Nope it's not a import BWD Select Part # CBE4 Made in USA BWD Automotive 37-18 Northern Blvd Long Island City N.Y Gene
Well today my cheapo Ebay module died, in the hot sun of course. Didn't have 50 miles on it. The old stock module lasted 40+ years. Then I remembered, those Ebay modules were so cheap I bought 2, and there it was in the glove box. Back home now, wondering where to get a good one. This Made in USA one sounds good, any thoughts? https://www.ebay.com/itm/GM-Chevy-I...120140?hash=item4ad3b0340c:g:y00AAOxyPLpRe1TA
I snag all the old HEI distributors I can, just to have a few spare modules. I and everyone I know has not had much luck with the aftermarket versions.
Is there anything wrong with the current AC Delco or Accel(both $50) units? Been out of the loop on HEI replacement bits.
Don't know. Isn't some of the Delco stuff made in China now (not that they haven't figured out electronics, my 55" TV works great)? Speaking of Accel, I should point out that the coil that has been on there for the last 3 decades at least has about 1 ohm resistance (with all wires connected) and is running straight system voltage. No idea what HEIs are supposed to have. Somehow I mounted the HEI stuff in an old style distributor and the module is external.
it would be interesting to see what's inside the distributor....you can use an old Transistor Ignition distributor from the 60s with other modules, such as HEI. I think you can use points with an HEI module, if you want to really have fun. https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/how-to-trigger-hei-using-stock-points-dist.978979/ .
Back years ago when I was the ONLY one making HEI distributors for makes other than GM (AMC, Jeep, Studebaker 6 &V8, Packard, Hudson (Clifford Performance bought a whole boxful of ign&distributors from me at a time), some Ford, some outboards and forklifts) , and had the market all to myself when no one else wanted in, I discovered that the best way to make a module last a long long time was to get it out of the engine compartment heat, and mount it on a well grounded metal plate in the passenger compartment under the dash. If it ever does fail, it takes only a couple minutes to unplug, and plug a new one. It changed a ritual of once every two year replacement under the hood in a parking lot far from home, into a ten year lifespan before I needed to change the next one in two minutes time. MOVE THE MODULE TO SOMEWHERE COOL. I still use one I built for my Stude truck in the 1980s almost daily. It still starts right up. I think I went thru 3 modules so far. Jack Heidel just set FIVE NEW SPEED RECORDS in his Studebaker Avanti just last September on the Arkansas Mile. He opened his hood and proudly showed me that he is still using the Stude HEI I built for him in the 1990s. THAT WAS SO COOL! I am so glad he did that. IT MADE MY DAY Mine would sizzle and jump a one-inch gap. View attachment 4362351 WHY BE ORDINARY ?
Easy enough, 'bout time to peek under there anyway. I seem to remember cutting a shaft but I don't even think I owned a lathe back then, might have been some other project. Maybe just an HEI shaft in the points housing. Yes, I agree with the cooling. Mine is on a bracket bolted to the bell housing, which I figured was cooler than in the distributor. The bracket was darn hot yesterday when it failed though. I had looked around for another spot but on a fiberglass car (C2 Vette) good metal spots are hard to find. Maybe I will screw it down inside the glove box, right next to the spare modules. That said, I had been running to school and back, all neighborhood streets, for some time with the cheapo module. Yesterday when it failed I had just gotten of the highway, and had punched it couple times (the old 454 still gives a bit of a thrill) and I also wonder if rpm or load has any bearing on it.
Indeed...I bought an AC Delco water pump for my o/t Camaro from Rock Auto. Was surprised and disapointed to see made in China when the box arrived.
My homemade Studebaker, AMC, Jeep, Hudson, Packard, Ford, speedboat&forklift HEIs 30 yrs ago packed a real punch, and could light up a room WHY BE ORDINARY ?
On my big block and LT-1 C3 vettes the distributors were TI and had the transistor box on the front of the drivers side inner fender to keep it cool. I replaced the transistorized module with modern guts but left it in the factory location for cool factor. You could buy one of the those boxes, clean the engine bay up a notch and keep that module cooler while you're at it.
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