How to lockout and phase an HEI distributor 

This was one of the first videos I ever made and I didn't really want to talk on it so I put in the background music...I need to redo it without music and explain each step. I made a Part 2 video explaining things and answered a few questions though...

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Locking out a distributor is mainly for racing applications where the engine spends the majority of its time at full throttle. If you watch the video to the end, there is a link to a second video -part 2- that answers a lot of questions.

@@BruceCoggins. So in this case, it has to be done for all marine engines since they are on fully throttle most of the times… right??

@@sepasgozar I don't know enough about Marine engines to give you an honest answer. You can try locking out the distributor and see how it works for you. If it doesn't work, you can always put the springs and weights back on.

@@BruceCoggins . Thanks for getting back to me, Sorry when you say that I need to try and lock the advance curve, if it works… how I can realise if it works or not?

@@sepasgozar Since you mentioned that you are at full throttle most of the time then locking out the advance might be a good thing in your case. I would try a few full throttle pulls the way it's set up now and then lock out the advance and make a few more pulls and see if you notice a difference. The only issue you will most likely run into is hard starting once the engine gets warmed up. With that much advance (usually 35 degrees) the starter might kick back or the engine will struggle to turn over. That's where a good start retard system comes in handy or you can run the ignition power on a toggle switch and the starter on a momentary switch...leave the ignition OFF and hit the starter button...once the engine starts turning over, flip the ignition power on and voila...Just like drag racing - we're full throttle so centrifugal advance is just another variable. With the timing locked out you will notice the spark plugs will clean up and the porcelain will be almost white...none of that tan color business anymore. The engine should be more crisp and if you have a decent camshaft you should be able to hear the difference between stock slow timing and fully advanced timing. It's funny, I can listen to an engine run and tell if the timing is too slow especially when I'm at car shows, LOL. Hope this helps.

The vacuum canister holds the magnetic pickup in place but it will not be phased properly if you lockout the centrifugal advance. You can modify the mounting holes or make your own lockout plate to use in place of the vacuum canister. Watch part 2 of this video...I explain that part in detail. Thanks for watching.

The goal is to get the rotor tip in the center of the cap terminal. I've tested putting the rotor tip at the leading edge of the terminal but the spark occurs at the center due to the fact that it is the shortest route through the terminal out to the spark plug wires. This is with the vac advance disconnected and, preferably, welded. This can also be used to build advance curves too. I have a custom degree wheel that is removable so when checking curves, I have it installed. This test stand was fairly simple to build. I found this unit on the interwebs some time ago and copied it and then made a couple of changes to fit my needs. The source I used was very detailed. I have literally spent hours in the garage playing with this little unit. I've been wanting to do this for years but never could get my hands on a distributor machine....I have a Sun machine now but I think I like this unit better, LoL. It's been a blast.

Also, how did it still line up after you advanced timing (changed plates) is the advance the same as one tooth on the pickup?

This only works when the centrifugal advance is locked. The actual function of centrifugal advance is to advance the timing at a specified rate and a specified amount. If you have a functioning centrifugal advance, it will -or should- phase itself. I think I have a video on a fully functional distributor that shows it will automatically phase itself. Watch the video labeled MSD 85551 - Phasing check.

The phasing remained the same because I only moved the top plate. The shaft remained stationary in relation to the magnetic pickup.

Hmm the top plate is the shaft on an hei. The rotor bolts to the part that moves, which is the center reluctor wheel also.

@@fiskshopworx1541 yes, you are correct...I meant to say the reluctor and magnetic pickup stay lined up. The top plate is attached to the shaft and the reluctor is attached to the other part. The shaft will move but that doesn't affect the phasing. Basically, you want the pickup and the points on the reluctor wheel to stay lined up. The point of me showing both positions when locking out the advance was...there have been many people over the years who like to argue which position is best. As I showed in this video, it doesn't really matter.

Correct, as long as the rod is in the correct position. You can use a handheld vacuum pump and apply vacuum until the rod pulls the magnetic pickup into the correct position. I made a video using this technique a couple of years ago.

Sorry, I only work with my stuff and a few local racing friends.

The magnetic pickup needs to be aligned with the reluctor. When the points line up that's when spark occurs. The reason you put the plate in place of the vacuum advance canister is to hold the magnetic pickup stationary (at the 3:18 mark you can see how the plate holds the pickup stationary). You can also use a vacuum pump on a stock vacuum canister and as the engine is running you can apply vacuum and you will be able to see the rotor change positions as the magnetic pickup moves...assuming you have a hole cut in the distributor cap. Once you have it set to where you want it, tack weld the rod on the canister. You can experiment with this in the vehicle by leaving the screws out that hold the canister in place and with the engine running, slowly move the vacuum canister forward or rearward and you will see what happens. Hope this helps...let me know if I need to explain it differently. Basically, you can do all this in the car so just play around with it and you'll have a little better understanding.

