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HEI / cap, rotor, coil...

6115 Views 24 Replies 8 Participants Last post by  Boss Man
There's nothing wrong with my distributor, but I would like to replace
the cap and rotor - and would like to have a coil laying under my seat
as a spare in case my would fail. There are lots of kits available
at Summit - but what's the best buy? Pertronix? MSD? Proform? Summit brand? Hypertech? Mallory? I would like to have a good quality for an average price. Has someone a recommendation with part# and price, please?

Thanks,
Loaf

PS: I also need those swing arm slider adjusting bolts. Allen heads 1/2" x 4 1/2" long - stainless steel. I'm tired of wiping out the rust from the stock bolts after every water contact. Seems impossible to get them over here in Europe. Does someone know a good address for these stainless bolts?
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HEI Alternative

Loaf,

I know this is an area of personal preference and there is no "right" answer. However, my personal favorite is the MSD replacement kit. It fits right in the standard HEI distributor housing and allows you to put in a standard coil if yours fails. You also could put your original module back in if you were on the road and had a failure.

MSD has a "redesigned" MSD HEI ignition module, coil and cap. You might want to check it out.

www.msdignition.com

Cap 84111
Rotor 84101
Coil 8225
Module 83645

You can buy all the parts as a kit #8502. The previous kit was #8501.

This assembly provides a hotter spark and no misfires up to 9,000 rpm. A considerable improvement over the stock stuff.
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Many thanks, Neil.
This was the answer I needed. The new MSD kit #8502 is not available
at Summit yet, but the kit #8501 is on my Summit wish list now, and will
be part of my next order.

Hey, must be very early in the morning over there in Florida, Neil?
It's 12.02 pm here in Germany...hmmm...6 hours backwards...6am
in Florida, right?

Loud pipes,
Loaf
PS: I also need those swing arm slider adjusting bolts. Allen heads 1/2" x 4 1/2" long - stainless steel. I'm tired of wiping out the rust from the stock bolts after every water contact. Seems impossible to get them over here in Europe. Does someone know a good address for these stainless bolts?[/quote]

Loaf, If you still have the old bolts, try coating the threads with anti-seize compound, in fact you can coat the slider block as well. After you have your belt adjusted and the slider bolts tightened, just remember to tighten the adjuster bolts a bit with some torque on them so they don't fall out while travelling down the Autobahn!! I've done this to my bike and it works well. :D
Loaf,
I think Chopper City sells them made out of aluminium (also lighter than stock).
Peter (The WingMan back from Spain)
Hi Bryan,
yes, you are right regarding anti seize to the threads and the slider blocks. I always do that when I take my rear wheel out. Oh, and yes, I almost lost a bolt this season, cause I forgot to tighten the left bolt after I adjusted the belt tension. :oops:
But it's not the rust inside the swing arm - it's the rust in the socket head bolt's that I don't wanna look at any more. I would like to have them in SS. But a friend from CO (Mike Koehn) *kiss, kiss* :lol: gave me a nice address, where I can get them probably. I'll polish the heads, then they'll fit perfectly to the polished cones and the
chrome of the swing arm. I also changed all those other rusty bolts at my bike, including the bolts of the tranny housing to stainless steel- the new 2 speeds have zinc plated bolts, but my single speed had ugly, black/rusty ordinary steel bolts all aroud the tranny covers. I hope the SS bolts will withstand the forces, because SS will not corrode, but it is not as strong as normal steel - time will tell.

Peter,
I think you talked about the slider blocks - not the bolts. Great to hear that you are back from Spain. I'll call you the next days, pal. There are ton's of news!

Loaf
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Loaf...Jegs has the 8501 and I have it in my bike...great! Jegs #121-8501. Check it out. Easy install and great performance...Joe
zenbiker said:
Loaf...Jegs has the 8501 and I have it in my bike...great! Jegs #121-8501. Check it out. Easy install and great performance...Joe
Hehehe...Joe, you're unbelievable...is there any part out in this big world you don't already have in your bike? What excactly was the difference after installing the kit? Is there really a noticable increase of performance? Maybe better cold starting, or better milage? I ordered the kit an hour ago along with some other parts like a Carter 4070 fuel pump, and a K&N air filter with X-Stream top at Summit.

Loaf
Loaf...The main difference I noticed immediately was the idle with my Comp cam. Always wandered from 900-1100 RPM but after installation I have it at a nice steady 900 RPM. The damn thing is so responsive and fast that I can't really tell you in all honesty that I can feel a difference in the butt dyno. It just pulls clean and mean...Joe
Loaf...I can tell you for sure that the X-Treme lid made a noticable difference in performance even more so than the ignition upgrade...Joe
Loaf...I really believe these engines are somewhat air starved because of under tank space limitations. Remember that these V8s have 11" or bigger air cleaners in a car and our's are 7". I can't remember the site someone posted which allowed calculation of the cfms needed for different displacements at different RPMs but the X-Treme lid brings it close to what it needs at 5000 RPM but still not quite there. Without the lid, the needs far exceed the flow of the stock air cleaner alone. I can sort of remember that the lid adds about 195 CFM/minute. I think it was Geezer that posted the site and told us how to calculate the CFM flow based upon size of the air cleaner but am not sure. Will try to find the site....Joe
PS. While disassembling my bike recently, both the round base air cleaner and the X-Treme lid were really FILTHY after only 10,000 miles which means to me that we are sucking a lot of air though a small area.
http://www.csgnetwork.com/cfmcalc.html. This is the site to calulate the CFM requirements of your motor. What Geezer knows and I don't is how many CFMs a given sized air cleaner will flow. Maybe the Geez willl re-post his info...Joe
Damn Joe, you expect me to remember that at my advanced age?? Heehee

Try this from the K&N site.



