69 diys hei conversion problem??

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Jul 6, 2009
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Location
sonoma county, ca.
Hey there new to this group, I have a 69 fj40 I just put a chevy hei distributor after changing drive gear and grinding off flange to drop in lower clamped it with stock hold down and a bushing- New cap,rotor, module, capacitor and wires. Heres the problem got it started and it runs worse than before really rough idle and tried to time it to the bb and it seems ok then dies for no reason, start it up again and rev it and it misses something terrible. I dont know what vehicle this distributor came off of originally but could it be advance weights and springs problem, also plugs are newish platinum at old gap of .32 what should a hei need gap wise thanks for any imput.
 
Howdy! I would think the HEI would gap plugs more like .045. Check to make sure you did not bump one of the other vacuum lines while working on this. John
 
Widening your gap is possible with an HEI but that shouldn't cause your symptoms.

It's possible your shaft is worn and scattering spark. Pull the cap and wiggle the rotor around. There shouldn't be any real noticeable play either up and down or side to side. Six cylinder HEI distributors supposedly wear out much faster than the V8 versions. If yours is a junk yard find that could be part of the problem.

I've also had the same kind of thing with a bad coil. I've never had a module go bad so I can't speak to that.
 
Widening your gap is possible with an HEI but that shouldn't cause your symptoms.

It's possible your shaft is worn and scattering spark. Pull the cap and wiggle the rotor around. There shouldn't be any real noticeable play either up and down or side to side. Six cylinder HEI distributors supposedly wear out much faster than the V8 versions. If yours is a junk yard find that could be part of the problem.

I've also had the same kind of thing with a bad coil. I've never had a module go bad so I can't speak to that.
Howdy! I have had one V8 module die, and when it goes, there is NO spark. It won't fire at all. I think they are all or none. John
 
when the coil itself is going bad it can cause oddball issues like misfires and whatnot. worked on a friends car with this hei issue for a while before we determined the coil was intermittenly shorting to ground on its own...
 
I opened up the cap and checked play seemed ok it does go up and down a little -1/8" . the weights labled 90 (both)seemed a little loose on their pivots and sticky so I cleaned them up and put it all back togther still loose on their pivotsand springs dont seem really strong but I dont know what it should be like, robbed a coil from my 73 chevy, re gapped the plugs to .045 and charged the battery. got it started and timed seems to run better Got to back off of the idle screw which was bottomed on the weber. I still wish I could find out what guys have in the dui distributors as to weight size and spring setup to get a more custom advance curve. thanks for the imput and help so far.
 
Howdy! Are you adjusting the idle speed screw which is on the throttle linkage, or the idle mix screw which is on the carb body? Mix screw should be 2-3 turns out from bottom. Turn very gently to bottom or you can damage the orifice/needle. If you have been running with the mix screw bottomed, or close to it, that would explain a lot of idle problems. John
 
so I think I got it, it was the idle speed screw on the linkage, my idle mixture screw is about 1-1/2 to 2 turns out, changes my primary idle jet to a .50 and primary air correction to a 170 and main primary to a 140and now purrs really smooth. now to deal with my swiss cheese muffler any recommendations?? magnaflow any good any diys systems from the header back??
 

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