scottw

I will be installing my new edelbrock performer and Holley this or next weekend. If someone can walk me through this process I would appreciate it. Not sure exactly to take out the distributor and replace it correctly.

Is there anything I should do to the distributor while it is out?

daily_driver

1. mark with a felt tip the #1 spark plug wire on the dist cap.
2. yank electrical connections
3. mark with a felt tip on the valve cover where the vaccuum advance can is pointing to.
4. yank dist cap WITH wires connected to it...
5. mark with a felt tip where the rotor is pointing to on the dist housing.
6. undo holdown bolt and yank dist.

now if you dont disturb engine then everything will be fine.

while the dist is out, get a hose and connect to vacc advance and make sure it is working..(suck it down!!! :lol: :lol: )
look at weights and springs and pivots and make sure they arent worn.... if you need to replace those parts then goto NAPA auto parts...
they carry the parts under the brand nam echlin. part #'s DP109 DP112 DP114.(for hei that is...)

installation is reverse.. just follow the #1 spark plug wire in the firing order to hook the plug wires back up.

you should check out your timing curve with an adjustable timing light.

you should set it to ~14 initial and get ~36 mechanical(including initial) by 2500-3000 rpm...you should get 45-55 total (initial +mech+vaccum) by 2500-3000 rpm...
:cheers:

scottw

Thanks daily driver, any tips on taking off the intake/carb and replacing it.

e3pres

Scott,
I have to go to Chattanooga this weekend, but if you want, I can come up next weekend and help you do the swap. (I'm in college... I'm always looking for a road-trip :D) I've done it several times myself, so we shouldn't have any trouble. If you're interested, give me an email: e3pres@hotmail.com

--Adam

daily_driver

yah make sure u use a torque wrench otherwise youll end up cracking it....
including the thermostat housing bolts use the torque wrench!!

and follow the bolt tightening sequence as dictated in the installation instructions.

dont forget to coat the bolt threads otherwise youll get oil seapages all over the place.....

you said you were installing a performer?? is it a 2101?? your 74 so you dont really need EGR so use gaskets that block the crossover channel. itll give you a lil more HP for free...

installing new carb u said?? adjust the mixture to maximum vaccum value on a vacuum guage... start with about 3 turns out and go from there..(seat lightly then three turns out...)

might as well convert to electric choke if u havent already done so... theres a kit from JEGS.com that sells em if your carb has an integral choke housing. its about ~40 bux or soo....

you might want to paint the intake before you install it... otherwise itll get ugly really quickly... dont paint the gasket surfaces....

thats about all i can think of... its a pretty easy job..

id swap out the cam and lifters while i have the intake offf..... otherwise youll be saying "dammmmmmm why didnt i swap out the cam and lifters while i was there??? :confused: :confused: "


ahh you gotta love the "while im at its!!"

:lol: :lol:

daily_driver

oh and for the front back seals... DONT use those stupid rubber peices..

use a bead of RTV for it...

e3pres

Hey daily_driver... Where were you when I was learning how to do this? I had to learn all that the hard way. :lol:

e3pres

BTW Scott, Since you have the distributor out anyway, you should call Lars and get a curve kit. I don't know how it affects performance, because I installed mine with the new engine, but everyone else swears by it. Just a suggestion.

scottw

Daily driver,
It is a 2101 intake. The carb comes with a manual choke. Same thing I have now, what is the difference in a manual vs. electric choke?

I am going to put in a new cam and roller rockers , I'm going to get a XE256, just have to wait unitl I get the $$. It supposedly has a 350HP cam in now so we'll see how it does.

e3pres,
I tried to get ahold of lars yesterday but no answer. Do you have his email address.

Thanks for the input.
Scott


[Modified by scottw, 6:09 PM 1/16/2002]

e3pres

I think its V8FastCars@msn.com.

daily_driver

ive been here e3pres, where have you been??? :lol: :lol: :lol: :jester

why install the intake twice???

id wait on the cam and lifters and rockers and pushrods to arrive.... yes its an easy job to do... but why do something twice?? a cam and lifters aint that much money...

although if u do the "while im at its" you may end up revbuilding the whole fraeakin engine and frontend and may end up installing a blower!!!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

daily_driver

not wanting to take businues away from lars, but if u need it NOW summit racing sells a competition cams adjustable vac canister that also contains a spring curve kit...

combine that kit with the peices mentioned above from NAPA auto parts and youve got everything you need (except for the shim kit for the distributor....)

but lars curve kit is definately the best IMHO.....

thebruce

One lesson I learned the hard way-- use new bolts!!! If you take a look at yours, you may notice that the threads near the head of the bolt are closer together than the ones at the tip. This happens when bolts are overtorqued. The next thing that will happen is that they will break, which is never a good thing. You should "chase" the intake manifold bolt holes with the right size tap (someone on the forum can probably tell you exactly what size-- I don't remember off the top of my head). I was amazed at how much gunk came out of the threads when I did this.

Also, I think there is a pretty strong consensus on not using the end seals (as described above). Don't be tempted-- use RTV.

Good luck.
:cheers:


[Modified by thebruce, 11:09 PM 1/16/2002]

e3pres

I agree. I wouldn't reuse the old bolts. I also wouldn't use the Mr. Gasket bolts from the local auto parts. I did that when I installed my aluminum intake on my old motor. They looked great for a little while, but after a few weeks they looked horrible. When I put the intake on my new motor. I got the spec for the bolts (from the back of the Mr. Gasket package ;) ), and bought the stainless equivilent.

Also, I painted my intake. I had an L-48 originally, and was trying to keep factory appearance, and I also wanted to be able to work on my carb in the future. :lol: The first drop of gas that you get on the aluminum will give that lovely brown color. :U You can keep one looking nice, but I prefer the paint myself just for ease of maintinence. Just my $0.02... again :jester