Use the formula below to compute the minimum size filter required for your particular application. The usable portion of the filter is called the EFFECTIVE FILTERING AREA which is determined by multiplying the diameter of the filter times Pi (3.1416) times the height of the air filter in inches, then subtracting .75-inch. We subtract .75-inch to compensate for the rubber seals on each end of the element and the filter material near them since very little air flows through this area.


A = effective filtering area
CID = cubic inch displacement
RPM = revolutions per minute at maximum power

Example: A 350 CID Chevy engine with a horsepower peak at 5,500 rpm.


If you are sizing a panel filter, multiply the width of the filter area (not the rubber seal) times its length. If you are sizing a round filter, use the following formula to determine the height of the filter.


A = effective filtering area
H = height
D = outside diameter of the filter
3.14 = pi
0.75 = the rubber end caps

Try the K&N site as the formula's wouldn't copy correctly.


Geez
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Hmm....Joe's calculator says we need at least 587 CFM (for a SB). Somewhere in the past I read in one of the V8 boards that the stock paper filter flows only 230 CFM....my one a little less, because it's 5 years old, dirty, and has 10000 miles on it, too. (shame on me) :oops:

Carb Mike posted on the BHRA site the following K&N #'s and flow rates:

"All filters are 7"O.D. and 5.187I.D.
---------Hieght---CFM
E-3360---2.00---260.69
E-2540---2.187--285.48
E-2490---2.375--310.42
E-2500---2.562--335.21
E-2510---2.812--368.37
E-3380---3.00---393.29
E-2550---3.125--409.87
E-2520---3.187--418.09
E-3390---3.75---492.75
9" Extream Flow Top # 66-0901

I ordered the E-2500, which flows 335 CFM. It has a filter area of
56 square inch. That means one square inch of K&N filter area flows 6 CFM.
The 7" Extream Flow Top has a filter area of 38 square inch, and therefore it should flow ~ 230 CFM. Altogether approximately 565 CFM....

Like you already said, Joe - still not optimal, but sounds MUCH better to me than the poor specs of the the stock paper unit...! :D
I can't wait to install it!

Loaf
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I run the K+N 2500 with the extream cover . At least on my Boss that is the highest filter{ 2 9/16" } along with the cover that will fit under the tank .

Jack
Loaf...That is exactly the setup I've been using. I did your calculations again and think you are right on so the flow should be sufficient for my stroker at 5500 RPM which I never exceed. In any case, it is about the most I can fit under my tank. Even with this, the edges of the lid with the lip cut off hits the tank slightly but ok. One tip: bring the lid to a machine shop to have the lip removed cleanly instead of using tin snips or hacksaws. It is very cheap, takes them a few seconds and is very sanitary. Also be sure the base air cleaner is seated all the way down into the base holder bowl which requires a small amount of compression of the base filter to fit in correctly...Joe
Loaf..Southcoast stainless has the 4 1/2 Allens you are looking for. http://www.southcoaststainless.com. Check it out...Joe
Joe,
I'm working at a machine shop, and I already thought about the best way to cut the lip off. Did you had a chance to see how the guy at the machine shop removed the 2"? I think it's not possible to make that (safe) on a lathe, but we have a very strong band grinder- this seems to me the safest way to make a 9" top to a 7" top. And it would't take much time, either.

Oh, and many thanks for the southcoaststainless link. I noticed they sell all bolts in show-polished finish, too. I use to polish my SS bolts in my garage. I've got a small machine for that. But who ever did that knows about the dirt, loud noises, and how hard it is to polish stainless. This address is like gold! I put it to my favorites.

I'll get the swing arm bolts in the next couple of weeks. They are already on the way to Germany. Mike Koehn (ID: V8BossHoss) bought them for me in Denver, and sent them to Germany 3 days ago. What a nice guy he is......Mike, I love you for doing this!
:capwin:

Man- what would I do without these V8 boards, and all you good, helpful, and knowledgeable (sp?) friends. I really don't know...

Oh, and @ Jack - how did you cut off the 2" from your Extream top? And I remember you said you tried to mount your Carter fuel pump between the dist and the carb - did it fit? I would like to mount my pump at the same place.

....but I think I'll open a new topic for this question this evening. I've got some more fuel system related questions anyways. See ya' later...

Loaf
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Loaf...I didn't watch him cut the lid lip off but I believe he did it with a bandsaw by putting a bolt through the hole and turnig it under the saw..Joe
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