It been a while since playing with a dizzy.
I'm going back to duraspark from HEI style, HEI has completely crapped out once and left me on the side of the road, "seizing on the shaft the MFG said.

Got a new one and that is bucking now, (first sign of trouble)

So I have a new, re-curved distributor body and a new cap and rotor.
Placing the rotor on the dizzy shaft (correctly) and snapping on the dust shield and dizzy cap to the body, while spinning the shaft, there is contact where the rotor is actually "hitting" the 8-cylinder tabs.

Is this "normal?" ....a positive contact or should there be a very minute "air gap" between rotor contact tip and the 8 dizzy tabs?

 

There should be an air gap.

 

What kind of HEI failed? Was it one of those aftermarket Chinese models? I haven't heard much good about their long-term reliability.





What part of the rotor is hitting? It is the narrow edge of the metal tab on the rotor? That would indicate either the rotor is too long, or the inside diameter of the cap (the circle formed by the notched tabs) is too small.


Or is the top face of the rotor hitting? That would indicated a defective rotor that sits too tall on the shaft, or the notched tabs inside the cap weren't made deep enough.


Either way, there should be a slight air gap with the top and sides, as previously mentioned.