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GM HEI on 258? |
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jdarosa 
AMC Nut 
Joined: Oct/31/2014 Location: Portland, OR Status: Offline Points: 264 |
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 Topic: GM HEI on 258?Posted: Aug/13/2015 at 3:05pm |
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I'm looking for alternatives to the stock ignition setup on my 258 out of an '83 Concord. I've heard the GM HEI (?) is a good and uncomplicated swap.
Any recommendations? |
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1968 American 440 – 232/AT 4dr
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2drwgn
AMC Nut
Joined: Jul/02/2007 Location: Ocala, Fl. Status: Offline Points: 248 |
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Posted: Aug/13/2015 at 3:38pm |
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As far as I am concerned, it's the only way to go. I have one on my 258 in my Wrangler.
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1966 American convert
4.0 FI AW4 |
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83GT
AMC Addicted
Joined: Aug/03/2014 Location: Galveston TX Status: Offline Points: 507 |
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Posted: Aug/13/2015 at 3:42pm |
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Same here, swapped over to HEI and haven't looked back.
TL
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2014 Star Stryker - Only Ride
1992 Bayliner Trophy Walk-Around |
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jdarosa
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Joined: Oct/31/2014 Location: Portland, OR Status: Offline Points: 264 |
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Posted: Aug/13/2015 at 3:43pm |
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Word. How is the swap? Anything to watch out for? Also, any part numbers?
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1968 American 440 – 232/AT 4dr
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2drwgn
AMC Nut
Joined: Jul/02/2007 Location: Ocala, Fl. Status: Offline Points: 248 |
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Posted: Aug/13/2015 at 5:02pm |
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I just bought one from e bay put it in and set the timing and you came adjust the vac advance.
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1966 American convert
4.0 FI AW4 |
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Pdok
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Joined: Apr/03/2011 Location: Alabama Status: Offline Points: 1025 |
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Posted: Aug/13/2015 at 6:15pm |
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TFI is pretty easy too, I did that swap on an 83 jeep. Here's a pic I got from the Internet somewhere with part numbers.
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76 Grem X 258/904,4.0 head/MPFI, Comp X250H cam, Hughes springs, Clifford header, serpentine swap.
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83GT
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Joined: Aug/03/2014 Location: Galveston TX Status: Offline Points: 507 |
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Posted: Aug/13/2015 at 6:17pm |
There was a thread regarding, and I think it was Farna* that posted the part#/type/style. I followed the posted advice and had zero troubles. I bought the unit with the clear cap, looks cool to see the rotor spinning. * - it was one of the main contributors, let me apologize if I chose the wrong guy, but this guy is an AMC god on the site
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2014 Star Stryker - Only Ride
1992 Bayliner Trophy Walk-Around |
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billd
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Forum Administrator Joined: Jun/27/2007 Location: Iowa Status: Offline Points: 30894 |
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Posted: Aug/13/2015 at 8:08pm |
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I put one from a Chevy pickup with a 250 in my 258.
Use an 81 or later AMC V8 gear. One thing to watch out for - do a dry fit without the gasket. It should hit the block easily. If not it may be that the flat part of the shaft isn't flat up high enough and it's bottoming in the oil pump driven shaft. I had to take my little angle grinder and carefully extend the flats up the shaft a bit then it dropped in without the gasket so that I knew with the gasket it would have clearance for heat expansion. I was careful to try to keep a similar radius on the shaft flats. the drawing below is crude as heck but hopefully coveys one possible thing to watch. Otherwise I put on a gear I bought off eBay that I believe was for an 81 or 82 V8 - that way it fits the Delco shaft and meshes perfectly with the 258 cam distributor drive gear. You can buy the gears from Jeep performance places sometimes too. It is a simple upgrade but be aware that the ignition feed for the Ford system had a resistor like a points system. So if you use the stock original ignition feed it will be going through a resistance wire. Yes it may be electronic but they did keep the resistance wire. You can find it shown in the TSM wiring diagrams. The GM HEI want's the full 12 volts all the time.  |
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billd
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Posted: Aug/13/2015 at 8:14pm |
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I found a few pictures - I did the conversion early on when the car still looked like crap from a junkyard and had the original plastic valve covers and original factory equipment oil leaks.
It was a dirt cheap conversion and looked nice later when I cleaned things up and put a cast valve cover on it. I believe I paid a total of about $55 for distributor and gear. The gear was about half of that cost. The distributor was from that 250 in a chevy truck and if I recall cost a whopping 25 bucks.
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farna
Supporter of TheAMCForum
Moderator Lost Dealership Project Joined: Jul/08/2007 Location: South Carolina Status: Offline Points: 19676 |
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Posted: Aug/14/2015 at 7:30am |
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Instead of grinding the shaft you can use a large washer between the dizzy body and block.
If you have a Duraspark ignition already I'd use the TFI upgrade. Instead of the MSD box you can use the Duraspark box, but I recommend using a GM HEI ignition module. Search "GM module with Duraspark" and you'll find the wiring diagram. Why? The replacement Duraspark boxes have a bad reliability reputation, the GM HEI module is rock solid (in comparison) as long as you have it mounted on something metal to sink heat away. Doesn't have to be an aluminum heat sink, though many bake the potting material out of a Duraspark aluminum box and mount it there, mainly to keep the stock look (hide the GM component in their Ford!). Does work as a great heat sink. If all you have is a points distributor then you can use a Pertronix module. That's the most cost effective and works just as good as any stock electronic ignition. If you have the old Prestolite electronic system just replace the darn thing! Soldering the wires at the connector (removing connector) might solve your problems though. |
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Frank Swygert
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2drwgn wrote: