4x4vet

I have a 350 from a 1975 Belair that I stuck in my 1970 Toyota Land Cruiser back in 1984.
I rebuilt it around 1992 to stock specs.
About fifteen years ago I put an HEI distributor on it and everything has worked well up until this last year.
The engine will start right away and do so for months at a time then will not get spark to the plugs.
I have had this happen three times now, the latest being just today.
I have narrowed it down to what I think is the contact between the carbon button in the dist. cap and metal tang on the rotor cap.
I am getting 12+ volts to the dizzy.
I can pull the cap and everything looks clean with no signs of arching .
I can put the cap back on and the engine will fire right up and keep doing so for weeks.
I installed an HEI system on my son's Dodge slant six and the engine runs great but he has experienced the same phenomena.
I am wondering if anyone has experienced this and knows the cause and hopefully a solution.

oilcanhenry

The HEI system had lots of problems, which is why GM abandoned it. Curiuosity about your sons Dodge. This must be an old car as Dodge hasn't produced the I-6 slant 225 cubic in motor in years that I now of.

4x4vet

I am not up to date on the latest innovations. I went to the HEI to replace the points.
The system has worked with out a glitch from the day I installed it until a few months ago.
If has lots of problems I imagine this should be one of them and someone will have a suggestion.

As for the slant 6, yes it is an older vehicle.
1987 Dodge van to be exact.
It is a good running vehicle and we rebuilt it about 10 years ago.
He bought it when in college twenty some odd years ago and like me he tends to hold on to things.
I bought a new Fiat in 75 and drove it for 35 years.
Have owned the FJ40 for 46 years.

I am happy with the way the HEI works but not looking forward to having to take the dist. cap of every few weeks just to spit in it in order to keep it running.
As I write my faulty memory says this has only happened with this last cap and rotor.
That wouldn't explain why the setup on the van has done the same though.

Still open for suggestions

kevinkpk

One suspect item could be ignition switch.

kevinkpk

One other thing, is the hei a straight 12 volt?

oilcanhenry

You might try some silicone spray. I might do the trick.

BTW I had an uncle, now deceased, that owned a Landcruiser for many years, They were well made. He had a bad habit of resting his foot on the clutch pedal, but he was a great outdoorsman. Took that LC everywhere.

Rednucleus

maybe try another cap/rotor? Easy & cheap

4x4vet

Switch is in good condition. While I get a good 12 volts in run position but didn't think to check and see what the reading is while cranking.

I am running power to the coil through a new rely and getting direct power from battery.
I get a reading 13.5V or higher with lights and heater on when engine is running.

A new cap and rotor is on the list but remember the same thing is happening to a different vehicle also.

The silicon intrigues me. are you suggesting applying it to inside of cap?
Any explanation how it would help?

Kazoocruiser

I don't know how your set up compares to mine, but I know that the coil integrated HEI system uses a spring to connect the carbon brush to the coil. You might pull that portion apart and verify the spring hasn't gotten corroded or has broken. You could stretch the spring a bit and use some dielectric grease between the spring / coil / carbon brush to assure a good electrical contact. That would at least eliminate that area as a potential problem generator. Do the same thing with the van.

I am sure you will figure this out, since you admitted that "I bought a new Fiat in 75 and drove it for 35 years."

I owned a 1968 124 Spyder. With points. I learned all the acronyms.
Find It Another Town
Fix It Again Today
Fix It Again Tomorrow
Fix It Again, Tony.
Fine Italian Animal Trainer.
-------
Nothing against FIAT. They make a great tractor.

Probably why they won WW2.

4x4vet

Yes I know all the jokes too.
My favorite is acceleration with out exhilaration.
Pretty gutless when it comes torque but get one up to seven or eight thousand rpm's and they are a blast.
The Fiat I bought new was a 128 Sedan with an eleven hundred engine.
It ran great for the first five years I had it and am sure it would have kept going for much longer but the water pump belt broke and my wife's idiot father who was riding along told her to go ahead and drive home because the air moving through the radiator would keep the engine cool.
After 10 miles with no coolant circulating it is a wounder the car was still running at all when she pulled into the driveway.
I put a fifteen hundred Strada in it and had a Magniti Morelli dist. with electronic ignition.
It used the same brain as GM with external coil.
It never missed a beat for the next thirty years.
The van with the slant 6 uses the GM coil but it is not in the cap.
I built a special housing for the coil and the connection for high tension wire is securely attached to the coil.
The occasional no spark problem seams to be the same as the HEI on my vehicle.
I pulled the cap the 350 the other day and wiped the inside even though it was clean and the put it back together.
It fired right up.
Went out this am. to see what the gremlins had been up to over night and with barely a flick of the switch the engine fired right up.
It is anybodies guess how long it will start before it decides to give me grief again.
Kind of make me wish I had a (choke) Ford engine. At least the dizzy would be up front and easy to get to.