$580 of scrap aluminum
 

Pic for reference.

I assume a GM HEI would do better at around $60.

Can you stuff it with gm spec components ? I take it the flame thrower was a flash in the pan

Maybe the housing bearings and shaft will support a good future

$389 is the highest priced (Billet Igniter III Billet) on eBay ... you paid $580?

Looks like he has 2 of them .

... whats wrong with them ?

Not a fan of HEI type ignitions.
I had several of them fail me on my 1978 Trans Am.

Carried a Spare HEI Module in the glove box after the first two failures.
All were installed properly using GM directions and chemical dope.

Never again.

That being said I have an old "potted" MSD Ignition Box mated with a GM
transistor type distributor. Not one issue 40 years.

Tom V.

That right there is the beauty of the GM HEI though. You can affordably and portably essentially carry a field repair kit.

Nobody likes failures, but boy its nice to be able to fix them them on the side of the road with a screwdriver and maybe $20 in spare parts, small enough to go in the glove box.

You can carry a spare MSD box too, but the cost is a bit higher.

The typical MSD Box (with the cover on the outside and the wires flopping around inside (along with many potential
failures from vibration) is the typical unit that fails occasionally. More so in race vehicles which is why MSD offered a
"switch" that allowed a race car to switch from the Race Box to the Back-up Box with a flip of a switch.

So then every race vehicle had to carry TWO MSD Boxes in their race cars.

My POTTED (epoxy filled) SVO Ford MSD Box, (FORD had them made for the Ford Race Teams for a reason), has never failed me in 40+ years.
I will stick with the (epoxy filled) SVO Ford MSD Box vs the HEI.

Tom V.

They will support better components in the future I guess. The caps dont fit right, the gear is cut very different, and the weights flop around. I put in a regular old GM HEI readjusted the q jet to the new dizzy and gained 50 HP probably. The car now runs awesome, it is just a stock 77 400 block and still slow by my standards . It will be lucky to maybe tick off a 14.99 but the car now does what it should.

How did you end up with two if they are so bad? Did you try to return one or both?

I have logged decades of daily driven miles in HEI equipped vehicles. Had one module failure and one pickup coil failure. The pickup coil only failed because it was a worn out engine pushing oil into the distributor housing. Suggesting that HEI's are unreliable is one of the most ridiculous things that I've read on here to date. Maybe if Ford had filled the HEI with epoxy it would be better! LOL! :)

"They will support better components in the future I guess. The caps dont fit right, the gear is cut very different, and the weights flop around. I put in a regular old GM HEI readjusted the q jet to the new dizzy and gained 50 HP probably."

Hey, at least they are nice and shiny and look cool under the hood.

Seriously you found out why I will not touch any aftermarket HEI clones for any reason. Nothing but pure JUNK!

I'll sort thru the core pile till I find a stone stock one with a good lower bushing and shaft and make a few minor changes to the advance mechanism and good to go for about 30-40 years or so. By the time it develops an issue nobody reading this is much gonna give a chit anyhow!.........FWIW.....

Glad you have the HEIs figured out. I never had one issue with the basic distributor on my TA, it was always the Modules.

__________________________________________________ ___________
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Jschmitz "Suggesting that HEI's are unreliable is one of the most ridiculous things that I've read on here to date. Maybe if Ford had filled the HEI with epoxy it would be better! LOL!"

Ford did not run HEI Ignitions in their NASCAR Vehicles.
GM did not run HEI systems in their NASCAR Vehicles.

I was speaking of my experiences with HEI and MSD systems.
Go back and read the post again. The rest of your comment is typical.
You obviously know little about MSD and NASCAR racing systems.
I put a very durable Racing ignition system on my vehicle for 40+ years.
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Thanks for the post Cliff.

We have had a nice quiet board the last couple of weeks, lots of info passed.
But we still have some who want to stir the chit on the most basic ignition type question.
99% are back to being civil with others.

Tom V.

Whatever Tom. You said you never liked HEI's and had several fail. You were saying they are unreliable. And, AS USUAL, start touting some Ford crap that nobody else in the world has but you. Who cares? MOST cars don't need a multiple spark ignition system. I don't know, and don't care about, what they are running in NASCAR. What does that have to do with this discussion? I just love busting your chops because you get butt hurt so easy! :)

My 75 Chevy Camaro had the most reliable HEI ignition I ever owned. I ran it for 41 years and 160,000 miles without a hiccup until I sold the restored car two years ago. I never realized they had problems until I joined this site.

How could I possible be butt hurt, I have a Titanium plate in my pants.
You are not busting my chops. Course your tool might have scars on it.
Tom V.

Glad you had great luck with your 75 Camero, my issues were with a 1978 Pontiac Trans AM. 3 years later

If tjs72lemans can post about his 75 Camero on a "Pontiac Website" without "comments" seems fair that I could post about a Ford ignition on my 64 GTO.

I posted the issues and the FIX, (selling the 1978 TA). Never needed a FIX with my MSD stuff on my PONTIAC GTO.

Tom V.

Touche! :)

The only OEM HEI problem I ever had was a pickup coil. Have driven many hundreds of thousands of miles in several different cars without other issues at all. IMHO it's the best street ignition system ever. Your mileage obviously varies :)

In my career in the electronics biz, I have found that the large percentage of OEM electrical/electronics failures are due to human error/misuse. Not saying those are the cases reported here, just my observations.

George

I would agree with what you have posted, George.

When the 1st Module failed, the Chief Mechanic replaced it at the dealership.
I observed the change-over. I carried a spare module and the special grease
in the clove box.

When the second, third, fourth, and fifth module failed, I installed the same spare module
and made a visit to my Uncle's dealership, the first chance I got, and the Chief Mechanic again
changed the modules UNDER GM WARRANTY.

So each time, the repair was documented by the dealership and the Chief Mechanic/Dealership
was paid by GM for the repair, (parts and labor).

I do not know how long the "Spare Module" would last, as it was always removed and a new GM part,
on a Warranty Parts and Labor invoice was filed and sent to GM.

So you are probably correct in some cases. I would disagree with your statement as related to my vehicle
and the Chief Mechanic who did the work (several times).

I bought a Pontiac Bonneville "family car" NEW to replace the TA and drove it 97,000 with no issues
as related to the ignition system. Go Figure.

Tom V.