HEI Conversion

I'm putting a HEI distributor in my 302 and I had a question about the rotor position.

I know that the engine is timed correctly, and I have the #1 cylinder at TDC on the compression stroke.

Should I adjust the rotor so that it is in the same place as before? It shouldn't matter as long as I put the plug wires in the correct position, right?

Has anyone here ever used the HEI on a Ford? From what I have read, it is a decent upgrade over the points-style distributor.

Please don't turn this into a topic of "why would you want to put GM parts on a Ford." lol

LSx conversion.... Sorry, I just had to.

Andrew

I've never tried it, but I would think that if you put the wires on at the correct clock-points to match the Ford firing sequence you should be close. Wait, that's if the HEI triggers the spark at the same point on rotation that the Ford does....then you'd hafta offset by the degree difference....

Ooops, crap, swam out beyond my depth again.

thats the one thing i wondered about on the ford HEI swaps. the distributors are a cheap simple way to get a ford to run right without distributors that need curved on a machine, modules, coils, and matching all said parts. HEI is a beautiful thing.

on a chevy you set the rotor pointing toward the #1 cylinder with 1 at tdc on fire stroke then the dist spins clockwise to 8, 4, 3, 6, 5, 7, 2. not sure about ford since it is on the front of the engine. i figure if you put it in at TDC for #1 and the rotor is pointing at a terminal on the cap, then that is #1 and you go from there, but do you use the ford firing order or gm?

I think that my plan of attack is to take the cap off and get the rotor in the same position as the old one and go from there.

You still have to use the old Ford firing order because the rotor turns CCW.

I will let you know how it turns out. I like the simplicity of the setup, but the cap is HUGE! I don't know how I'm going to connect my heater hose yet.

just line it up the same as the old one was and put the wires on in the same order.

If you follow the wires, you will be able to see my HEI Distributer on my 351 windsor

And here is a different HEI on a 302.

Basically if you buy one for a 302, it has the ford 302 housing and dimensions with the use of the HEI internals up top. Treat the rotation as you would with a standard distributor. Firing order is determined by the engine, so that will not change from what it was before the HEI. I did find that the cap is huge and could possibly interfere with the heater hose, but I used a straight brass hose fitting in lieu of a 90 to help with clearance. It worked just fine.

If you have the engine with #1 at TDC, you will be fine to put the rotor pointing what ever direction you choose and set the following firing order CCW from there.

1 comment though. USE THE VACUUM ADVANCE. I DID NOT AND HAD A BEAR OF A TIME GETTING IT TIMED RIGHT. Still off a little, but it will idle and run under full power. What a rush

Enjoy the simplicity. No more black box, resistor or any other part of the ford ignition system.

HEI uses an 8-tooth reluctor trigger, so it doesn't matter what position its in. As long as the #1 cylinder is at TDC compression, line the rotor position up with any of the posts. The one it points to is where you start wiring.

The only time I specifically choose a clocking position on an HEI is to prevent having to cross too many wires over the cap