How To Re-Curve A Distributor, And Why!
Bad-Ass Racing Engines specializes in building some of the baddest street and race engines around!
www.badasscars.com
HEI distributor conversation...
- Thread starter jimkyser
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
1911
chupacabra
Re-curving a dizzy for a 2F/3FE is usually only done after de-smogging. The EGR system needs retarded timing by its nature, diluting the air-fuel mixture with exhaust gases. So when you ditch that system, you can benefit from a more aggressive advance curve.
The 3FE dizzy is an all-electronic, ball-bearing dizzy like the FJ60 one; no advantage in going backward, as long as the length is the same (I've never had both out and side by side at the same time - but the 3F has a shorter stroke than the 2F, so I'm not certain they're the same length).
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2008
- Threads
- 291
- Messages
- 3,498
- Location
- West MI near GVSU
- Website
- www.mcdesignsoffroad.com
Thank you for the info. That makes sense. I won’t have the engine til later this summer and then I’ll start messing with it.
DirtDauberGarage
SILVER Star
These seem to be affordable and a few of the folks on MUD have recommended them. It doesn't say that it works on a 1F but most of the threads seem to indicate that the distributor is the same for both 1F and 2F. Is that true?
Will this work on a 1F motor??
swperformanceparts.com
Will this work on a 1F motor??
HEI Complete Distributor 65K Coil Straight 6 41-62 194, 216, 235, 68-87 Compatible with Early Chevrolet Land Cruiser FJ40 FJ60 2F 3F One Wire Installation Black Cap
A-Team's HEI Distributor has everything you need, all under one cap. With a high-quality aluminum housing and hardened steel dual bushing construction, it is built to last.
swperformanceparts.com
I bought a DUI straight from summit for my 40. It was a plug and play situation. EDIT 69 40 1f engine. Around $300 plug and play
Last edited:
DirtDauberGarage
SILVER Star
Thanks. I know that DUI makes a good distributor.
According to Summit it is the same distributor for F1 or F2 so I am guessing the distributor is the same on these engine????????
It is and it was so easy.
Does this do away with the normal external coil and ignitor I currently run on the factory setup?
Yes all for eBay. I carry a spare on extended trips even though it’s pretty bulletproof. Spares aren’t much but all together almost the cost of a whole distributor.
Any chance you have a link for what you have?
I used something similar (i.e. cheap unheard of brand bought from ebay) and used it for several years.These seem to be affordable and a few of the folks on MUD have recommended them. It doesn't say that it works on a 1F but most of the threads seem to indicate that the distributor is the same for both 1F and 2F. Is that true?
Will this work on a 1F motor??
HEI Complete Distributor 65K Coil Straight 6 41-62 194, 216, 235, 68-87 Compatible with Early Chevrolet Land Cruiser FJ40 FJ60 2F 3F One Wire Installation Black Cap
A-Team's HEI Distributor has everything you need, all under one cap. With a high-quality aluminum housing and hardened steel dual bushing construction, it is built to last.
It worked. Sort of. The engine ran, started and ran. Kept back firing through the carb though. And through the exhaust. And didn't really accelerate fast.
The original distributor appeared to have been updated with pertronix I think, and something about it didn't really look right (like the switch was just kinds loose and poorly installed, I forget) and every time I set the timing I'd drive around the neighborhood a bit to test, come back to the garage, and it'd changed a bit... Got tired of constantly resetting it, and the cheapo chinesse HEI solved some issues, but not all.
Once I started getting really annoyed with the cheapo HEI and began troubleshooting I found the vaccum advance was doing nothing (pretty much just stuck) and the mechanic advance seemed questionable. I finally just spent the money for a DUI late last year, and believe most of the issues are better, but only drove a short bit with it so far due to winter (top off).
My DUI has been awesome. Just make sure that when you get spares or replacements for the internals they don’t sell you v8 stuff. That will cause the same issues discussed above. Runs but lots of misfire and extremely loud backfire.
How did you get the timing set so that it fires at the right time.
Traditionally, I use a timing light, and a vacuum gauge and my ears and my seat of the pants.
Do you mean on a running engine or trying to start an engine with a new dizzy?
If you're having trouble either way, perhaps start a new thread, with specifics and pictures instead of replying to three old threads...
Well I have a whole build thread for "Uma" but I just recently got my "new" 2F back from the machine shop. I am going to build it up now that I have all of the parts back from the machine shop. I know about getting the cam and crank lined up and getting the flywheel set to TDC on the compression stroke so that the dizzy can fire at the right time. I am trying to figure out how to get the HEI distributor to fire at the correct time to give it life.
A first-time firing up then.
At TDC compression #1 and the dizzy fully seated, usually with the dizzy rotor pointed in the general direction of sparkplug hole #4, put the dizzy cap on so that sparkplug wire #1 is on top of, or near, the dizzy rotor. With ignition on, first turn the dizzy body clockwise a bit, then turn the body counter-clockwise listening for the spark arc (a faint pop) between the rotor and the sparkplug wire terminal. That's a good place to make it fire. Ideally, have someone turn the key to start while you rotate the dizzy body slightly until you hear it do something.
