HEI Distributor

Hi Guys

I read an article about a guy named Terry Howe that replaced his '75 Jeep Prestolite Distributor with an HEI unit from the junkyard. He said that it came out of a Chevy straight six 250.
He says it is a two wire (12 V and tach)
This is the article url.

http://www.4x4wire.com/jeep/tech/electrical/hei02/

Unfortunately, he did not seem to mention the HEI distributor model number and after looking for this distributor online from HEI's catalog, I am not having much luck.
Does anyone know what model number HEI distributor will work on a '75 Jeep 258 L6?
Any opinions on this swap?

Thanks for any help, Jon S.

 

I'd look it up by application. An '80 G10 Chevy Van came with a 250 that used the HEI distributor.

 

An HEI distributor swap on my 75 w/258 was THE best money I spent on my Jeep.

 

Springerfever

Thanks for your post. Do you happen to have a model number on that HEI?
Nice Jeep! This is my '75 CJ6. Looks like we have similar tastes.

 

I figured that out about 15 years ago. All we did was swap the bottom gear. Simple and cheap.

 

Not sure pic is uploading. Trying again.

 

CJX

From what I've read, the gear swap is not straight across. They say you have to shave the Jeep gear height dimension an unknown quantity to get the Chevy distributor to seat properly.
What I'm going to do is call Pertronix when they open, ask them for their distributor part number for the '75 Jeep 258 and just buy the distributor, coil, cap, rotor, wires etc. If they don't show that application, I'll ask them about the Chevy 250 and if they know the correct height dimension for the Jeep gear. I don't want to risk putting in a used distributor with a million miles on it so I'm going to try to get a new one.

 

I know that the AMC V8 gear will fit the Chevy 250 distributor without modification, and it is supposed to be compatible with the 258 drive gear. These gears are available from the aftermarket, or you can take one from a junkyard distributor. I've read that you can alternately fit the gear from the 258 distributor with some grinding.

You could also get a Duraspark distributor from a '78 or later 258 and run that. The Duraspark distributor can be upgraded with HEI-style wires, cap and rotor (the TFI upgrade), you have your choice of coils, and either the Motorcraft or GM HEI module works with this distributor.

All of this information is on the web in several places if you search.

If this seems too complicated to you, there are many places that sell the complete HEI for the 258, ready to drop in - Zack at Z&M Jeeps, for example. Basically it's the Chevy 250 distributor with a different gear, but it's sold in a complete package.

 

Jon, I think you have something of a misconception about this. The HEI (high energy ignition) is a GM distributor. It was used from the factory on GM cars and trucks. It should have a GM part number, but any numbers assigned to it by an aftermarket parts distributor are arbitrary.

Frankly, it would be kind of dumb to buy a new aftermarket HEI distributor for the 250, and then modify it for use in a 258. If you want to find a used distributor, or if you want to go to a parts store and buy a rebuilt distributor, then it makes sense to modify it with a new drive gear. There are plenty of places that sell a new HEI distributor ready to go into a 258 AMC engine - here's one: http://www.crtperformance.com/html/jeep_amc_hei_s.html - search the internet, or look at the usual Jeep parts places for others.

<edit> JMO - if you don't want a junkyard distributor, a rebuilt GM factory distributor is probably the best route to go with this. I gave you an application for the 250 distributor above. Go to your local parts store and buy a good quality remanufactured unit. Then buy the replacement gear, swap gears, and drop the distributor in. The replacement gear is available many places, including the aforementioned Zack at Z&M Jeeps.

 

Tim

Thanks a bunch for the info. Its a little confusing but with your help I am getting closer to getting what I want.


Jon S.

 

Tim

Awesome. I bought a CRT distributor and 8mm wires from Roger at CRT. This is exactly what I was looking for.

Thanks again, Jon S.

 

X 2! Between the HEI upgrade and the 4.0 Head conversion I am getting 23 MPG! Great cold starts! Runs VERY strong and pulls hard! Like a brand new Jeep!

Just my 2 cents....

 

Tim

I got my CRT distributor yesterday and threw it in this morning. Runs great.
It even sounds different and better. More power, starts in a snap.
Really happy with it.

Thanks a lot.

 

I did the same thing but the shaft has a lot of play . it's move about 1 inch up and down . the rotor rubs the cap, i thinks it need spacer between the gear and dis housing

 

I've been really happy with my HEI swap. Not sure if sparky's got my write-up back up in the tech section or not.

Biggest improvment is in cold starts. I used to have to feather the throttle and let the jeep warm up for a while. Now it starts and settles into a smooth fast idle and after 2 or 3 mins its ready to go without stalling or hesitating like it used to.

 

If you bought a new distributor from an aftermarket seller, You should contact your seller. Too much vertical movement in the shaft is a manufacturing defect.

 

I brought it used. just order a new one from ebay for $69.00. it would cheaper if i has done in the first time . change modem, rotor ,wiring ,wiring harness the from coil to dist. and still does not start sometime.... i tap on the cap and it's start!!

 

I found this info when installing a used HEI in my 225 V6 from www.rustpuppy.org , it had instructions and pictures but the links are not working now. There should be around .010" end play to the shaft, anything over that will allow a change in timing. I purchased a Mr. Gasket distributor shim kit at the local parts store, measured the total gap with a feeler gage between the drive gear and lower housing, and disassembled and installed the shim(s) that gave the gap closest to .010'. I have a copy of the article in .pdf but I do not know how to attach to a posting. I an email to you if you would like. It covers complete disassembly and reassembly with recommendations.

 

I did the HEI upgrade on my 72 258 with a distributor from a salvage yard, I was able to use the gear from my old points distributor and I also had a problem with too much endplay in the distributor shaft so I added the spacer from my old distributor between the gear and the distributor housing but then the shaft would bottom out in the oil pump when I tightened the distributor clamp, so I had to grind about .010 from the spacer and it fit perfectly. I have driven my Jeep several thousand miles and have not had any problems.