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HEI conversion on 71 with points

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71ragtopBlzr

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Hey guys, just wondering if anybody here has converted a points setup to a HEI setup. I've done mine and now it seems that the truck just doesn't want to stay running very long, that and now the battery dies out a lot quicker. Thinking it could possibly be the HEI pulling too much power and causing the battery to die out quicker. Anybody else here have that problem or a remedy to it? Also looking for some diagrams on the wiring in the engine compartment (non-AC, 4WD, 350). Any and all help would be greatly appreciated since Chevrolet doesn't have any of this available to me here.
 
Doesn't take but a smidgen more, but you do need to run a 10 gauge wire from a switched terminal on your fuse box to it. I had missing problems with my '73 upgrade to HEI until I followed the CK5 guys advice and did just that! :wink1:
 
did you just take your power wire from the points and hook it up to your HEI? if so there is a restior in the wire that points uses but needs to be take out for hei, the swap should be pretty simple and easy
 
At first I thot you were asking if anyone had put HEI stuff in a points dizzy. Yes, I have done that. Then I realized that wasn't your question, but for any one considering this PM me as there's a couple tricks you'll want to know about.

If you did just use the original power wire to the points then the previously mentioned resistance wire is likely your problem. Can either pull a large gauge wire off the IGN switch, or use a relay to pull power directly off the battery (thru a fuse or breaker) to power the HEI. There's a reason GM puts a 10 gauge wire there, those things use some current.
I go the relay route if I have any question about if the stock IGN switch can handle that extra draw in addition to all of the other draws thru it.
 
Yep fat wire is good and if you are still running to the little ceramic type block on the firewall that is the problem. Take that off and just run straight. Ask me how I know.

Only after pulling the dizzy about 4 times and a couple caps and messing around was this pointed out to me:doah:
 
Thanks guys, been a big help to me here. I finally figured out that the little wire from the original coil was definitely the problem. There is an inline resistor as previously mentioned. That and the wire definitely wasn't big enough to carry the capicity of juice needed for the HEI coil. I've still got to try out the truck since the battery died and just haven't had the time to get back on it for now. Looks like it'll be down most of the rest of this year as new england winters can be hell on vehicles out here. That and it'll give me plenty of time to do some more mods to her.

Thanks again for all the help, now if only GM could be so informational to us as this board has.
 
another option

Another option is to put the original distributor back in and convert it with a Pertronix electronic ignition. It all fits under the original cap and replaces the points and condenser. I did this about 18 months ago and haven't had to look at it since.
 
I've had two general experiences with Pertronix parts. They either work well for a long time, or they fail. Pertronix is pretty good about warrantying those that fail, but unless you're carrying your old points set-up the failure could be a problem. Some of their applications use very specific to them parts. Meaning you can't just buy a rotor from VatoZone/Schlep Boys/Checkers. No idea if the GM apps are like that or not.
 
I've also seen the points eliminator kits as well, and was thinking of going that route. It was an Accel kit, but for a few more bucks I ended up buying the Accel billet HEI distributor. Which in my opinion is more worth it because of the advance springs and the adjustability that it also includes to basically work with any curve you want to throw at it.
 
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