How do you make a gm hei fit amc?

[Paul]

Has anyone ever done this? The DUI for amc is pretty expensive, but I see quite a few gm hei set ups at the junkyard.

[Rande]

Someone makes an HEI distributor that fits the AMC engine. Another choice is the TFI ignition upgrade, costs about $100 or so. The HEI method doesn't use the AMC ignition module, so that may be the better way to go. The TFI upgrade does use the AMC ignition module, but just about doubles the spark energy.

[bigblack'74]

i am thinking about taking my delco points dist. and converting it to hei..i think this can be done and then it would just require the cap and elctronic swap, with bolt in instalation..will this work?

[Dispatchbdb]

I just purchaced the HEI unit from Cape Conversions for my 78' cherokee with a AMC258. It ran me a total of about $245. This price includes 8 mm plug wires, detailed instructions, taxes, and shipping. The HEI unit that Cape Conversions sells is a drop in deal, they do all the modifications necessary to the distibuter to make it bolt right up. From what I understand, if you get one from a junk yard their is going to be some machining necessary to make it fit.

[bigblack'74]

but what about just conveting the old the points delco unit just as you would do the same basic dist. from a biuck 350. they use the same cap rotor points and con. so similarly you should be able to swap an hei cap and rotor setup onto the amc dist.?

[clarkja]

The only modification needed to put an hei dist on a 258 is swapping the drive gear.4wd hardware sells the dear for about $25.I'm curious about the 360 application.Does anyone know the type of modifications needed for the v-8?

[Cliff]

HEI distributor from GM won't work.

The cheapest was to convert to electronic is with the Pertronix Ignitor - about $50. Cheap, easily installed, reliable, and it works.

I prefer the TFI or even a stock Motorcraft setup, but the Ignitor is the easiest conversion.

[Crazy_Jeepman]

Originally posted by Cliff:
HEI distributor from GM won't work.

The cheapest was to convert to electronic is with the Pertronix Ignitor - about $50. Cheap, easily installed, reliable, and it works.

I prefer the TFI or even a stock Motorcraft setup, but the Ignitor is the easiest conversion.Never say can't, its done all the time. This guy on ebay has been doing the conversion for a long time. AMC GM HEI UNIT V8 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6776&item=2400270405)
For our AMC I6 The only thing needed is the AMC dist. drive gear off the OEM Dist. put it on a GM I6 HEI unit. GM HEI is my personal choice.

[heydave]

I built one a couple years ago for my old Wagoneer. I used a chevy 250 6cyl. distributer housing with 8 cylinder electronics and cap. I didn't have a way to drill the shaft for a roll pin to nistall the AMC drive gear. To keep the gear on, I welded it! The distributer worked well but it was a tight fit with that large cap plus I didn't trust the welded gear. I yanked it and went back to the motorcraft setup with tfi upgrade. Unfortunatly I threw it out last year when I moved.

[Rogue]

Originally posted by Crazy_Jeepman:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by Cliff:
HEI distributor from GM won't work.

The cheapest was to convert to electronic is with the Pertronix Ignitor - about $50. Cheap, easily installed, reliable, and it works.

I prefer the TFI or even a stock Motorcraft setup, but the Ignitor is the easiest conversion.Never say can't, its done all the time. This guy on ebay has been doing the conversion for a long time. AMC GM HEI UNIT V8 (http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=6776&item=2400270405)
For our AMC I6 The only thing needed is the AMC dist. drive gear off the OEM Dist. put it on a GM I6 HEI unit. GM HEI is my personal choice.</font>[/QUOTE]thanks for the link - it confirmed my fears - i went to junkyard and bought an HEI $35 no big deal take home to compare - after looking it at for a while the only way I could come up with for a V8 application was to cut the HEI housing and install points dizzy shaft into HEI housing - I didn't get any farther than that - the dizzy bushing may need to be resized also or some type of bearing installed in its place - on the pic on the link you can see where he cut the housing at to do this...but HeyDave's idea definetly sounds good to me as the six's dizzy is smaller...

[Ted Wendel]

I,m the one,who has the GM HEI's for AMC v-8's, on e-bay,I see somebody thinks I cut them,the housings are not cut,no welding done on them,or slip collars are used on them,I think the reason most people think they have to be cut is they are looking at a Chevy HEI,they won't work,I use other GM HEI's,all the modifications are done in a lathe.

[Stolen76]

he's right, the chevy ones won't work. after watching Ted sell one a week for the last few months, I figured I'd give it a try (I'll do anything for a $1). After destroying 3 HEI bases in the lathe, I gave up. On the good side of things, Teds seem to stay in the $175 to $190 range on the auctions. Seems to me like a good way to go.

[Terry B.]

I'll second that. I've got one, but I don't have the engine back in my truck to try it out.

