Hi to all,
I recently installed the lower part of my Stealth Ram manifold. My problem is I have a 86 Trans Am & my stock HEI does not fit this new manifold. I went out & bought a small cap distributor with the remote coil from the junk yard. When I tried to install the new smaller distr. It refuses to go all the way down into the hole in the back of the distributor! Ive been working on & installing Chevy motors for years & I've never ran into a problem like this before. I know about the oil pump shaft has to be lined up before the dist will go all the way down.
Upon closer observation I've discovered that on the dist. shaft, right under the part that holds & locks the distributor in place is a lot larger than any distributor I've ever seen. For example, If u put the new round dist gasket on top of the old one that came with the used dist. the new one will just about fit inside the old gasket. Does anyone have any idea what this dist. belongs to?
thanx
njdaewoo

 

All chev V8 distributors are the same. Even SBC and BBC are interchangable.

 

Why no, I don't think G.M. DO make different size.



I had to dude.

 

Except for the 348's and 409's.

 

what about the middle 90s LT1s?

 

Ill post some pictures on this topic in the morning, later

 

I hope your not talking about Opti-Crap, cause thats wayyyy different. I've got one in my Vette, and you can't mistake an opti from a regular HEI or points style distributor.

If you have an MSD 6 box, you can pick up a MSD 8361(small points STYLE) for under $200 bucks. Not saving you any money, but it will work.
I hate used junk yard distributors. Most of them have 100's of thousands of mile, and are so out of speck it's not funny. Don't expect rock solid timing with an old unit.

Ron

 

Here what an opti look like '86Tra/maro'...

Ron

 

No, its not like that!

 

Its like this!

 

The problem Im having is the size of the dist. right under the hold down. take a look for your self:

 

the dist. came out of a 93 cop car. Here is the comparison of the 2 dist. gaskets.

 

Those are the type of distributors I'm talking about in my previous post.

I have no idea why that new style HEI on the right has such a big collar. I'd suggest picking up another one. The junkyards should have lots. That's the style I use on my race car. It's small and simple and easy to use and don't wear out as much as the older style.

 

What type of intake used such a large distributor?

 

TTT on this one; no one was able to explain the problem --- and I can.

The 91-93 Bcars (Chev Caprice sedan & wagon, Buick Roadmaster sedan & wagon, Olds Custom Cruiser wagon) and probably the same year Fleetwoods (Dcar sedan and limo) all have a hood cowl that overhangs the engine bay. This makes it difficult to install the distributor with the engine and manifold still in the car.

So GM revised the sealing of the distrib to the intake manifold by making the hole in the intake manifold for the distributor larger than it had been previously. That allows the distrib to be tipped and inserted at a more shallow angle so it can clear the cowling, and then be installed.

So the 91-93 B/D distributors are different from other Gen I sbc distributors because they:

1. use a separate coil, so the dist cap is as small as possible.

2. have a larger diameter flange on the shaft housing.

together with

3. the TBI manifolds used from 91-93 on B/D TBI cars have a distributor hole that's larger in diameter, allowing it to mate with the B/D-specific distrib mentioned above.

It's also possible that the 89-90 TBI B/D cars (i.e. the "brick" body style years) also had similar clearance problems, so they might also have the specific large-flange small-cap distributor, and the corresponding large-dist-hole TBI intake manifold.

So the distributors are different, at least externally, and thereby so are the manifolds that they work with.

To add a little more confusion to this subject (which is very important for TBI-based B/D car owners who want to do an intake swap), is that the TBI trucks had intake manifolds that are taller (slightly) than those used on the TBI sedans, but are otherwise visually the same. The trucks also got a small cap distributor, but they also supposedly used the small-dist-hole intake.

I mention this because it's been alleged that 91-93 Bcars can use aftermarket carb-style manifolds with an adaptor plate, so long as they use the truck distributor. That allows the dist to seat properly in the manifold, but I don't know if the distributor can be installed when the manifold is on the engine and in the car. I've heard that it can be done, but I've never seen it nor tried it.

Finally, it's been said elsewhere on 3rd gen that all LO3/LO5 intake manifolds are the same. They aren't. There are the ones used on 3rd gen Fcar (in the TBI LO3); then there are the taller ones used on TBI LO3 and LO5 trucks; finally there are the manifolds used on the 91-93 B/D cars that have a wide flange hole for the distributor. The Fcar and Bcar manifolds probably differ only in the hole for the distributor, and that they would have different pns. The truck manifold shares the smaller size dist hole with the Fcar, but the manifold is taller. Taller would allow longer runners for enhanced torque, but the stock TBI manifolds don't look like very good flowing parts, so I don't know what the reason was for the taller manifold. I also don't know if the truck manifold would fit into either an Fcar or a Bcar based on hood-clearance alone.

I wouldn't be surprised if the cast runners are the same, or similar, among all these manifolds, but externally there are differences.

It would be useful, at some point, to get all the pns for these manifolds, together with comments about the plenum size(s) and distrbutors used on each, and the post them here.

FWIW, HTH.

EDIT: I have also been reminded that the 91-93 Caprice distributor is slightly shorter in overall length, by having the flange of the intake manifold machined to a shallower depth. Both work together to increase install/removal clearance.

 

The older, 1960s-early 70s style distributors had a smaller cap than the HEI and also an extrenal coil. I don't think these are as good as an HEI though.

 

and the majority of those dist. are points style..... then if you have FI, then you will have nothing to deliver an injector pulse.

 

There are 2 different sized caps if thats what you mean... there is the HEI which has a huge cap, and the points-type which has a fairly small cap. The points type was used till mid-74.

 

What the...?

I don't remember replying to this before, lol