Hello,

I have installed a new distributor on all 3 of my cars already. I am now up to installing a distributor on my 72 Chevy Corvette Blown 350 and I'm drawing a blank on how to do it again. Im going from a HEI to a Mallory Unilite. Could anyone give me a quick tutorial on how to do this or direct me to a web page that can help me brush up? Thanks,

Dan

Dan, real simple. Crank the motor by hand to get to #1 TDC ( ensure it #1 and not 6 by watching the valves.) I actually set it to close to my desired intial, say 12 BTDC.( might want to check your balancer/timing tab TDC with a piston stop) View the position of the oil pump drive slot as the rotor is turned to your desired postion for #1, make sure the oil pump is oriented the same ( a long screwdriver works here), and then stab it in.

What I;ve gone to doing then, is energizing the ignition with a timing light hooked up to #1 ( full wire and plug in head to ensure ground), and then slowly rotate the dizzy until the light fires. You should be real, real close.

Here's the "fool-proof" way of swapping distributors.
Before you take the distributor out, put a piece of tape on the body. Make a mark at #1. When you pull the body up the rotor will turn back a certain amount. Make another mark. Then pull the tape off, put it on the new body. Line up the first mark with number one then point the rotor at the second mark. When you drop it back in, the rotor will rotate forward to the first mark, the tang will line up with the oil pump drive and everything will be fine.
This may not help you now but for future reference....
To help you now, I would point the rotor towards #1 then turn it back about an inch, so to speak. Drop it in and if it doesn't go in all the way at firstpull it back up a bit and turn it forward or backward one tooth until it drops in. This assumes that you haven't turned the oil pump shaft since you took the dist. out. If you did, it's time to try the long screwdriver trick until you line everything up.
I know some people will say drop it in and "bump" the motor until it the dist. falls in but I never tried it so I can't attest to it.

Jeff

One more thing - I remember the Mallory Unilite used to need a ballast resistor. I don't know if it's still true. The HEI doesn't - so you would have to put a ballast resistor just for the mallory.

I just installed a new MSD distributor to replace my HEI in my 396. I marked the rotor (I got lucky, it was pointed STRAIGHT at the carb graemlins/thumbsup.gif ), pulled it out, and it turned a little. Then I slapped in the MSD, and it actually didn't line up just the same for some reason - so I just turned it once it was in all the way. I started with 8 deg. advance in the HEI, and when I fired up the car, the MSD read 10 deg. right off the bat, so that mehtod works pretty well to get it in close.