70 C10 resto-mod (was Chevy culture shock)

pdentrem said:
It is difficult to beat the HEI unit for spark power and reliability. I am using the HEI module on the Mopar electronic distributor in my ‘36. It has 318 and the spark box started to fail under high temperature conditions. A lot easier to find parts for the HEI than Pentronix or Mallory, used or new.
Pierre
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You could easily carry a spare for any of them, including the HEI spark module that goes out, but if you need the whole thing, you'll find a complete HEI almost anywhere fer sher
 
guero_gordo said:
You could easily carry a spare for any of them, including the HEI spark module that goes out, but if you need the whole thing, you'll find a complete HEI almost anywhere fer sher
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The greatest thing HEI has going for it is the abundance of parts, as with many other things Chevy did/does they made tones of them. I have run HEI, the system isn't bad for stock applications, it is very however, the slingers in the bottom are horrible about freezing up and curving them for Hi-Pro use is a pain short of buying the MSD version of them already set up. Just my opinion based upon my personal experience.
 
Pro tip, if you ever need an automotive duty variable reluctor conditioning circuit, the HEI module is ideal for that. A variable reluctor turns a Hall pulse into a square wave. It's one of the most important circuits for digital engine management and makes for versatile retrofitting for a number of sensor types, not just triggering ignition.

Curving the vac and mech advance is one of the things that make distributors a hack solution over digital. The Mr. Gasket HEI curve kits with bushings and smooth electroplate do pretty good, I DD'd them for decades. Remember when every shop had a distributor dyno? Much quicker than trial and error, now they are on craigslist with the sellers threatening to sell them as scrap. It's understandable, the crankshaft position module and cam position sensor have made distributors inefficient and obsolete. The difference is, for the 18 years I drove my C10 stepside, I never needed a tow truck, because all of that archaic mechanical stuff can be diagnosed and repaired on the side of the road with what I carried in my tool bag. That has a significant quality of its own.
 
pontiac428 said:
Pro tip, if you ever need an automotive duty variable reluctor conditioning circuit, the HEI module is ideal for that. A variable reluctor turns a Hall pulse into a square wave. It's one of the most important circuits for digital engine management and makes for versatile retrofitting for a number of sensor types, not just triggering ignition.

Curving the vac and mech advance is one of the things that make distributors a hack solution over digital. The Mr. Gasket HEI curve kits with bushings and smooth electroplate do pretty good, I DD'd them for decades. Remember when every shop had a distributor dyno? Much quicker than trial and error, now they are on craigslist with the sellers threatening to sell them as scrap. It's understandable, the crankshaft position module and cam position sensor have made distributors inefficient and obsolete. The difference is, for the 18 years I drove my C10 stepside, I never needed a tow truck, because all of that archaic mechanical stuff can be diagnosed and repaired on the side of the road with what I carried in my tool bag. That has a significant quality of its own.
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The Beast, which my brother says is uniquely me, is a 1967 Ford and still employees a great deal of that arcane tech. She has a 406 FE big block which produces 653HP 591Ftlbs of torque and is naturally aspirated... its all on the machine work, no cheating, blower, turbo, NOS, etc... LOL That Mallory system consist of the unilite distributor and a Mallory pro-line coil, the distributor is curved to 16 degrees BTDC at Start and 38 degrees BTDC at 7000 RPM. And just for general consumption the fuel system is running through a Holly Carbinator, affectionately known as the toilet, which flowed 960 CFM on the bench with jets you can drop an 1/8" drill bit through 3.5 power valves and 50cc accelerator pumps (yes, 2 power valves and 2 accelerator pumps.
 
I love it! I used to DD stuff like that, but that was before $4 ethanol-contaminated gas. Now I read directly off the crank and my ignition curve is in software. I still have older vehicles for toys, but retrofitted EFI is a lot nicer in those transitions between butterfly, accelerator pump, power valve, and secondary. Not to mention the difficulties of setting up retard curves for knock and water-methanol injection. Did I mention I have more books on carburetors and Holley spares than anyone I know? I spent years mastering that stuff, it used to be a point of pride, and now I don't want anything to do with it, at least not on a daily basis. The four circuits of the carb are represented in EFI and the driveability trouble causes and fixes are the same, but there is no hands-on, no screws to turn.

On the side of the road, I'd prefer the distributor and carb, no question. Nothing worse than troubleshooting an ignition failure with 25 miles to walk before seeing asphalt, that's a nail-biter. I carry a Win2K tablet PC and an inverter for the EFI, but it's not the same thing as cleaning the distributor cap terminals or replacing a blown power valve and getting back on the road.
 
pontiac428 said:
I love it! I used to DD stuff like that, but that was before $4 ethanol-contaminated gas. Now I read directly off the crank and my ignition curve is in software. I still have older vehicles for toys, but retrofitted EFI is a lot nicer in those transitions between butterfly, accelerator pump, power valve, and secondary. Not to mention the difficulties of setting up retard curves for knock and water-methanol injection. Did I mention I have more books on carburetors and Holley spares than anyone I know? I spent years mastering that stuff, it used to be a point of pride, and now I don't want anything to do with it, at least not on a daily basis. The four circuits of the carb are represented in EFI and the driveability trouble causes and fixes are the same, but there is no hands-on, no screws to turn.

On the side of the road, I'd prefer the distributor and carb, no question. Nothing worse than troubleshooting an ignition failure with 25 miles to walk before seeing asphalt, that's a nail-biter. I carry a Win2K tablet PC and an inverter for the EFI, but it's not the same thing as cleaning the distributor cap terminals or replacing a blown power valve and getting back on the road.
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The Beast is my hobby, once upon a time she was my daily driver and I approach her with enthusiasm; but, I haven't run her in a few years so she is setting up waiting on me. I will, hopeful, start a refit in the next year or so, it is on my list, I have owner her for 34 years.
IMG_20190825_140030184-1.jpgIMG_20190825_140049532.jpg
 
I helped my best friend restore his 78 Ranger, same body style. We built a 400M roller motor for it with a Holley 4160. Got it all complete and he was able to enjoy it for a year or two before he died. His brother ended up selling it because a vehicle like that needs more regular maintenance than his Toyota. I'm not a huge fan of the body style, but they turn my head out of famliarity.
 
pontiac428 said:
I helped my best friend restore his 78 Ranger, same body style. We built a 400M roller motor for it with a Holley 4160. Got it all complete and he was able to enjoy it for a year or two before he died. His brother ended up selling it because a vehicle like that needs more regular maintenance than his Toyota. I'm not a huge fan of the body style, but they turn my head out of famliarity.
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The 78 looks simlar but the biggest difference is it is a bigger body with a wider foot print, I like them though always thought they were good looking trucks.
 
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