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Delco HEI into Holden 6 How-To


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#1 _oldjohnno_

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Posted 25 June 2010 - 09:29 PM

I've always been a fan of Delco dissies (both points and HEI versions). I like the big cap with the widely spaced terminals, and I especially like the way the advance mechanism is right on top so you can change weights and springs without removing anything more than the cap and rotor.
Back when I was playing with Chevs I dabbled with some aftermarket stuff and MSD, Mallory and Accel all got some of my money - too much actually. Once I got the advance curve right with these units they all went exactly as fast as the Delco, so wherever possible that's what I've stuck with ever since. Recently I decided to look into using them in the little six - the Bosch HEIs are very good, but they're getting old and worn and it's a pain in the arse changing the advance curve on them. As it turns out it's almost trivially easy to adapt a Delco HEI from an AMC Jeep 232-258ci six cylinder to the Holden engine. The rotation direction is the same, shaft size is the same, and the diameter of the body where it slips into the block is also the same. The only differences are the gear and a slightly longer distance from the tip of the body to the collar. Anyhow I thought I'd post the conversion details for anyone else wanting to make the swap:

1, Knock the roll pin out and remove the gear. Pull the shaft out from the top (after removing the cap)
2, Use a small socket or similar to tap the bottom bush up into the body about 3/8"
3, Trim the bottom of the dissy body to give about 1-1/8" from the bottom of the collar to the bottom of the body (if you hacksaw this by hand make sure you dress the base perfectly square and flat)
4, Blow any chips out of the body and slip the shaft back in, then refit the thrust washer and the Holden drive gear. Mark the shaft so you can cut off
the excess.
5, Pull the shaft out again and trim it. Use soft jaws to hold it so as not to mark the shaft.
6, Oil the bushes then refit the shaft, washer and Holden gear. Drill a 3/16" hole through the shaft using the original Holden gear as a guide. Get someone to help you eyeball this to keep it all square if necessary. Obviously you'll want to use a metal gear for this operation even if you'll be using a nylon gear in actual use.
7, Tap in the roll pin and check that the end float is OK and shim if necessary. Fit the cap.

That's it, the whole operation takes less time than it takes to change springs in a Bosch. You now have a dissy with enough energy to run a six at 8000rpm+ and will now be able to make advance curve changes in minutes without even pulling the dissy. Spring and weight kits are readily available for a few dollars. The one in the photos is a repro HEI dissy with adjustable vac. advance and a two year warranty that cost me a whopping US$53 + freight, and it takes standard HEI replacement parts. The US racers in classes that must use stock ignitions swear by the Davis DUI dissies that are a bit more expensive at about US$300...

Posted Image
Converted Jeep HEI

Posted Image
Perfect fit..

Edited by oldjohnno, 25 June 2010 - 09:36 PM.


#2 _CraigA_

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Posted 25 June 2010 - 10:58 PM

Great post oldjohnno.:clap:

Very interested in this conversion.

Is this the same dizzy?

Hei Dizzy

Edited by CraigA, 25 June 2010 - 10:59 PM.


#3 _oldjohnno_

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Posted 26 June 2010 - 07:53 AM

Is this the same dizzy?

Hei Dizzy


That's the one Craig. I also bought a couple of Summit spring and weight kits for $3.95 each.
I got the warranty wrong in my post - it's a lifetime unlimited mileage warranty, not two years..
They are complete and ready to go and use a standard 4 pin module and standard size coil so the OEM replacements or the various aftermarket "high-performance" modules and coils will fit.

#4 Heath

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Posted 26 June 2010 - 11:06 AM

:o

This sounds way too good to be true lol

#5 LXCHEV

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Posted 02 July 2010 - 12:24 PM

Very nice. What a top thread!

#6 Stinga

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Posted 25 July 2010 - 03:09 AM

just discovered this one! might give it a crack

#7 _RB26DETT_

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Posted 08 August 2010 - 07:56 PM

Has any one else given this a crack????

I am considering doing this to my 202 powered boat

#8 _nemo355v8_

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Posted 15 October 2010 - 06:51 PM

this deserves to be pinned. Admin ?

#9 _RB26DETT_

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Posted 20 November 2010 - 11:05 AM

is this the one
http://cgi.ebay.com/...=item56409249d2

#10 Stinga

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Posted 22 November 2010 - 07:29 PM

thats the one, though it has a v8 one pictured, as it sais in the ad.
i have one on the bench, going to get to it on the weekend

#11 originalglenn

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Posted 06 January 2011 - 06:30 PM

HAs anyone else done this yet?

Just a heads up when you drill the hole for the gear make sure youve pushed the shaft all the way in
otherwise youll have to do it again :Headbang2:

also after cutting and facing the bottom of the collar the thrust washers cover the oil holes
so im thinking it needs a hole drilled in the side(and a flat ground) same as the old bosh one ive got

has anyone checked what the advance cuve actually is?
and if you changed it
what springs/plates did you use?

ive also removed the vac adavance ( not sure if ive done the right thing here but the old scorcher ran fine without so ill give it ago)

#12 Stinga

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Posted 06 January 2011 - 08:30 PM

ive got one stripped on the bench. havent got round to cutting it yet. did you hacksaw it?

