[jhein]

I had my new Davis Unified HEI distributor installed. I'm kind of disappointed in the work on the distributor. They have the body 180 degrees off, from what I remember. That puts the vacuum advance crammed up against the intake on the driver side. They also have the wires oriented with #1 at the very back of the distributor facing the firewall. It sounds like they struggled with the install. The one good thing is they keep notes which they give to me so I can see what they did. It appears that on the first try they found TDC but it was on the exhaust stroke. They fiddled with it and eventually started over and got it right except for the orientation as mentioned. I was pretty surprised and disappointed by that. The other work they have done on the car has been good. Don't know what to say. I'm curious as to what others think. I know that if I want, they will correct it but I'm just going to do it myself.

Also, they changed the oil and said it took 7 qts to get to the full level on the dipstick. I thought these took 5-6 qts depending on the filter used. I have a stock oil pan and a Wix 51258 filter.

[fbody_mike]

Sure sounds like they did not realize that the Pontiac distributor spins counter-clockwise when the stabbed it in, and then tried everything to get it firing without pulling the distributor again. With the sloppiness, I'd be worried that they even set the timing properly, especially if the vacuum can is restricted in movement.

Not sure about the oil quart count, but if the dipstick isn't showing over filled it should be ok.

[unruhjonny]

Unless I have misinterpreted your post, you seem to be describing the distributor placed in the correct orientation;
I looked for a picture to find you, but the best I could muster for now is Figure 6E-49;
In the 1970 Pontiac service manual;
It's at the lower left corner of page 6E-35.
This appears to be the orientation you have described your distributor as sitting - which is correct.

A similar image can be found on page 6D-6, and is intended to show the TCS solenoid location.

If your distributor is installed, and clocked correctly, the number one wire should be at the vacuum advance as per figure 6E-48 on the bottom of page 6E-27.

It is possible to clock and rewire the distributor 180 degrees out, but that can present other problems.

[jhein]

Originally Posted by fbody_mike

Sure sounds like they did not realize that the Pontiac distributor spins counter-clockwise when the stabbed it in, and then tried everything to get it firing without pulling the distributor again. With the sloppiness, I'd be worried that they even set the timing properly, especially if the vacuum can is restricted in movement.

Not sure about the oil quart count, but if the dipstick isn't showing over filled it should be ok.

Initial timing is at 10 which seems OK. I have not checked total yet.

[jhein]

Originally Posted by unruhjonny

Unless I have misinterpreted your post, you seem to be describing the distributor placed in the correct orientation;
I looked for a picture to find you, but the best I could muster for now is Figure 6E-49;
In the 1970 Pontiac service manual;
It's at the lower left corner of page 6E-35.
This appears to be the orientation you have described your distributor as sitting - which is correct.

A similar image can be found on page 6D-6, and is intended to show the TCS solenoid location.

If your distributor is installed, and clocked correctly, the number one wire should be at the vacuum advance as per figure 6E-48 on the bottom of page 6E-27.

It is possible to clock and rewire the distributor 180 degrees out, but that can present other problems.

I see that on page 6E-35 but that's for the points distributor. I remember the HEI being the other way around, but I could be wrong. Regardless though, the way they have it in now is not good. It is impossible to get access to the vacuum hose on the vacuum advance. The nipple is literally under the intake. I could probably get it off but I'm sure I could not get it back on without rotating the distributor. It's still possible to check the timing by pulling the hose off at the other end then capping the port.

My understanding is that you can theoretically orient the body and rotor anyway you want as long as you have the motor at TDC on compression for #1 and have the rotor going to #1 and follow the firing order. The way they have it setup gives no access to important parts and makes the plug wire lengths off. So even though it works, it's not practical.

I'm just going to pull it out and redo it.

These guys have done a lot of work on this car and it's all been good except for this. But, for a good mechanic, I don't think this should have been a difficult job.

[Formulabruce]

You can take it out, back up the engine rotation equal to
One tooth,rotate it back slightly , and put it back in. This will put the vacuum nipple on the advance facing more straight forward.

[jhein]

Originally Posted by Formulabruce

You can take it out, back up the engine rotation equal to
One tooth,rotate it back slightly , and put it back in. This will put the vacuum nipple on the advance facing more straight forward.

OK, apparently I have mis-remembered the location of the vacuum canister, it does go on the driver side, it's just rotated too far up against the intake. So I think you are correct, it's probably off by just one tooth.

[Kenth]

First set timing mark on damper on 0 or TDC with #1 in fireing position.
Adjust if needed the oilpump driveshaft.
Hold the distributor with vacuum advance AND rotor pointing 90° of engine lenght to drivers side fender.
With distributor seated rotor will point at drivers seat and #1 ignition cable terminal in cap.
Install the rest of cables i fireing order (CC).
Turn the distributor half inch or so CW, start engine and set initial timing with a timing lamp.
Jobs done!

[jhein]

Originally Posted by Kenth

First set timing mark on damper on 0 or TDC with #1 in fireing position.
Adjust if needed the oilpump driveshaft.
Hold the distributor with vacuum advance AND rotor pointing 90° of engine lenght to drivers side fender.
With distributor seated rotor will point at drivers seat and #1 ignition cable terminal in cap.
Install the rest of cables i fireing order (CC).
Turn the distributor half inch or so CW, start engine and set initial timing with a timing lamp.
Jobs done!

That is the best description I've seen so far on how to do it.

However, I think I've made a mountain out of a molehill. I was thinking about this as I was waking up this morning and figured it out.

The problem is that the distributor body is rotated too far clockwise putting the vacuum canister up against the intake. To fix that, all I have to do is rotate it back CCW the amount of one plug wire terminal. Then move all the plug wires CW one terminal, check the timing and I'm done.

So they really got everything right except they indexed the wires on the cap in not-the-best position.

[Kenth]

This is the preferred orientation of the plug wires for Pontiac V8´s.

[jhein]

Ok, I decided to just pull it out and redo it. I installed it as Kenth described above but, there is some interference between the vacuum canister and the cylinder head if you do it exactly that way. So I installed it with the rotor facing 90 deg from the axis of the block, but I had to point the vacuum canister pointing back towards the driver's seat, which is where the rotor ends up too. From there, I can see why the mechanic was a little frustrated because the wires (DUI LiveWires) don't fit very well. The number 8 was too short but I swapped it with the number 7 and it worked. 2 and 3 were both barely long enough. But, at least now it's in and my vacuum canister is free and my plug wires are all in the right place. I ordered a new set of ACDelco wires. Hopefully they're better.

Anyway, she fired up on the second try. I had the timing a little too retarded on the first try. I have the initial timing set at 11 and it runs good with no pinging even when I lugged it a little going uphill. I probably need to do a little tuning of carb but it's running well right now, seems much more responsive. I suspect that's more the carb than the HEI, maybe a little of both.