[4dblnkldude]

Pic for reference.

[Half-Inch Stud]

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

[Formulas]

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

[NeighborsComplaint]

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

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

Looks like he has 2 of them .

... whats wrong with them ?

[Tom Vaught]

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.

[RocktimusPryme]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

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

.

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.

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by RocktimusPryme

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.

[4dblnkldude]

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.

[JSchmitz]

Originally Posted by 4dblnkldude

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?

[Formulabruce]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

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.

HEI failures in 77 -81 were due to bigger gap used in spark plugs on low compression engines. More amps drawn through system.. Easy fix for a extremely reliable system.
"POTTED" MSD. Well, there are plenty of those cooked and failed. Hanging on garage walls. Most notable are on Hot Rod power tours, in summer heat.
Running a medium amp draw sealed up system with NO way to cool it ( to protect your copyright) is a risk. Even a liquid system could help it. Of course its not needed on any pontiac that runs below 5k.

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

"POTTED" MSD. Well, there are plenty of those cooked and failed. Hanging on garage walls. Most notable are on Hot Rod power tours, in summer heat.
Running a medium amp draw sealed up system with NO way to cool it ( to protect your copyright) is a risk. Even a liquid system could help it. Of course its not needed on any pontiac that runs below 5k.

Your Chit does not line up, guy.

MSD has not made a Potted MSD unit in 25 years, and they only made them for Ford Racing. So your claims of Potted MSD Units on Hot Rod Power Tours, are suspect in content. Try again.

Tom V.

I see we have grandville back stirring up the chit when it was so quiet for several days. Have fun on this topic with the name calling.
I post facts, not opinions. I don't waste my time on BS posts.

[242177P]

Originally Posted by Tom Vaught

MSD has not made a Potted MSD unit in 25 years, and they only made them for Ford Racing.

LOL. Someone really needs to teach Tom how to use Google.
Here's a fully potted box, and it's NOT a Ford Racing exclusive.

https://www.holley.com/products/igni...oad/parts/6471

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by 242177P

LOL. Someone really needs to teach Tom how to use Google.
Here's a fully potted box, and it's NOT a Ford Racing exclusive.

https://www.holley.com/products/igni...oad/parts/6471

Nothing on Google about a 15 second cam grind though.

[Tom Vaught]

Originally Posted by 242177P

LOL. Someone really needs to teach Tom how to use Google.
Here's a fully potted box, and it's NOT a Ford Racing exclusive.

https://www.holley.com/products/igni...oad/parts/6471

The boxes (from MSD) that I was referring to were from MSD when it was a stand alone company. Holley (after several bankruptcies) is not the same Holley as the timeline I was referring to. Neither is the Quick Fuel Carb company that was spun off by Marvin Benoit and Marty Brown. Now owned by Holley version #3 or version #4.
Or even Edelbrock, as it was for many many years, when owned by Edelbrock.

So you guys are arguing over a Ignition Device that is there in NAME only.

Kind of like saying the knock-off Chinese Aeromotive Fuel System parts are as good as the True Aeromotive Fuel system parts.

But you do a internet search, find a similar box with the MSD name on it and
claim it as the original stuff. Again the stuff I was referring to was made by MSD for FORD, it was potted, it was not the same stuff offered to GM/Chrysler/ other drag racers. That stuff had a lot of vibration issues over the years.

So you found a potted "new" MSD Box, probably made in China, that is being sold. Good for you. Run those suckers.

Here is a video of a Chinese knock-off of a Bosch 044 fuel pump.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VECGSiAXrEU
(How to tell the difference from a true Bosch fuel pump and a Chinese pump)

Tom V.

[Baron Von Zeppelin]

I consider everybody on here a friend.

But i only had one GM HEI ignition failure in a lot of years during a lot of miles on numerous various vehicles i owned and drove regularly in the 80's and 90's.

74 Bird, 76 Chevy 4x4 (module crapped after about 200k miles-popped in a used one)
77 CatWagon, 77 CanAm, 79 TA

Once in a while would hear about a high mileage unit needing a new module.
i think Tom got a lemon
probably some other lemons squeezed out of the assembly lines too.
For the most part, they seemed almost bullet-proof and fool-proof.

[72projectbird]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

HEI failures in 77 -81 were due to bigger gap used in spark plugs on low compression engines. More amps drawn through system.. Easy fix for a extremely reliable system.
"POTTED" MSD. Well, there are plenty of those cooked and failed. Hanging on garage walls. Most notable are on Hot Rod power tours, in summer heat.
Running a medium amp draw sealed up system with NO way to cool it ( to protect your copyright) is a risk. Even a liquid system could help it. Of course its not needed on any pontiac that runs below 5k.

I have a few dead potted MSD boxes laying around.

I've always had the best luck with a real GM HEI ignition system.

[JSchmitz]

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!

[455Grandville]

Originally Posted by JSchmitz

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!

There’s a reason why so many off road Jeep/International Scout/Bronco guys have converted their late 70s to 80s Ford ignition systems to HEI distributors.

[Cliff R]

"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.....