And I highly recommend the following instead of GM's HEI:
--MSD has a new line of Buick ready to run distributors (finally!!!), for 400/430/455's and even nailheads, that just need a good coil with < 1ohm resistance. your points coil won't work because they have higher resistance; and on a electronic ignition a >1ohm coil will cause the ign module to overheat.
--Accel 71105 Buick Billet distributor with one of the most powerful ign modules in it (I bought the same one for my '76 Riv's HEI at Summit for $70)
---the old jacobs' Ultra Coil-which looks like a huge box with blue anodized heatsinks. The coil will fire almost any spark plug. In my '63riviera with an Ultra Coil, whose carb runs rich, I found the plugs to be clean from carbon deposits, even after 20,000miles.
--I feel the conversion kits just are just not worth the time and money, when you can drop in a new electronic distributor in less time. I've used many Mallory Unilite modules that have had premature failure, leaving you completely stranded. Accel's and MSD's magnetic pick-up principle has been used and perfected for years.
--Many people do modify GM HEI with good results. Everyone knows the inherent flaws with HEI-- decreased spark energy above 4500rpm. It had a compromised design, which, although integrated, could have been improved with better, external coil. But after buying a new high kVolt in-cap or external coil, ign. module, wiring harness, capacitor, reluctor, advance weights, a quality dist. cap and rotor with high dielectric properties and restoring the shaft, which may have some wobble due to worn bearings; the price can easily approach a quality electronic distributor like the MSD or Accel units. I know, because I've done both methods. And sometimes saving time is worth the extra money that self-contained new distrutors cost. New e-distributors are usually made of close-tolerance, machined billet, have smoother shaft bearings and higher-quality parts.
---Spark plug wires. There are a lot of good ones out there--MSD, Accel, jacobs, Taylor, etc. Just make sure they're spiral core and not suppression core. You definitely can't use solid core wire because of the EMI/RFI interference with the electronic parts in the system
---spark plug gapping--an often overlooked part of ignitions. Even if you buy all this expensive ignition equipment, you won't get the full benefits unless you increase the gap to make a hotter/stronger/longer spark.
Most of this stuff can be found on ebay cheap.
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