@@BruceCoggins ok thanks. So, yes I see how they line up. So that.650 distance that you show on the vacuum lockout seems to max out the vacuum advance. Is that how it has to be, or it varies depending on how the rotor is lining up? That’s really what I don’t understand. If there’s no vacuum put to the canister, it won’t move. You would just turn the distributor to get your timing. 36 initial and 36 total, no? Now that I’m thinking about it, I’m going by an old distributor out of the car, so everything can turn. In the car, I’d have to use a vacuum pump to align the pickup with the reluctor, then that’s the measurement of the vacuum lockout?

@@tonyamatucci1999 The position I recommended for the canister lockout plate is so the rotor will line up with the number one terminal. Any more or less and the rotor will be firing before or after the terminal. Let's say you have a locked out distributor and the rotor is firing just before the #1 terminal and your timing is set to 35*...if you try to move the magnetic pickup rearward to line the terminal up to fire exactly in the middle of the #1 terminal, you would have to readjust the timing because, in this case, the timing will retard slightly. I have had other people ask if they can just leave the vacuum canister alone and wondered if it would work so you are not alone in asking about the positioning of things. Tell you what...I'll make a new video today about this and see if I can show how this works.

@@BruceCoggins great!! Looking forward to it. 👍

🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸❤️❤️❤️🌎🌎🦌🐓🍓🤪 Can this procedure be used to convert an HEI vacuum advance distributor, to a marine application for a 1982 sbc 5.7l Mercruiser? Just tying to save money, and not waste a new distributor. I just bought an engine with a new distributor installed, and need it to go back in the boat. Your video is the only one of it's kind I've been able to find. Thank You.

I'll have to pass, sorry. I do have a few questions for you though...can you run an aftermarket ignition system or do the rules require you to run a stand alone HEI distributor? If you are only able to run the HEI then you can still lock it out but leave the module in place...the timing will retard as the RPM increases but that might still work just fine for your application. You will have to put a timing light on the engine to see how far it retards...shouldn't be too much. If you can run an aftermarket ignition system then I'd definitely get rid of the in-cap coil. I assume you have a separate ignition switch with a push button starter so a start retard should not be needed with locked out timing. You will need to experiment with how much timing your engine requires. I'm not sure if you want to keep the advance functional or not but since this is a race car and it pretty much lives at full throttle, I'd lock it out.

​@BruceCoggins ok, Thank you very much for the advice and your time. Yes I run a pushbutton start with toggle switches. So I'm going to lock out the vacuum advance and see what happens.Should I remove the vacuum advance can? I need this thing to jump when I hit that skinny pedal.😁 Thanks

You can't remove the vacuum advance canister because it holds the pickup in place. I showed how to modify the mounting holes so you can adjust the pickup to line up with the reluctor in this video...or you can make your own lock out plate which is the way I'd go 😉

Couple of things...if the distributor is locked out then there is no mechanical advance. Also, no matter where the rotor is when spark occurs, electricity flows through the shortest path so the spark will occur in the center of the cap terminal and flow out to the spark plug wire. You would think the spark would occur at the leading or trailing edge of the wide terminal but it doesn't...it happens in the middle.

@@BruceCoggins just a normal hei with weights, so the rotor and cap tab stay the same orientation, but the magnetic trigger fires sooner?

If the mechanical advance is functional then don't mess with it ...HEI distributors are pretty much self phasing as long as everything stays intact and functional

@@BruceCoggins thanks. Does the vacuum and mechanical advance make up for the electronic retardation you showed with the stock hei modul?

Yes. Have you cut a hole in your cap and checked it with a timing light? Just curious what you are seeing with yours.

and that's why I made a part 2...I answered a few questions that I received and I covered when you should consider locking out your distributor and when you should just leave it alone.

​@@BruceCogginswhat would you suggest I'm putting a 400 sbc 13:1 compression solid roller cam going in a 75 Camaro I have been thinking about getting a hei an just basically setting it up how you set it up the first time canaster off an not full you think that be fine

@@jonathanwhite7968 it sounds like you are building something that will see a lot of track time and I can only assume you will be running a healthy cam so I would go ahead and lock the timing out providing you have some kind of start retard. You will need an aftermarket ignition box in order to fire the distributor when you remove the module. What ignition system do you have or what do you plan on using? *Make sure you watch part 2 of this video...I go into detail and explain a few things that should help you. I believe I have that video linked at the end of this video.

@@BruceCoggins it's my play toy that going see streets more than track right know I'm unsure on ignition set up was thinking hei with lock out total timing set around 32 to 36 depends were likes it I do have a Bluetooth hei distributor from progressive ignition my mad box retard box billit mad distributor was stolen out of my car so right know just hoping get it running good on hei set up i haven't had enough time get use to the Bluetooth one yet so kind of nervous it's 400 dart block mahle Pistons 6" scat h beam rods scat forged crank comp cam custom grind intake 627 exhaust 622 solid roller 220 cfm race ready afr upgrade to titanium retainers Manton pushrods high rise intake ATM e85 750 carb

It was winter time and it was freezing in the garage. These "smurf gloves" don't help much but they do work, LOL.