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working on a new to me '78 K5. it has a 396, 325hp out of a 68 or 69 chevelle.
i am wanting to replace the HEI distributor with a like replacement. i do not know what cam is in it. it used to have a highrise intake and nitrous. it was used as a racing/mud truck in the 80s and 90s and has sat since then. it currently has a delco remmy HEI. has a TH350 trans.
any recommendations for a replacement? i am not mudding or racing, just a daily driver with a partial restoration.
Since no 396 ever came with a factory HEI distributor (only points distributor) the one you are replacing is not a factory correct part. Might as well go with a generic mid-priced Performance HEI distributor (they are all Chinese, including MSD). You can map current advance curve and play with it with springs and weights to suit your needs - or just drop it in and run it as-is like most will do.
If this has a serious race engine with a roller cam, you will need a bronze distributor gear. But I think that is highly unlikely.
thank you, it looks cheap and easy, i will order it up.
i will see what gear is on it when i take the old out. maybe find some surprise. the valve covers leak badly so i will see what heads are on it and document everything i can. any easy way to tell what cam is in it when the distributor is out?
This sounds like an interesting bit of engine archeology you are doing! Be sure to keep us posted.
As for learning about what cam you have, could you use a dial indicator at the rocker arm and measure the lift and possibly also the duration of the cam? If was used for racing, it might be a cam that is not so great for daily driving. This is just a very general comment as I know little when it comes to Chevy big-blocks.
thank you, it looks cheap and easy, i will order it up.
i will see what gear is on it when i take the old out. maybe find some surprise. the valve covers leak badly so i will see what heads are on it and document everything i can. any easy way to tell what cam is in it when the distributor is out?
No way to know exactly what cam it has by pulling distributor - but if it has a bronze gear on the distributor you can bet it has a roller cam and you should do likewise with the new distributor. Otherwise just drop it in as-is.
Get the casting number for the heads. On a SBC the number is between rocker arms under valve cover. Big block - I don't know where, but imagine the same. Does it have aluminum aftermarket heads and headers and aluminum intake? If not, you probably have a stock engine with possibly a performance cam. Honestly, if it was a serious race build, it wouldn't be running a stock vacuum advance HEI. But good to know exactly what you have there. You also might want to take both the casting and stamped numbers off the block. We can figure it all out. https://nastyz28.com/chevy-engine-code-stampings.php
as soon as i get valve cover gaskets i will check the head #s, but they look factory.
its a bad guess as to what it used to be. the high rise intake and carb it had on it are gone. the nitrous hose is still there, lol. it still has marks from the old air filter housing hitting the underside of the hood (fiberglass).
all the previous owner knows is Rhodes Lifters, Competition Cams, and Predator Performance Carburetors. he doesn't know what his dad did with the old race parts. sadly, i was also told the big cam was changed out a long time ago to something "more tame".
it now has a gm 3883948 oval port intake and quadrajet 7043207. the engine block # T0823EK. im excited to get this thing running again.
Last edited by 78,396,k5; Dec 10, 2024 at 08:15 PM.
396bb '78 K5 distributor
