I imagine that the HEI ignitions work pretty well - but surely - they are designed to sit on the backside of the engine covered by an air cleaner.


In other words - it isn't hard to find solutions that look better on a Ford motor.


Cheers
Bebob

 

ive got a 1970 mach 1 428 scj and was thinking about switching over to hei. this car is a driver so its not perfectly concourse still a good restoration. I restored it to be enjoyed. just thinking the hei might help with reliability issues......"

Exactly what reliability issues have you been having that can be laid at the doorstep of the stock ignition system ? I bet you don't have any reliability issues, and are just bored, and itching to do something, anything, and the ignition looks handy and easy to mess with.

i dunno we been fighting over this for years


FWIW I ran a P1 and MSD 6A box for 20 years. had no issues recently went back to just points. to me car runs just as good, have no issues. idle and pull are smooth and plugs are just as clean. best part is I dont need a shop manual and equiptment to trouble shoot it if I breakdown.

This scenario EXACTLY mirrors my own experiences, except I was using the MSD digital 6+ box. When I switched back to the stock system (to clean up and simplify the engine compartment) there was no difference in performance. However I was forced to spend all of 10 minutes once a year to check the timing! Point gap, and dwell. And that could've been done once every 2 years, which works out to every 10,000 miles for me.

Z

 

See my post on sparkplugs and high energy coil They're nice when the work but not so nice when they quit. That is its all or nothing - no in-between when something goes wrong. I suspect heat may be the main villain to HEI systems.

 

Ok thanks guys I think I'll go with a pertronix kit over the hei. Keep the look of the stock engine. Thanks for the info

 

Just put a Pertronix I in it and call it a day. If you used a Duraspark distributor you could run a GM HEI module. I have that in one of my vehicles. But really, for you a Pertronix is the way to go. I have one in my 428CJ

 

Assuming you're talking about using a DUI (Davis Unified Ignition) distributor, here's the weakness-
(also applies to the GM HEI distributor)....
The module is on top, in the engine bay, where it gets got. The module alone generates its own heat too.
That's why you have to heatsink the modules so carefully.

If you have the module separate and somewhere else, they live a lot longer. The electrical makeup of the
HEI module does exceed that of both the Duraspark and the Chrysler LX-101 units.

 

Do it!
Better all around and leaves less to question about if you are wondering what might not be "perfect" while tuning.
Drive around right before you do it then after and report back.

 

Your car only needs around 5-7 kilovolts at idle and roughly low 20's to run under acceleration. Unless your running high cylinder pressures and race I doubt you will notice a difference.

 

i guess I need a little education in the ignition department. can you describe the difference between the two systems for a dummy?

 

"Electronic Ignition" is the term for any system that replaces mechanical breaker points with a non-mechanical trigger. This can be a optical sensor where a light beam is interrupted, or a Hall-effect sensor, where a voltage is produced by passing a ferrous object past a magnetic field.

A solid-state "module" interprets the voltage using a transistor(s) to switch the ignition coil primary between closed (saturation of the windings) and open (interruption of current and collapse of the magnetic field across the secondary winding) to create the spark.

A HEI (a GM-term for "High Energy Ignition") system utilizes a distributor cap-mounted ignition coil and distributor-mounted control module to produce a higher voltage (approx. 45kv versus 25-35kv) spark. Spark output can also be boosted by spark amplifiers. One of the main reasons that GM introduced HEI was to be able to run wide spark plug gaps and, thus, better ignite the extremely lean mixtures needed to control HC (hydrocarbon) emissions.

Some of the advantages of "electronic ignition" over breaker points are.....

a. Since no "mechanical" function is needed, other than passing a device past a sensor, there is no degradation of spark at high rpms that could be caused by point bounce and,

b. Also, because of the lack of mechanical interface, no rubbing block to wear causing the point gap to gradually close up, nor arcing at the contacts to cause pitting or wear.

On the other hand, while points gradually wear out, "electronic ignition" components generally fail suddenly and completely, although reliability has improved greatly over the years. Heat is still the worst enemy of "electronic ignition" components.

Note that I did not mention CD or "Capacitive Discharge" ignition systems as these are not typical of automotive applications which, almost exclusively, use ID or "Inductive Discharge" ignition systems, which use an ignition coil(s) to generate spark, versus a large Capacitor.

 

HEI or "electronic ignition"? I see no need for HEI unless you have insane cylinder pressures or extremely low compression coupled with very lean mixtures. For the most part, points will never suddenly fail you and leave you by the roadside like anything "solid state". Probably the best of both worlds is a Pertronix Ignitor 1 with the old points and condensor thrown in a small box in the "on board emergency kit".

 

Another endorsement for Pertronix (Version 1) here.

 

Per the post above about "... for years"; there are a BOATLOAD of threads and worthwhile opinions about this topic here.

I've installed Pertronix (version 1) units on 4 different Fords (2 small blocks, 1 FE and a 200 I6) over the past dozen years with zero failures.

My two cents.

 

i have walked by mustangs at show HEI 351 dude I cant start ..... it ... LOL dont use them

 

Depends on the looks you like. I have an HEI setup on mine. The curve is great, no points to deal with, no external coil or control box, 55k volts, etc. etc. but it is big (and some say ugly). There are other (smaller) options that provide the benefits of an HEI.

 

i dunno we been fighting over this for years


FWIW I ran a P1 and MSD 6A box for 20 years. had no issues


recently went back to just points. to me car runs just as good, have no issues.


idle and pull are smooth and plugs are just as clean


best part is I dont need a shop manual and equiptment to trouble shoot it if I breakdown.