#13 originalglenn

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Posted 07 January 2011 - 09:14 AM

used a hack saw then finished on a linish belt

#14 WhaleOilBeefHooked

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Posted 07 January 2011 - 07:17 PM

Skip White Performance is 2nd to none with service, items & GR8 prices to boot...... I've purchased several items from them, including a similar style of dissy and with Lifetime Warranty on many items How can You Go Wrong ???

#15 Stinga

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Posted 07 January 2011 - 07:49 PM

i got mine 30 bucks cheaper on ebay, then from the skip white place. unless they can do a super deal on postage?

#16 _RB26DETT_

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Posted 30 January 2011 - 06:59 PM

has anyone checked what the advance cuve actually is?
and if you changed it
what springs/plates did you use?


i am running this set up in my boat but after giving it a test run today it would not rev over 2k and started popping and farting through the carbie, (had the timing set to 6 deg) tried manually adjusting the timing to get it running better but it would either detonate or die in the Arse so what weights and springs should i use??? (Running a Verajet II carb) with vacume advance

Please help
Shane

Edited by RB26DETT, 30 January 2011 - 07:10 PM.


#17 originalglenn

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Posted 30 January 2011 - 07:31 PM

had mine in for a week or so

i did end up putting an oil hole(just above the lower bush)/ground a flat on the boss

set it at 10 degee (static)hit the key and off i went first go

went out to a quiet road and slowly advanced till just pinged at full wot then backed off a touch

havent yet checked were im at the moment

when i get some time ill put the timing light on and get a rough idea of the advance cure and take it from there

as to your problems got no idea sorry :dontknow:

but the first thing id check is you have 12 volts at the dizzy

then try it without the vac adavance
( i removed mine, drilled and tapped a hole in the 3rd boss)

#18 rodomo

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Posted 30 January 2011 - 09:07 PM

i am running this set up in my boat but after giving it a test run today it would not rev over 2k and started popping and farting through the carbie,

It could be starving for fuel.

#19 LJ RB30

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Posted 31 January 2011 - 03:57 PM

I finish this yesterday as well, only put it in an LJ 173 of unknown condition but initial feelings are good, have only driven on dirt around the block mainly third gear but LOTS of revs. Not a hint of a miss.

#20 _RB26DETT_

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Posted 31 January 2011 - 05:33 PM

got lots of fuel its got a rich exh smell to it

did i set it up wrong

had the vac advance plugged in when i set it up with around 500-750RPM. Kept playing until i got it to 6deg

Cheers Shane

#21 _oldjohnno_

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Posted 01 February 2011 - 09:30 AM

I've fitted 3 of these dissies so far, all pretty mild engines but certainly fine up to 6500rpm or so. Still got a couple sitting on the shelf. The first one misfired/crossfired badly, it turned out that the rotor to cap phasing was way out. Annoying but it's hard to get the shits with a $50 distributor. Once this was fixed it was fine. The cap and rotor terminals should be in line when the reluctor teeth are also in line (bearing in mind the alignment will move with vacuum advance). The cheapies seem fine for a street car but for anything even slightly serious I'd spend a bit more and grab a DUI or Pertronix version, the US super stock guys swear by them. The same conversion procedure should work for any aftermarket 258 Jeep dissie come to think of it, whether HEI or not, so you could probably get yourself an MSD or similar pretty cheaply. I just like HEIs. I didn't worry about oil holes as the drive is very lightly loaded - it doesn't have to drive the oil pump too like it would in a Jeep or Chev. Also the Summit spring and weight kits were of very ordinary quality, it's worth spending a bit more (more than $3 anyway!) to get something a bit better, eg. Moroso. With most engines I end up with about 28 - 30 total and about 12 initial. The springs and weights are so easy to change that you can dial them in with pure trial and error pretty quickly.

#22 _Terrible One_

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Posted 01 March 2011 - 10:35 PM

Is this a worthwhile conversion on a blue 202 thats already fitted with a blue motor dissy?

Its got a 30/70 cam, around 9.5:1 compression, decent port job/valves, XF carby and exhaust/extractors.

Its for my little cousins VC commodore, just trying to squeeze out every last drop without spending a million bucks.

#23 _oldjohnno_

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Posted 02 March 2011 - 08:39 PM

Is this a worthwhile conversion on a blue 202 thats already fitted with a blue motor dissy?

Its got a 30/70 cam, around 9.5:1 compression, decent port job/valves, XF carby and exhaust/extractors.

Its for my little cousins VC commodore, just trying to squeeze out every last drop without spending a million bucks.


Realistically you're not going to gain anything over a healthy Bosch HEI with an appropriate timing curve.

Any gains are more likely to come from the fact that the curve is much easier to adjust with the Delco, and because of this the average tuner is more likely to persist til he finds the the optimum curve. With a conventional dissy he'd be much more likely to settle for a curve that's "close enough".

#24 enderwigginau

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Posted 03 March 2011 - 12:50 PM

When anyone else does this, can you take pics at each step of the way and post them up. Then I can add them into the appropriate spot :D

Grant..

#25 LJ RB30

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Posted 07 March 2011 - 05:08 PM

One thing i noticed was that i could fit the cap in 2 different positions on the unit i got. I only realized this after i refitted the cap & noticed that 2 of the cap retaining arms were not seated correctly (as viewed from underneath) but 2 were. I presume that this would affect the phasing of the rotor to cap. I didnt actually try it in the other position when in the car but may try one day to see the result. Just thought i would mention it.




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