Distributor upgrade
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Originally Posted by Ford347
So if I take the ignition box out and all the wiring does that effect anything and do i have to make any changes to anything.
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Joined: Sep 2001
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Originally Posted by flcracker9
All you would need to do is use the wire going to the + side of the coil, and hook it to the HEI and the engine will run. You can remove the old coil and unplug and remove the whole ignition module box. I went a step further, and cut out all of the wires going to the distributor and module (mine was an 86 with the EEC computer), except for one that was hot when the key was on, to clean up the engine compartment.
For competition with mild weather the open air filter is probably OK but you will do a whole lot better with a closed system and the proper inlets in the mud and water. You can make power with a closed system if you know what you are doing. An open filter IS still for trailer queens. For a daily driver they are a complete waste of time, -but they sure look purdy when they are new...
Last edited by Torque1st; Apr 3, 2007 at 10:13 PM.
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From: Gadsden Purchase
Originally Posted by Torque1st
BTW- It does not look like flcracker9 in post #3 even has a working PCV system. No PCV system is not real conducive to engine longevity.
No matter what i did, the tube would quickly get re-lined with dirt.
BTW, Ford 428 irrigation pump engines didn't run a PVC that i ever saw.
No I ain't got drag-queen or any other type of queen open filters on my rig. ;)
Alvin in AZ
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Originally Posted by Alvin in AZ
In AZ the stock system let dirt in.
No matter what i did, the tube would quickly get re-lined with dirt.
Alvin in AZ
No matter what i did, the tube would quickly get re-lined with dirt.
Alvin in AZ
-No external coil required on an HEI system. The HEI system has a "coil pack" built into the distributor cap.
-As far as GM parts goes I think there are interchanges but I don't really know.
-Your start timing retard is gone. MSD has start timing retard modules for their systems. The function is built into a number of the MSD timing computers.
Last edited by Torque1st; Apr 5, 2007 at 11:46 PM.
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From: Gadsden Purchase
The tube right behind the filter, and the PCV valve and inside the valve cover. :/
Clean all that out, clean the filter (oil it even) and the stuff behind the filter would soon be lined with dirt again. And it wasn't the extra fine stuff like what was getting through the paper air filter into the carb.
I haven't looked at irrigation pump engines in 30 years but all those old ones didn't have a PCV system, so I figured neither did I. :)
Started noticing that right after a friend of mine from work (Fred French) put a 428FE irrigation pump engine in his old pickup. :) He had a 4 speed. :) The old 428FE had a simple metal pipe for a crankcase vent that came out low from the side of the FE block.
Hmmm... you think i should drill a 5/8" hole in the side of my block to match that old 428FE? ;)
Alvin in AZ
Clean all that out, clean the filter (oil it even) and the stuff behind the filter would soon be lined with dirt again. And it wasn't the extra fine stuff like what was getting through the paper air filter into the carb.
I haven't looked at irrigation pump engines in 30 years but all those old ones didn't have a PCV system, so I figured neither did I. :)
Started noticing that right after a friend of mine from work (Fred French) put a 428FE irrigation pump engine in his old pickup. :) He had a 4 speed. :) The old 428FE had a simple metal pipe for a crankcase vent that came out low from the side of the FE block.
Hmmm... you think i should drill a 5/8" hole in the side of my block to match that old 428FE? ;)
Alvin in AZ
Last edited by Alvin in AZ; Apr 6, 2007 at 01:47 PM.
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From: USA
I put an HEI on my 79 400, the OE air breather still fit fine. I pulled all the old wiring & ran a new 12 ga wire from the iginition switch. Everything is GM parts except the dist housing, so hotter coils, curve kits, etc for Chevies fit.
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Originally Posted by 79f3504x4
I put an HEI on my 79 400, the OE air breather still fit fine. I pulled all the old wiring & ran a new 12 ga wire from the iginition switch. Everything is GM parts except the dist housing, so hotter coils, curve kits, etc for Chevies fit.
A 16GA wire would have done the job as well tho.
Alvin-
Some of those PCV inlet filters are better than others. There should be no dirt in those lines unless a fitting or hose did not seal well. Western Kansas is not as dusty as AZ but I serviced a large number of utility, oil field, and farm trucks.
Some air filters have the PCV inlet inside the regular filter which works OK except for the fact that crankcase vapors will coat the carb inlet.
Those pipes down the side were called "road draft tubes" and did not work well even if the vehicle was moving. They would never work on a stationary engine! The PCV system greatly reduced the amount of sludge and acids that build up inside an engine contributing to longer engine life and extended oil change intervals. On those old road draft tube engines the oil would get black as pitch in a couple thousand miles. Of course many of them had primitive bypass type oil filter systems.
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Wiring
Originally Posted by Torque1st
-Thanks for the info!
A 16GA wire would have done the job as well tho.
Alvin-
Some of those PCV inlet filters are better than others. There should be no dirt in those lines unless a fitting or hose did not seal well. Western Kansas is not as dusty as AZ but I serviced a large number of utility, oil field, and farm trucks.
Some air filters have the PCV inlet inside the regular filter which works OK except for the fact that crankcase vapors will coat the carb inlet.
Those pipes down the side were called "road draft tubes" and did not work well even if the vehicle was moving. They would never work on a stationary engine! The PCV system greatly reduced the amount of sludge and acids that build up inside an engine contributing to longer engine life and extended oil change intervals. On those old road draft tube engines the oil would get black as pitch in a couple thousand miles. Of course many of them had primitive bypass type oil filter systems.
A 16GA wire would have done the job as well tho.
Alvin-
Some of those PCV inlet filters are better than others. There should be no dirt in those lines unless a fitting or hose did not seal well. Western Kansas is not as dusty as AZ but I serviced a large number of utility, oil field, and farm trucks.
Some air filters have the PCV inlet inside the regular filter which works OK except for the fact that crankcase vapors will coat the carb inlet.
Those pipes down the side were called "road draft tubes" and did not work well even if the vehicle was moving. They would never work on a stationary engine! The PCV system greatly reduced the amount of sludge and acids that build up inside an engine contributing to longer engine life and extended oil change intervals. On those old road draft tube engines the oil would get black as pitch in a couple thousand miles. Of course many of them had primitive bypass type oil filter systems.
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Originally Posted by jostrowski
what's the difference between dui and hei. I just drive city streets mostly very little on highways. I'm thinking right now the stock dist. is fine for right now.
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