As the title states, who produces a good quality, small cap distributor for our cars? Currently running an HEI on an L98 with a TPIS Miniram. The intake does not give my distributor enough room for movement. I need one that is plug and play and smaller.

DG

Run a camaro set up

There is a harness adapter available to make it plug and play. Maybe sold by tpiparts or one of the online vendors, I can't remember offhand.

On a side note, for my superram I just rotated the cap 180* and extended the wiring. Not sure if that is an option for you.

Miniram takes up more depth on the valley... I don't think the big HEI will work at all.

Also check RockAuto.com...

Its been running on the big HEI but after spending the last 4 hours reading about distributors, I think I am going to need to take a closer look at a couple of things. I am switching over to a 1990 Camaro distributor I will purchase from rock auto. Does anyone know if the factory cast distributor and whatever gear they put on those will work with the L98 Cam?

My other concern is distributor depth. I had 3 big cap hei distributors. The one currently in the vehicle was the only one that fit. The rest sat too high. I can't find any definitive articles online on how to properly adjust and set gear depth on this thing. Some say use shims, but how do I know the right depth? And what type of shim do I use. Supposedly you shouldn't stack them either because they compress. If anyone knows of a source with detailed instructions please let me know. For now I will order the distributor and wait for the parts to come in.

DG

I think they find their own bottom... the drive shaft is fixed to the oil pump... if the gears align, that should be the fit.

Someone correct me if I am wrong... But the critical measure should be from the drive end to the gear. The cam to oil pump are the fixed distance.

Drive gears for an L98 are the same as all the others.

The most important things are:

The drive gear is centered on the cam gear.

The tang for the oil pump is not bottomed.

The tang for the oil pump is engaged more than half way.

There are tools to measure the distance (mostly used by engine builders). MSD, Mister Gasket, and others make them.
And make the shim kits to get the correct clearance at the pump.

That's more important than the interference with the cap but I understand your situation.

There are also distributors with adjustable slip collars.

Your best bet is to talk to someone who really knows what they are doing like Wil (reckless) or call the MSD tech line.

Purchased this one. Hopefully its decent and has the right gear.

DG

That looks like it should work. From the picture it appears to have a melonized cam gear which is what you want.

You will also need the remote coil and wiring adapter to make it plug and play.

I have a bunch of msd coils sitting on the shelf so I should be good to go. I am going to order the harness today, just want to take a look at the wiring again before I do.

DG

I know the wiring was different from very early cars to later ones (use a different distributor pre 87). It is wise to see what you need (if any?) to make the modifications. You might get away with some simple splicing.

The coils I had on the shelf look beat, so I made a really simple situation complicated when I decided to research coils yesterday. Wasn't sure if I should go with an Accell or MSD. After reading about spark arc, voltage, and ohms, I decided to pickup the phone and call MDS. Purchased a Blaster 2 coil this afternoon

DG

Did you happen to look at the wiring yet?

I ran the MSD 8366 and bought the two plugs from www.jimsperformance.com , they are a direct fit and they plug from the small cap base to the HEI harness , i recall it was $20 for the diret fit harness connectros, ready to go

Quote:

Nope,

I sure hope you are wrong. I bought a conversion harness for $10... sure was hoping this would be plug and play.

Dg

Dan, I think with the simple adapter is it plug and play. Otherwise you would have to cut/splice connectors.