[maxrad]

I WILL get one soon.

Ted, how about a forum member fixed rate for the masses? I like the idea on what you are doing and can't wait to get one before my ignition module blows.

Does yours get rid of all that module crap for good and is the cap/rotor easily available for replacement?

[Rogue]

Originally posted by Ted Wendel:
I,m the one,who has the GM HEI's for AMC v-8's, on e-bay,I see somebody thinks I cut them,the housings are not cut,no welding done on them,or slip collars are used on them,I think the reason most people think they have to be cut is they are looking at a Chevy HEI,they won't work,I use other GM HEI's,all the modifications are done in a lathe.that is what i was working on if any one had seen other posts - trying to find a non chebby dizzy for comparison but i havent had the chance to go to the junkyard yet for confirmation - if anybody has the resources you'll want to compare a six cylinder HEI to an AMC - the pickup coil and module will need to be changed to V8 model - six cylinder and and 8 cylinder caps are same size - stock dizzy can be converted to HEI with remote coil faily easily from what I've been told - knowing that the housing don't need to be cut is a big relief :D

[Ted Wendel]

Yes it gets rid of your module,and coil,and all the wiring that goes inbetween them.The HEI has the module inside of it,and the coil is in the cap.Just one wire to hook it up.I can sell one for $165.00 shipping included,to the lower 48,the other 2 may be a little higher.

[Michael F]

Which HEIs are the best to use to turn down? I have a welded up chevy one right now.

[Elliott]

Originally posted by Ted Wendel:
Yes it gets rid of your module,and coil,and all the wiring that goes inbetween them.The HEI has the module inside of it,and the coil is in the cap.Just one wire to hook it up.I can sell one for $165.00 shipping included,to the lower 48,the other 2 may be a little higher.Glad to see you on here Ted, I'll be looking you up for one when I get further into my project. I was hoping to see you post on here, seems to me the GM HEI is about the best thing we can do to our ignition for $165.
Thanks

[John V]

Originally posted by Ted Wendel:
Yes it gets rid of your module,and coil,and all the wiring that goes inbetween them.The HEI has the module inside of it,and the coil is in the cap.Just one wire to hook it up.I can sell one for $165.00 shipping included,to the lower 48,the other 2 may be a little higher.SOLD! :D

[TimK]

Ted, with your unit, what's the recommended wires and sparkplug type and gap for the 258? I'm sure you have plenty of experience from the 6 cyl. cj guys...

[oddfire]

Great deal on those.....I think I paid $250 for a Cape Conversions v8 H.E.I. about 4 years ago, and about $350. for the Davis model a little over 2 years ago..............phil

[Cecil14]

Here is all the info you'll need for those people wanting to put HEI in thier 258's:

HEI Upgrade (http://keith.cj8.tripod.com/hei_upgrade.htm)

I did this, using that page, and it works great. It idled better, had more power and even got a bit better mileage. Individual results may vary. ;)

Anthony

[Ted Wendel]

Originally posted by TimK:
Ted, with your unit, what's the recommended wires and sparkplug type and gap for the 258? I'm sure you have plenty of experience from the 6 cyl. cj guys...Plug wires for a 1985 Ford F-150 with a 300 six cylinder,fit pretty good,use the same type spark plugs as before,gap them to .045,I have been trying to find a wide gap spark plug for them,so you could run a .055 or .060 gap,but no luck so far.

[Ted Wendel]

You could run Bosch plus 2's or Bosch plus 4's,a little pricey for the 4's the 2's aren't to bad.
My e-mail if needed is jeepcj5@arczip.com

[OJTDJPR]

Ted, sent you a email!!!!!!

[VAJeepGeek]

Ted, your definately the man of the hour now. smile.gif

Just sent you an email too.

[John V]

I Got mine today! Runs great, and I have fewer motocrap parts! ;) Thanks again Ted! You da' man! :D Everyone needs to do this upgrade! A Great product at a fair price, who'd of thunk it? :cool:

[ March 06, 2003, 08:52 PM: Message edited by: John V ]

[Dive 30]

Ted, I have an MSD pro billet Dizzy that I spent a ton of $$ on. I was thinking that I could remote mount the HEI stuff and just use the two wire input from the dizzy into the two wire input into the ign. module. Not as pretty or compact, and I'll still need to figure out how to interface the rest of the MSD ignition (I'm trying to mount up a GM TBI, is why all the trouble) to it, but there are kits for that. What do you think?

Thanks

Phil

[moondog]

jeep fsj 87 love fsj

[moondog]

love my and life love my 1. jeep grand wagoneer 87 2. jeep grand cherokee77 3. jeep grand cherokee 4.jeep comanche 88 5.jeep grand wagoneer 94 and love my jeep

[Bob Barry]

Never tried them, but here's a link:

http://www.davessmallbodyheis.com/

$175 seems competetive.

