Distributor Upgrade: HEI, odd fire vs even

[James]

Originally Posted by Pfroman

On another note- Have you experienced any oiling problems to the valve trains. I'm getting next to nothing up there?

I found on my truck the rocker arm shaft plugged up with sludge. After taking it apart and cleaning everything and cleaning out the oil feed in the heads. The rockers are now getting oil. After the engine warmed up to normal operating temperature I adjusted the valves. Been running great with a quiet valve train (as quiet at a mechanical lifters can be) compare to before.

[OldRed]

I just wanted to close the loop on this for any future members potentially perusing the forums.

First, thank you for the views and replies, it can be hard to figure this stuff out on your own and the collective knowledge of you all certainly makes my life a bit easier embarking on these projects.

Second, you can, in fact, swap out the necessary parts from an even fire distributor to an odd fire distributor if you buy the wrong one on the first time around, as I did. I purchased a replacement HEI dizzy off rockauto for around $60 and then broke down both distributors completely, and rebuilt them with the correct parts to have one correctly functioning distributor, and then some spare parts to keep with my old points distributor.

Third, after I finally got the distributor in I swapped my plugs and wires just to find out that I was not getting fuel. I swapped in a carter electric fuel pump, removed the mechanical fuel pump and covered that area, and ensured I was getting fuel to the carb. Turns out my Holley one barrel carb was giving me issues. A rebuild kit for it was $55 before taxes and shipping from Mike's carbs so I purchased an aftermarket replacement off the Amazons for $85, with "free" shipping. The carb bolted right on, and the truck fired right up, with minimal adjustments. I do have to replace my throttle linkage to reach but all in all the money spent for a new carb seems well worth it vs getting a kit, rebuilding it, and then hoping it worked right.

Hopefully this info helps guide some other lost soul like me trying to find their way through getting an old truck up and running.