Anybody know anything on this distributor (http://cgi.ebay.ca/SBC-BBC-HEI-DISTRIBUTOR-65K-V-SUPER-COIL-350-454-NEW_W0QQitemZ8077052444QQcategoryZ33690QQrdZ1QQcmd ZViewItem) oneBay. almost seems to good to be true. I was looking to rebuild my GM HEI when I stumbled upon this. This is cheaper than a rebuild kit and looks way cooler. Any suggestions? It for my 350 in a 67 Chevelle. Edelbrock Alum heads, intake. TIA.

That looks like a good deal. It comes with a lifetime warranty.
They have decent feedback. I'd say it's worth a shot. JMO

No O-ring grooves on the lower section of the shaft. No better than stock.

I wonder if those defective "Australian" distributors have finally surfaced. The ones Summitt quit selling and sent back because they were all faulty...

Better find out where these things are imported from.

I'd much rather pay more money for a used-but-good-condition Genuine DELCO HEI and a fresh pickup coil.

Hey thanks guys,

I got an email from the business selling them and he said they were made in China, however, they were of good quality otherwise he would not warranty them with a lifetime gurantee. He also siad that he hadn't had one returned in the four years he has been selling them. He also said that others that are selling distributors have stock that is also made in China and not in Australia as they advertise. These guys are lyers (His words). At least the ones that say Made in Indo-China are at least closer to Australia ;o)

For $60 maybe I'll give it ago. I'll advise.

I wouldn't put that in my motor if its made in china.

MH6T5 said:
I wouldn't put that in my motor if its made in china.

Okay, what would you suggest, keeping in mind that I can't afford to throw in an MSD with all the bells and whistle.

I would only buy that if you could verify that it accepts standard GM pick-up coils and modules.

If you can't afford to go high dollar then take thyself off to your local junk yard. There are millions upon millions of functional HEI units laying in junkyards all across america. I can't imagine that you'd have any trouble finding one.

Buy one. Disassemble it , give it a bath, properly lubricate it , reassemble it and plug it in.

FWIW they are NOT hard to disassemble if you use a modicum of common sense and leave your hammer in your tool box. ( except to get the roll pin out of the distributor gear. :) )


If thats all you needed to do to yours then do that. You'll be money ahead by rebuilding yours and you will have saved some cash. If you really have to have a red cap then invest in a can of red spray paint.

If you can't afford to go high dollar then take thyself off to your local junk yard. There are millions upon millions of functional HEI units laying in junkyards all across america. I can't imagine that you'd have any trouble finding one.

Buy one. Disassemble it , give it a bath, properly lubricate it , reassemble it and plug it in.

FWIW they are NOT hard to disassemble if you use a modicum of common sense and leave your hammer in your tool box. ( except to get the roll pin out of the distributor gear. :) )


If thats all you needed to do to yours then do that. You'll be money ahead by rebuilding yours and you will have saved some cash. If you really have to have a red cap then invest in a can of red spray paint.

Except for the spray paint on the cap, that is EXCELLENT advice. It's what I was trying to get at in my other post. You are better off with a rebuilt Delco rather than a new imported junk distributor.

MH6T5 said:


Okay, what would you suggest, keeping in mind that I can't afford to throw in an MSD with all the bells and whistle.The metal that comes out of china is about as strong as wood. I honestly wouldn't put chinese metal inside my motor. I have first hand experience with a lot of the products coming out of china. That distributor might work fine,I wouldn't be the one to test it though,maybe on a junkyard motor. I would run the factory hei,and rebuild it.

I bought a no name distributor that looks just like that one and have had no problems to date. Do a search on E-Bay for 65000 volt distributor, or SkipWhite performance ?? was a few more dollars though.

If it seems too good to be true.....

A brand new complete CNC machine distributor like that for only $50? You may buy it and never have a single issue with it, or you could grab one that's not quite right and tear up the cam gear and dump metal shavings inside your motor and destroy the whole thing.

Personally I'd just pick up a good used HEI core and rebuild it, it'd cost about the same and I'd have a little more faith in it than some made in China peice.

a big 2nd to the idea of getting one in a junk yard for $25. throw in a new module, cap/ rotor and forget about it. it will work great for anything but a serious perf motor in which case your spark curve will need tweaked. IMHO, the biggest waste of money are MSD boxes, or fancy distributors. i drove a GM HEI 290,000 miles in a pickup and finally it wore out, but was still working, never had a problem with it.

I tried to "give" away an HEI on ebay last year. I tested it, checked the module and pickup, and offered a summit spring/weight kit with it-it was a good piece, and no takers. I even dropped the price way lower than what a salvage yard charges for a core. Granted, you can get knockoffs etc., but a good GM piece is hard to beat, and I guess at the time everyone was drawn in to the imitations. Price one at your local pick-a-part/u-pull-it, get a good module, good pickup, and a quality cap and rotor (usually brass inserts), and it will last a looonnng time. If you are feeling wile-e-coyote, get a spring/weight kit and an adjustable advance.

A stock one, or even 'lightly' modified one, is the "Ronco" of distributors--set it and forget it.

Thanks everyone for the excellent advise, :thumbsup: I went down to the local performance shop, Lordco, in these parts, and they had a Mallory on for $175.00. now that's Canadian money so its about $10.00 US hehehe. More like ~$160 US. So I bought own of those. Comes with the mallory guarantee and should work like a charm. BTW, junkyard here wanted $75 for a pretty beat up one. I'm in the sticks on Vancouver Island, so its difficult to get a good junkyard, not like in SoCal or Pheonix.:beers: