Hi Landon,
> I don't know if an HEI will fit in my engine compartment, my stock
> points
> distributor sits about an inch or so from the firewall and well... those
> HEI units are rather big.  I have seen some after market HEI units that
> have the coil mounted externally, perhaps one of those would fit.
Do what I did... Utilize the BFH.  I displayed reluctance like yours
initially, but when my points distributor lost its stability I bit the
bullet. I have not regretted the hammer surgery to the firewall.  Mind you
the HEI sits tight (can't slide a peice of paper between it and the firewall
and the s.p.wire retainer doesn't fit in.)
Never mind that 1" clearance the Shadtree Mechanics seemed to want on their
street rod project car. Of course, they should have said the real reason for
the small cap hei was to clear that fancy injector setup they put on later.
The hei has been in my car for almost 8 years now.  Never cracked a cap, and
the first cap was on the car until last summer when I figured I might as
well change it for good measure. =-) 
Going to an aftermarket small cap HEI means extra money.  Any autowreckers
will net you a decent HEI at a reasonable price, plus, caps and rotors are
available everywhere.
Theres a small cap in some late (after '85?) camaros, but I suspect they are
either hard to find, or lack vacuum advance.  You can always check the
yards and see what you can find.
You might be able to see my distributor, at my web page (can't remember what
engine compartment photo I have up) in the 'my car' section.
Theres an HEI swap bit as well at the main page.
http://www.real.on.ca/~leadfoot/  
 (HEI swaps, LeanBurn addectomys, X-body disc brake swaps are also up for
 perusal if anybody else is interested - Criticisms Welcome, its only just
 started to come together.)
> I was told that the 43's are good all around spark plugs I'll have to 
> experiment and find something that works. Believe it or not K-Mart is
They're not.Sorta. =)  The AC44T (regular tip) or AC44TS (extended tip) are
the best place to start.
I did run an AC43TS in my car after I went to a 4bbl, however, that was good
for the summer only when I did WFOT for the most part. I switched back to
the 44ts shortly after that with good results.  When I changed my cam, I
tried out the 43ts once more and had better overall results.  When I went to
headers, I had to go back to the 44's.
I also experimented with ac45ts plugs way back when in the car (factory
specs and 2bbl) I had them in for one day, and put them into my parents car
(Inline 6 utilizing r45ts plugs).
My truck had 45ts plugs when I bought it, (305ci) went directly to a 43ts,
and at the end of the fall put in 44ts plugs for a happy engine.
When the 350incher went into the truck it had 44ts plugs in it. I finally
learned my lesson. =)
Though, after all that, I suppose r43ts plugs are a way to start. =)
Just keep tabs on how things are running and pull the plugs often to see
what they are telling you. If your willing to experiment, you'll probably
end up trying the 43ts out anyway. =)
Alex.
 | AmiQWK 2.7 - S/N 0261 |
... I drempt I was a muffler and woke up exhausted!
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