Drop in HEI distributor for engine stand break in?

[Squid4life]

Odd question that I can't find an answer for... If I was to have a Turbo Buick on an engine test stand just to do testing, heat cycles, break in, etc, can you remove cam sensor and drop in a basic HEI distributor for even fire in its place? I want the engine stand to be pretty basic, and one wire HEI would be simpler than harnesses, coil packs, sensors, etc as it is not just for Turbo Buicks. I also build Stage II's, LS's, SBC's, etc. I'd probably just pick up a cheap 231 carb intake to skip the EFI portion. I don't have a distributor handy to check dimensions to see if it's same as cam sensor.

 

[N2BUICK]

I have got several 6 cyl distributors. Probably still got the one my stage 2 was dynoed with. They had to grind on it to have full travel to get timing
Let me know
BTW check you PM on the headers to 67060

 

[Buick Mark]

If your still going to run the injectors you’ll need the cam sensor

 

[Buick Mark]

Never mind I see you wanna run a carb for break in

 

[Squid4life]

I have got several 6 cyl distributors. Probably still got the one my stage 2 was dynoed with. They had to grind on it to have full travel to get timing
Let me know
BTW check you PM on the headers to 67060

I have one or two MSDs in the parts stash. Will probably buy a cheap HEI, carb intake, NA headers, etc, just to keep it NA and basic. About to buy an engine test stand here locally, been wanting one forever.

On your dist, what had to be ground? I am more curious if you can pull the cam sensor, drop in the dist and it fits/ works. I am pretty sure the front covers are same from NA to turbo, so I ASSume you can drop in a dist and make it work.

 

[earlbrown]

the front covers are the same. You'll just need a distributor and a carb.

I thought about it years ago. I was going to get an HEI and a side draft motorcycle carb. With any luck I could find one with a 2.5"ish outlet and clamp it right to the stock TB (held open)

Once set up, that'd make an easy way to run-in engines on a stand. But since I don't build flat tappet engines, it wasn't worth actually doing.

 

[Squid4life]

the front covers are the same. You'll just need a distributor and a carb.

I thought about it years ago. I was going to get an HEI and a side draft motorcycle carb. With any luck I could find one with a 2.5"ish outlet and clamp it right to the stock TB (held open)

Once set up, that'd make an easy way to run-in engines on a stand. But since I don't build flat tappet engines, it wasn't worth actually doing.

That’s a pretty legit idea with the moto carb. Yeah, I still do some flat tappet, but also like to do heat cycles, show the customer a running engine, etc. Plan is just to try to HEI/ carb them all if possible. Except for the LS’s, that’ll take some more setup headache.

 

[michael evans]

The 231(V6 Buick),350,and 455 Buick all use the same dimensional distributors.

Of course the V6 and the V8 are different on the inside.

 

[earlbrown]

Anything with a flat and a collar can spin the pump. The MAIN thing to avoid is pushing down on the pump shaft when spinning it. Just engage the drive flanges, don't put weight on the pump shaft.