[Rogue]

I found this while doing my research :

Fred at MM4x4 Center, in Louisville, OH. Fred is taking a Chevy 350 HEI, cutting off the base, and machining a new base that fits the AMC V8 engine block. I gave him a call and found that for $60 I could send him a Chevy V8 HEI and he'd make the base and put it on, or for $110 I could get one that he had reconditioned and put the base on.

Here's a link to fred - http://www.mm4x4center.com/

sixty is a whole lot better than 160, I got an HEI from local scrapyard for like $30 even $110 is not bad ;)

[ March 15, 2003, 11:37 AM: Message edited by: RogueStar ]

[maxrad]

John V,
How was the installation, etc?
Did you get good instructions with the thing? How is it doing after a week of driving?

I want one also in the very near future.

[John V]

Originally posted by maxrad:
John V,
How was the installation, etc?
Did you get good instructions with the thing? How is it doing after a week of driving?

I want one also in the very near future.The install was a 1 banana job. It was a tight fit going in and the vac advance needs to be facing the front for room to time it. The instructions were good, it's not rocket science, fit the pig, find a good 12v source, run the new wires, Fire in the hole! ;) After having it on for a while I can say that it is running better than ever. More than worth the $$!

[Elliott]

Ted, sent you an e-mail... need your address, thanks for a great product. Also, I've seen what your units go for on E-Bay so thanks for the price you've offered these for.

[joe]

With the V8 HEI conversion what year/flavor motor do you choose for plug wires? Thanks.

[joe]

Ted, I got your email so no need to reply to the above plug wire donor question. Thanks. For anyone else considering the HEI/360 AMC swap from Ted, he recommends 1978 Olds Vista Cruiser w/403 V8-4bbl plugs wires for the swap.

[Chero77]

Another possible way to go is to use a '74 or earler Delco distributor ($45 from Napa) and then install the Pertronix ignitor (about $60). Whether this is better, worse, or about the same as an HEI, I can't say.

One of these days, I plan on installing an HEI (or similar) and a one wire GM alternator. Making these swaps would elminate about a substantial portion of the engine compartment wiring, which would be my primary reason for making the swaps. Otherwise, the stock stuff seems to work fine.

[Elliott]

Originally posted by -joe:
Ted, I got your email so no need to reply to the above plug wire donor question. Thanks. For anyone else considering the HEI/360 AMC swap from Ted, he recommends 1978 Olds Vista Cruiser w/403 V8-4bbl plugs wires for the swap.Ok, now that I sent Ted some $$$, what is the best spark plug to use and what gap will it appreciate?

[joe]

Elliot, Ted mentioned earlier in this thread(page1) that he still runs stock plugs gapped to 0.045 and was still researching different plugs to take a bigger gap. I send my money off this morning too. smile.gif

[Elliott]

Thanks Joe.
Never thought much of them, but the Splitfire plugs take a big gap if I remember correctly. Maybe they would function with the HEI?
I don't know if anyone on here has run them, never heard them talked up much.

[Rogue]

I used to own an 83 Olds Gutless Supreme - with a factory HEI coil the factory gap was .080 - I wouldn't use multiple prong plugs cause well...if electricity travels the path of least resistance only one prong will fire at a time what you see on TV is an optical illusion the spark jumps from one prong to the other faster than you can see it happen so why spend the extra $$$ ?????????

and an update on HEI conversions this is a copy of an email sent to me by Fred @ M&M 4x4 -

Jeff, We modify a chevy hei distributor that is sent to us for $65.00 plus return shipping. We have used modified distributors for around $110.00 plus shipping. We modify new summit and accel hei distributors, they sell for $225.00 plus shipping. We will install a new distributor gear on these units for an additional $25.00. New are in stock, at this time we are out of used. Thanks, Fred

M&M 4x4 Center
Frederick Mottice
7223 Nickelplate NE
Louisville, Ohio 44641
330-875-5227 5-9 pm

I have been working hard on what little free time I have to find out how the conversion is actually done - what I do know is that a V8 dizzy's cap, rotor, pick up coil and module are installed on a six cylinder dizzy's body and then the gear is modified to fit as in a six cylinder application - that's all there is to it that I know of

I'd like to thank all the people who helped me with this information and I hope that other members of this club can benefit from this information cause well...THATS WHAT A CLUB IS FOR!!!- If I wanted to pay someone else to do it than it would already be done but I'm poor and can't afford it plus I'm not out to line the coffers of the rich - so in the ultimate thumbs up everyone BUILD YOUR OWN DIZZY ;)

[ April 02, 2003, 03:40 PM: Message edited by: RogueStar ]