Hot Rods 318 Mopar HEI Brakedown on way to Frog Follies

big blocks turn CCW, small blocks turn CW, would be an easy mistake to make

 

Especially for someone just copying and adapting someone elses design to make it work on another engine.

 

Put a stock Points and condencer distributor back in the car, carry an extra set of points and condencer in the glove box and your troubles will be gone.

 

Is it possible your breather is bottoming out on the baffle, or the bottom of the grommet wasn't cut out (don't laugh, I've seen it done)? This could render your PCV system inoperable.

 

Maybe, maybe not. It has yet to be determined how and why there is oil making its way into the distributor.

 

youtuber low-buck garage has a recent video about a cheap HEI he got for his SBM. It isn't pretty.

 

Link?

 

"anothercar guy"---The PCV valve fits into a breather, which twists on the valve cover. so there isn't blockage there. I have put just under 3,000 miles on the car since the engine install. I drove the car to Louisville and back last month, 400 miles plus, a couple of weeks before the breakdown on the way to the Frog Follies, without any problems. The car is running fine, but I haven't had the chance to put any miles on it yet. Will try to make a couple of short trips this week and check the HEI again to see if oil is making its way up the shaft.

Squirrel--interesting thought about the groves on the shaft, but can't understand why the oil problem didn't show up a long time ago. Maybe the leak is so slow it took this long for the HEI to fill to the point where it was over the top of the module.

 

^^^^^ I can see it now.

 

it's not the main focus of the video and the subject would not fit the forum. I am not going to embed the video for those reasons. His stuff is a bit out there and tongue in cheek, and this one is really out there. Not the best intro to his work. Figured anyone interested would be able to search, but since you asked the title is
DIY Funny Car, The Drag Race Jeep Gets a Front Suspension Delete. Oops!

 

The real issue here is, unless you have pulled that HEI cap off that distributer and looked specifically for an oil build up over all those miles you have already driven the car, you really have no idea how much oil, nor how fast that oil is collecting under the cap. Then, if the HEI was already on the motor when you got it, that oil could well have already been in the distributer, or may have been building up long before you bought the motor and way before you had the problem.
The oil build up may be a recent discovery, but I'm betting that unless you would have been looking specifically for the oil build up, it was something that would have been easily missed. I don't believe I have ever taken a distributer cap off a distributer and thought "Golly, I think I will look to see hw much oil might be building up under this distributer cap today."
Its just not something that is considered a common problem, so its not something we look for.

 

gene----I had the engine rebuilt by a local race shop back when I put the car together, so the oil build up has taken place in the 3,000 miles I've driven the coupe. No way of knowing whether the oil got into the HEI slowly or all at once. But, putting some miles on it now, by way of short trips. and checking it afterwards should give me an indication. Will let you all know what I find.

 

OK, borntoloze, I drove the 33 to town this morning to fill up the tank, about 15 miles round trip. Let it cool down and pulled the HEI cap and rotor----oil in the base. Not a lot but enough to convince me the oil is coming up the HEI shaft internally. Next step is to pull the HEI and figure out why. Oil pressure was 75 lbs while idling and then dropped to 55 when in gear on the road. It could be a seal, or as KenC and Squirrel suggested, the groove on the shaft could be cut the wrong way. One step at a time.

 

This is a really long shot and I'm not sure it's possible but check your vacuum advance and see if the diaphragm is blown. IF the cap sealed fairly tightly, you could build up vacuum in the cap and accelerate the oil coming up the shaft. It's hard to imagine the cap sealing well enough to do that but like I said, it's a long shot.

 

If you pull the distributor, find a stock one and compare the bottom ends that go into the engine. See if the oily one has an extra hole in it.

 

OK, so six months have passed. I was out of town for over three and then tried to order a DUI (Davis United Industries) HIE. American made. Back ordered. Waited several months and supplier said they now have no idea when it might be available. So, ordered a Pro-Form from Summitt. Yes, it is Chinese maid but Summitt says they have had no problems with them. Will try to install it this weekend. Will also go back over all the other possible issues mentioned in this thread.
PLEASE, ALL THE BACK AND FORTH ABOUT THE MERITS OF POINTS vs HEI AREN'T HELPING.