belvedere Posted June 28, 2020 Report Posted June 28, 2020 I bought one of these kits, and have a question for others who have installed one. I'm wondering about the clamp. Obviously, it is used to position the distributor vertically (depth into the block). But since the bolt hole in the clamp is not slotted, it appears that timing is adjusted by loosening the clamp and rotating the distributor in the clamp. When the clamp is loosened to rotate (adjust timing), doesn't this allow the vertical/depth position to possibly change, too? Any other tips related to this installation are welcome, too. Thanks! Quote
greg g Posted June 28, 2020 Report Posted June 28, 2020 The drive Spud seats into a slot in the oil pump. It can only go so far. Quote
belvedere Posted June 28, 2020 Author Report Posted June 28, 2020 27 minutes ago, greg g said: The drive Spud seats into a slot in the oil pump. It can only go so far. Right, but the instructions are clear about making sure there is vertical movement/play in the shaft after installation (ie, don't want it pushed too tight into the pump). Of course, you wouldn't want it coming out of the slot, either. Just seems to me that it would be better if the clamp's position could be set and left alone. Have you had any issues with this while adjusting the timing on yours? Quote
Andydodge Posted June 28, 2020 Report Posted June 28, 2020 Can't help re your exact question but the Langdon HEI was the best bang for the buck I did when I installed it on the stock 12volt converted 1941 Plymouth Coupe I had.......instant starts by just leaning in and turning the key, ran better, smoother, and just better in every way..........as for your question, I installed it, retimed the dissy, new spark plugs with a 45 thou gap and off she went........had no issue re the shaft depth, just installed and away we went.............andyd 1 Quote
belvedere Posted June 29, 2020 Author Report Posted June 29, 2020 Glad to hear it works well for you, Andy! Quote
nkeiser Posted June 29, 2020 Report Posted June 29, 2020 The clamp he provides only adjusts the height. You need to reuse the slotted piece from the stock distributor to adjust and lock the timing. Quote
MarkAubuchon Posted June 29, 2020 Report Posted June 29, 2020 I bought one and have never installed it (lazy) want to install for Septembers trip to the northeast. What type of spark plugs did you use? Quote
Loren Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 I bought one too. I am still waiting for the new engine to come back from the machine shop to install it. One of the neat things you can add to it is a Multiple Spark unit. These (such as MSD brand or the Summit house brand) really get the fires burning. They cutoff and become single spark at 3,000 rpm which means on a flathead they are multi spark most of the time. The spark gap can be opened up to .060 which requires a pretty hot spark to jump. Langdon sells you Champion plugs but I'd rather have NGK or Autolite. There's a place for your Tach signal too. Every once in a while the General makes something worthwhile and HEI is one of them. 1 Quote
Adam H P15 D30 Posted June 30, 2020 Report Posted June 30, 2020 Keep in mind the type of coil you use will determine the spark plug gap. 2 Quote
belvedere Posted July 1, 2020 Author Report Posted July 1, 2020 On 6/29/2020 at 9:36 AM, nkeiser said: The clamp he provides only adjusts the height. You need to reuse the slotted piece from the stock distributor to adjust and lock the timing. It would make sense to do it that way, but there's nothing in the instructions about the original piece, and I don't see any way to mount it on the HEI dist. Do you have a pic of how you made that work? Thanks! Quote
bones44 Posted July 1, 2020 Report Posted July 1, 2020 I have Langdon's HEI and it works great. But my question is how do you mount the slotted piece from the stock distributor to adjust and lock the timing on a GM distributor? Quote
nkeiser Posted July 3, 2020 Report Posted July 3, 2020 On 6/30/2020 at 9:07 PM, belvedere said: It would make sense to do it that way, but there's nothing in the instructions about the original piece, and I don't see any way to mount it on the HEI dist. Do you have a pic of how you made that work? Thanks! I remember being frustrated with the instructions as well and being happy when I finally looked at the old one and found the missing piece. I couldn't find any saved pictures, and it's been over a year so the memory is a little foggy. I'l see if I can get a picture in the morning. 1 Quote
nkeiser Posted July 4, 2020 Report Posted July 4, 2020 Ok, I appologize. My memory was foggier than I thought. I did NOT reuse the stock slotted piece. I originally tried to because I couldn't find the clamp he provided. Once I found the clamp Langdon sent in the distributor box, things made more sense. Here's a picture with the set bolt out and the distributor partially removed. Quote
Gnome Posted July 4, 2020 Report Posted July 4, 2020 i have one, working on installation tomorrow. Where did you guys mount the square coil? if you used one. Quote
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