my LS 5 stock manifold was designed for use with a points distributor as was the current hold down clamp..

problem is that with the large diameter HEI distributor i can barely get to the bolt because its so far under the distributor..even bought a 1/4 drive universal joint socket and its still very tight

there is another bolt hole in the manifold that lies on the drivers side of the distributor very close to just under the outer edge of the distributor which is MUCH easier to get to...

is there a LONGER clamp that can be used with this hole to solve this problem???

any other suggestions??

do the hei distributors standardly use a differnt / longer hold down clamp compared to the points distributors??

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Rich
Cocoa Beach, Fla
Team Chevelle #380
46 but feeling like 20 when i'm in my 70 SS 454
wa3men@aol.com
www.chevelles.com/showroom/70_SS_454.jpg (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/70_SS_454.jpg)

The HEI dist. use the same bolt hole etc as the points dist. However they are very hard to get at. What I did was take a box end wrench that was the right size, heat it up about 1.5 inches down and bend a 90 degree angle in it, then I grab the top with a crescent wrench or pliers or something and use that to tighten/loosen it. Use a regular wrench or ratchet with a universal joint just doesn't cut it.

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Chris Dagenais
Saskatchewan
'71 Malibu with a home built 454!
My Chevelle (http://www.ycworld.dynip.com/home/car.html)

There is a wrench out there for this setup that you can buy. I just did like Chris and bent my craftsman 9/16 wrench(box end). Did not heat it up though, I just stuck it in the vice and pulled. Dang thing was I kept misplacing it http://www.chevelles.com/forum/confused.gif so now I have 3 wrenches bent at the correct angle. Next I put on a ARP bolt kit and guess what, now I have 2 7/16 wrenches bent at the correct angle. http://www.chevelles.com/forum/eek.gif They do bend a little easier http://www.chevelles.com/forum/biggrin.gif. Good Luck.
Finally got a good tool box and don't misplace them as much...

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Jeff Angerstein
ACES#841 TCG#158
68 SS396(FULL ROLLER 454)
68 L78 Project
69 SSRS 396(roller427) 4spd
87 MC SS
jeffa@chevelles.com
Home Page (http://www.tcg158.homestead.com)
My Favorite (http://tcg158.homestead.com/files/drvr.jpg)
The far from "correct" Camaro SSRS (http://tcg158.homestead.com/files/frntdrvr1.jpg)

[This message has been edited by ACE841 (edited 06-08-2000).]

You can get the correct wrench at Sears.It has the boxed end on 1 end, bends out and up, and has a socket attachment on the other end. This way you can use a ratchet on it. I have a couple of them also.

Same here with the Sears distributor bolt wrench. It's bent in this 90 degree angle and has a socket end on it. Great tool!

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Better Late than Never Fred
Team Chevelle #400
If you surveyed a hundred typical middle-aged Americans, I bet you'd find that only two of them could tell you their blood types, but every last one would know the theme song from "The Beverly Hillbillies."
1970 Chevelle Malibu (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/Riffers70_1)

Plus if you ever get railroaded into working on a tuned port motor, this dist. wrench is an absolute necessity. Real knuckle buster that is.

bought the wrench...no go

there is a boss on my 287 manifold that prevents the wrench from seating down flat at the bolt

i rotated the distributor clockwise one position and moved the wires one tower and now access is much easier.. vacuum unit is now close to the firewall and away from the bolt position

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Rich
Cocoa Beach, Fla
Team Chevelle #380
46 but feeling like 20 when i'm in my 70 SS 454
wa3men@aol.com
www.chevelles.com/showroom/70_SS_454.jpg (http://www.chevelles.com/showroom/70_SS_454.jpg)

Yes, on my setup the vacuum canister is about 1/2" from the firewall or something like that.

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Chris Dagenais
Saskatchewan
'71 Malibu with a home built 454!
My Chevelle (http://www.ycworld.dynip.com/home/car.html)