We checked several, and none that we checked exceeded 30*. I'll have to run up there again.

Next, those abandoned farm homes are all over around here. Many times the farm gets bought out by a larger group and they just ignore the home itself. The biggest complex had at least a dozen buildings, including the barns and the like, and the pic of the kitchen was taken inside the 2-story home. There was a calendar in there dated 1987, so it's been empty for at least 36 years now. Nothing in there looked 80's, though. More like 50's.

Third, glad you like the CJ, thanks. Not sure I want to beat it through the Rubicon, but giving it thought. Not sure yet how capable the Jeep really is. I'd want front lockers for the really challenging stuff. It has Toyota axles.

The fenders were on it when I bought it, but I know there's a guy out of the Yakima, Washington area that makes them. I can't remember who exactly made these, be it the prior owner of the guy in Yakima. The PO was out of the Tacoma, WA area. I still have his contact info, but should probably try to find the fabricator in Yakima. He was a 4x4 specialist.

 

This is the Holley 390 4v on an Offy 360. It has the 225 odd fire.

It was actually running fine where it was sitting about like yours in the pic above, and then it just died, like it ran out of fuel. I think the floats might be a bit low now. The Holley Avenger offroad kit for it eliminates many of the high-angle issues, so we'll see. I'm chipping the stone away one piece at a time.

I'd gone to fuel injection but had major issues, so put the carb back on a week ago after the EFI died altogether, despite being virtually brand new. If I can get this carb dialed in, I'll stick with it, but won't rule out another make of EFI if it comes to that.

 

This is what I was referring too earlier.
Yes you can get your engine to run in 3 different HEI #1 locations..... but there is only one true location designed in the cap.
When I was trying to get my TBI setup to work..... because Howell told me I had to have HEI...... I purchased a NOS GM oddfire HEI unit. I tried could only ever get it to run perfect in the proper number one position. Any other position gave me a slight miss...... I thought I was crazy.....
I ended up using the proper number one location and all was well. Later on I pulled the HEI and went back to the Pertronix and Delco setup. Zero change in starting or throttle response.... way more room in the engine compartment, easier to set timing and spare parts are much smaller too.

 

I endlessly fiddled with a Holley 4 barrel for this 225 in my Jeep. It never was as user friendly and reliable, with no dead spots, or flooding issues on hills as the old Rochester 2 barrel for this engine. All I did was clean it, rebuilt it with parts from Quadrajet Parts and it's been perfect.