another member told me i should switch distributors ,and i could not agree with him more. i have a 305 with the carb. the car has the distributor with the external coil bolted on the intake right in front of it. i would like to put in a hei distributor, but i don't know how to wire the hei from the 2 plugs that plug into the exsisting distributor. has anyone done this and remembers how the wires went? any help would be appriciated, the distributor went south on me ,and i can find the hei's all day long for a reasonable price. the only place i found one like mine is a local junk yard and he wants $60.00 for it. ebay only had two listed and they were rather high as well. thanks in advance for any help

 

Is the distributor really bad? Or is it just the cap and rotor?

If it is the distributor, or if you plan on changing it, plan on changing the carb too. These are both controlled by the computer, and changing one means changing both. Also you won't get any help with trouble codes, and O2 sensor. You will also need something like a vacuum advance because the computer will no longer be controlling timing.


In short, make sure it is really the distributor. Changing to a better cap, rotor, coil, w/same distibutor is much more cost effective than changing distributor, and carb and getting about the same results. Search the site a little, there are lots of posts about this topic.

If you still want to change distributors, I can look up the wiring in my Chilton. Mine was an internal coil on an 86 so I am unsure if it is exactly the same.

 

its the distributor that is bad i am only going to change styles as a last resort thanks for your help

 

87convertible

the 86 hei/est distributor has 4 wires for est, so does your external coil distributor, buy pigtails for the 86 style distributor and simply color match the wires and plug them in and it will be fine, painless harness sells the adapter harness to convert from a internal coil to a external coil, but I'm not sure they sell the opposite, I did this to make my 82 distributor work with my 88 harness.

 

FYI, you're NOT going to find a good cheap used 85-86 TPI distributor... It would be more than a good replacement for your current dist. Older style non-computer controlled HEI's won't work without gutting all the computer controlled garbage.

 

Just want to thank everyone for all the help. i found a pelacement just like the original one that was in the car. I was lucy enough to find a junk yard in the area that had one. I got it for $60.00 i put it in the car started right up ,but i do think i am a tooth off on the gear. the main thing is i was able to get my convertible in the new portable garage and out of the weather. Now i can really get to work on it. it's nice to know their is a board like this with guys (and girls) such as yourselves that are willing to share your knowledge with everyone. just to let everyone know it is greatly appriciated.

 

 

Glad to hear you got her runnin'!

I would have given you my stock distributor, but with shipping, and waiting, you probably did just as good for $60. Just upgrade the cap, rotor, coil, and wires when needed. You will get good spark then.

Maybe even a set of timing advance springs, or whatever they are called. I can't remember 'cuz I'm drunk right now.

good job gettin it done for only 60 bucks though. Seems like the only thing I can for 60 bucks to my car is get gas!

 

i appriciate that, i did get off easy for $60.00 i just wish every thing else was as cheap. i guess i am lucky as far as the gas thing to, it's usually cheaper in south carolina than any where else. drunk huh? beer whats beer, i havn't had a beer in 6 years although there are times i could use one. hell if i had the money i paid out in open container fines ,my car would be done right now. take it easy and thanks.