distributor question

hey guys
Its been a while, but I have a question. Since I am converting from a small block to a big block, I have a problem with the distributor. I had a Proline HEI unit on the small block and it fit fine. But now with the engine in the bay and looking at where the dist. will sit, there is no way the large HEI unit will fit:confused:. I sure don't want to pound on the firewall to make it fit like my buddy says, but thats the only way it looks like it will fit. Anyone run into this?? I don't mind going back to points and would hate to throw out the Proline. Any good suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks--Eric

Check in to petronix a couple of my friends went with them and really like them

in my 74 a gm hei fit it was close but i had about 1/8 in of space between that and the firewall
watch out tho if your motor mounts are close or when you go to r&r a trannie it will break the cap and the rotor ask me how i know lol
later on
josh

Check your body mounts if they are bad this will make a huge difference for clearence.I'm running a BB with a stock HEI and have a 1/2" clearence some are worse then others,but it had way more room after I change the body mounts.You can check by simply jacking the car up on the sub frame behind the firewall to see how much flex is in the frame and body!

BB cars also use a different cross member that could be causing a problem too!

Try shimming the back of the trans up a bit. Not the best fix, but cheap. It might mess with your driveshaft angle, but if you're not racing the car it's not a huge problem

I got out the hammer on my nova .... Doesn't look too bad, took my time and hammered in that bump ..... it's still a tight fit.

It was worth it to never have to deal with points ever again : )

Shankins bb has a msd dist and clears by a couple of inches.

My coil in cap HEI fit in my '74 with the 350 ok.

(Don't mind the crud...it's mostly original)

http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c296/Mad4Morgans/350nova.jpg

Just buy an energy suspension trans mount ... they are very tall ... that would lift ur tranny up and thus increase clearence :eek::p

Just buy an energy suspension trans mount ... they are very tall ... that would lift ur tranny up and thus increase clearence :eek::p

Will this not add stress to the driveshaft as you're not changing angles at the tail endput and rear pinion bearing ??

Also, some 74 had indents in the firewall already to accommante HEI ....

If possible I would suggest using a conventional points style unit with an aftermarket conversion inside...we use the Crane Fireball product and it works well. OEM points distributors are plentiful..get a good core...have it cleaned and checked out...install the electronic unit...setup the advance curve..install it and forget it. Firewall clearance won't be a problem with the OEM distributor...

wilma

hey guys
Its been a while, but I have a question. Since I am converting from a small block to a big block, I have a problem with the distributor. I had a Proline HEI unit on the small block and it fit fine. But now with the engine in the bay and looking at where the dist. will sit, there is no way the large HEI unit will fit:confused:. I sure don't want to pound on the firewall to make it fit like my buddy says, but thats the only way it looks like it will fit. Anyone run into this?? I don't mind going back to points and would hate to throw out the Proline. Any good suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks--Eric

Did you install big block frame mounts and engine mounts when converting from sbc to bbc ? mismatching your mounts moves your engine rearward. dragracers started using different mounts a long time ago to get the engines as far back as possible for weight transfer reasons. sbc mounts move it back some and using six cylinder mounts will put the engine into the firewall. If you get the proper frame and engine mounts you should be able to use your distributor. Having bbc frame mounts in your Nova will also help with clearance on the driver side manifold/headers.

Tommy :)

Why not go with an MSD pro billet setup? They are still HEI but use a small diameter cap with an externally mounted coil. Other then the fact that you need an MSD box to run them. Or you could go with a ready to run one: http://msdignition.com/dist_1.htm