This question may be really simple to answer, but I couldn't find anything in the archives for it. I have the accel distributor cap, coil, rotor and wires and i'm stuck on installing the cap. Instead of having four regular screws to bolt this thing to the distributor, the accel has four screws that have a 90 degree bend at the bottom. How the heck am I supposed to bolt this thing down? Any help would be appreciated

 

Just push down and clips underneath the distributor itself then twist them so they little L shaped part points inwards toward the distributor, and voi-la its holds on, Took me a second to figure it out too, I put one on my old 4.4L Malibu about 2 days ago. She starts with the turn of the key now though, just mint!! Good Luck.

 

Yah, I have accel rotar, cap, wires, and even had the plugs, but I didn't like them and switched to ac delco's. All you have to do is what gta said in the above post. Push the L down below the bottom part of the distributer and then turn inward toward the distributer so it locks itself underneath. The back two can be a little tricky, try a short screw driver. Or what I did is just put the back two on first so you can kind of tilt the cap backwards.

 

It sounds like you have the old style HEI cap. If you have a TPI engine, the distributor is slightly different and the caps do not interchange. The TPI cap is shorter and screwed down. I've run into this same situation at several parts stores that don't know any better.

Take that "designer" cap and rotor out back, throw them as far as you can, and run away like it's a frag grenade. Never look back.

Go get a Wells or Conrad DR2009G set , or a Standard "Blue Streak" set, and install them normally. They are better quality anyway. If you feel really guilty about getting better parts for less money, I'm sure you can talk the parts counter guy into taking an extra $10 or so from you just to save your conscience.

 

I disagree about about accel being crap. I had a blue streak set and it burnt up pretty quick. I like accel just fine.

 

He has the 85, so it will be the large style cap...

There are 2 caps that look identical to the eye, except that one has the screws and one has the ¼-turn things. Accel services both applications. I've gotten the screw one when I needed the ¼-turn one before.

I don't think the Accel one is poor quality either, it's much better than many others. It also has a feature that's becoming hard to find in an over-the-counter part: the rotor contact comes much closer to the cap contacts than most replacement parts do, thereby eliminating a "resistor" (gap) in the spark path that is put there for radio noise reduction.

 

I'm not arguing quality, just price. The Wells, Conrand, and Standard premium lines have high density glass fiber reinforced polyester resin, full-width solid brass terminals, deep arc chutes and flashover protection, and the rotor contains the "cup" and spring that shroud the carbon center contact in the cap. Most of them can be had for less than $20 per set, and they are far better than most generic replacements. I wonder who really makes the Accel components.

As for the fitment, while both caps are coil-in-cap design, the TPI distributor uses a lower profile cap. All the replacements I've done have screws instead of the bayonet clips. The part # for the TPI is DR2009G, and the "regular" HEI cap is DR2016G, IIRC. I have been handed the wrong cap more than once. Perform a parts lookup for the two engines and you will see that there are two different distributor caps specified. Even though both types have the same HEI coil provision, the following diagram shows the differences in tower height, overall cap height, and mounting means:

 

Thanks everyone who replied, today I just about lost my mind trying to get that stupid accel cap to bolt onto my distributor. RB and Vader were right on the money, my distributor is slightly different. The cap cracked by one of the bolt holes and I doubt I'll be able to return it. The coil, however, is just fine. Would I be able to use this coil on perhaps say a wells dist. cap? I have the accell super coil and it looks like a good peice. This whole bolt/screw situation on the cap really bothered me, why would they give me this L shaped bolt when the stock cap had a simple screw? I knew something was wrong. I noticed today when I tried to put the cap on that one of the three connectors that hook up to the distributor cap was well short of reaching its connection. Theres the battery, tach and a larger connector. The larger of the three I had a hard time extending to the cap. Does anyone have a pic of how it should look when the distributor is wired properly? Thanks

 

I would just take it back and tell them they gave me the wrong one. They may switch it and not even look in your box. And even if they do, I would tell them it was there mistake and if they wouldn't trade I would ask to talk to a manager. It's worth a try. They messed up.

 

Z,

bad84 has a good suggestion. The parts counter scrwed it up, so ask for a correct replacement.

As for the coils themselves: AFAIK (as far as I know), even though the caps are different, the HEI coils are the same. Your Accel coil may be a little taller and have a different coil cover, so you'll have to watch the clearance when you install the rear plenum trim cover.

As for a photo of the completed installation, I don't have a good, clear shot of just the cap without the other TPI items in the way. My primary wires are a little snug too, but there is still enough surplus wire to make the connections and have adequate slack to prevent the connectors from pulling off. If you were trying to connect to the taller LG4 cap, I could understand that you would have some tight wires. With the correct cap, the wires should reach just fine.

Ask for another Accel replacement (but for the correct application) this time. There is nothing wrong with them. Next time, however, check your options a little more and save a buck or ten.