Chevy forum members When installing the Pertronix Ignitor in the Delco distributor of the chevy 216 or 235 six engine the tech advice is to use an air gap between 0.010" and 0.060 ". The plastic gauge feeler that comes with the kit is made at 0.030 ". The difference is not much but what is the right setting ? In the kit there lies an extra black ring made of the same material as the reluctor. Is it needed to put that part on the distributor as well to get the right height or prevent the reluctor sliding upwards ? What part goes first in center the reluctor or the tiny ring? How much Ohm and volts for the coil together with the Pertronix Ignitor ? Appreciate some information Martinius.
Martinius, This is a guess but since they made a high cap and a low cap distributor that fits a 216/235 I would guess Pertronix might make the base model for the low cap and the spacer ring then makes it work with the high cap also. Contact Pertronix to check. I have used the newer Chevy 6 cylinder HEI distributors with good luck also. Five minutes of machining on a lathe and a $15 hold down from Speedway gives a distributor that parts can be bought from any parts store--and cheaper. We use the new small cap HEI now but the only photo I found is one of the full size HEI, which is a great distributor but bulky. This one is on my old test engine for the serpentine belt set up I'm working on.
It takes me longer than 15 minutes of machining, but the result is better than Pertronix and much better than stock. Using your own Tall Cap distributor to do it is the nice part. No obnoxious looking big honkin Distributor. I know a lot of guys that have made it themselves using these instructions: HEI for your 216/235/261 The chart that shows which Distributors are Tall Cap (eligible) is here: Installing Your New HEI System The Movie is here: My instruction is different than the way it is conventionally done in that I put a 12 gauge stainless plate inside to mount the reluctor pickup on. I wanted to make this totally removeable without doing ANY damage to the stock Distributor. Why it takes longer is that AND I machine the reluctor to a Hexagon that fits over the Lobes with set screws so the Lobes are not damaged. My "Evan" (Automotive Engineer) told me that he does not care about ever going back to stock so he just screws the Reluctor Pickup right down to the base plate and he rounds the lobes so a stock reluctor will fit tightly. If you do that, you will not have to do very much machining at all. That idea has its benefits. I just can't bring myself to do it, so I do it the hard way.
It is convincing tech information Deve. I have a couple of questions ? The Hexagon shaped reluctor can be tightened with 2 set screws. How high must that reluctor be installed so the points meet the module in the right position? That ground cable your talking about where does it have to be connected inside the distributor ( The copper screw that is left ) ? The metal bracket holder and el. device . When connecting the wires on one side the coil black - and red + . On the other side the distributor wires black and red the opposite way. From the ignition directly to the coil , red to plus but minus). Why did you left that wire out here ? B.t.W. i would install a fuze between the coil and electric emergency stop in between there , I have a extra new type electric one /easy to mount Install manual comes with the package.t 1 How many produces volts and Ohms produced your used model ? What do you advise with this new system. B.t.w. I found the post with Bill`s update. Nicely tucked away in the relay box it is . Sinc.Martinius
The reluctor sits down almost on the base. I like to pull it up a smidge just so the screw underneath it doesnt rub. The ground cable just attaches to the screw in the back that holds the base plate on. Its added grounding insurance. The ground goes to the modules mounting screw. It works without it, but some people experience grounding issues, so that solves a possible problem. Because of the 3.5ms ramp and fire technology, the coil will produce most of its 45,000 volt capacity at each plug. The MSD8202 is a .7 ohm primary, 45kv coil.
