OLD STYLE GM H.E.I. DISTRIBUTOR TWEAKING

[THE BOSTON SIDEWINDER]

DID I SEE ON A THREAD WHERE SOMEONE USED THE LIGHTEST WEIGHT SPRINGS ON THEIR HEI, AND THEN TOOK ONE OFF TO ONLY RUN 1 OF THEM TO MAKE FULL SPARK ADVANCE BY 2 K RPM'S? I BORROWED MY BUDDIES WILD SNAP-ON TIMING LIGHT, BUT WANTED TO ASK THE QUESTION SO I DON'T F**K ANYTHING UP. I'M RUNNING 93 PUMP GAS, SHOULD I BE AT ABOUT 10 DEGREES, AND ABOUT 38 DEGREES AT FULL ADVANCE? I'M RUNNING A PRETTY MUCH STOCK HEI ON AN OLD STYLE BBC, ON A BERK JG PUMP W/ AN 'A' IMPELLER. THANKS,..BILL.

[sidewound]

Bill,
Whaddayamean "OLD STYLE CHEVY".
Is it the original? Jus curious?
Peace Man :cool:
CESAR

[THE BOSTON SIDEWINDER]

ON THE OLD STYLE H.E.I. THERE ARE ONLY 2 PINS ON EACH SIDE OF THE SPARK MODULE (CIRCA MID 70'S 454 PICK UP ENGINE), NOT LIKE THE LATER ONES WITH 4 PINS ON ONE SIDE OF THE MODULE AND 2 PINS ON THE OTHER(LIKE MY 92 CADDY)...BILL.

[Moneypitt]

In my opinion the 38 total advance is a little high. I'd stick to a max of 32, with 8 degrees inital. thats 24 in the dist.(all in @ 3000) The idea of 38 total would be for some really exotic camed, high rpm, prop boat, I don't think a jet will get into the 7000-7500 range. We ran a locked out 37 degrees in the mag on a PS boat, turning 7450 all day,(5 miles)...Just my .02...Moneypitt,(w/ 2 TTs)

[Taylor LP]

Also, don't forget that if you are using a stock module after a certain point (not sure but it think above 4700) the module will retard the timing several degrees with RPM increase.

[THE BOSTON SIDEWINDER]

THANKS VERY MUCH FOR THE INPUT! I'LL LET YA KNOW HOW I MADE OUT. DOES ANYONE KNOW IF THE MSD MODULE ALSO RETARDS THE TIMING AROUND 4.7K AND ABOVE?...BILL.

[THE BOSTON SIDEWINDER]

hi sidewound...no, i'm told that the owner before me converted the engine to h.e.i. from points 6 years ago or so. have you run any of the m.s.d. coils/ spark modules? or others? to get your spark more intence? so far i am running the following:
new stock coil(in cap)
new stock spark module
m.s.d. super conductor wires
bosch platinum II plugs*which jam, use them in the boat and the caddy*
i'll probably get out to the boat to throw the timing light on it over the weekend.
it looks like i'll run about 8 degrees/ 32 or so full advance, and take it from there. thanks for that info**???** i must be getting old, i don't remember your name, sorry....bill.

[THE BOSTON SIDEWINDER]

thanks, moneypit i appreciate it...bill.

[Taylor LP]

I'm pretty sure that all of the hi-po aftermarket modules have eliminated the hi RPM retard. Couldn't hurt to ask the MSD tech guys.