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HEI
Pontiac V8 HEI
One Wire and Done — HEI for Pontiac V8s
An HEI distributor puts the coil in the cap and runs on a single 12-volt feed, which is why it is still the simplest ignition upgrade on a street Pontiac V8. No box, no external coil, no extra bracketry, and a cap big enough to keep the spark where it belongs.
Butler stocks new Pontiac HEI distributors from RPC with a built-in 50,000 volt coil and adjustable vacuum advance, and the Pertronix Flame-Thrower HEI with an HEI III module, adjustable vacuum advance canister and a digital rev limiter, on a .491" shaft.
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1. The Two Levels of HEI
Both are new units rather than rebuilds, and both keep the factory look under the hood. The difference is what is inside the housing.
| RPC stock replacement | Built as a straight replacement for a stock engine, with a steel gear, a one-wire hookup, a built-in 50,000 volt coil, adjustable vacuum advance and a .491" gear, designed to run through 8,000 rpm. Available with a red or a black cap. |
| Pertronix HEI III | A street and strip unit built from all new components with an aluminum alloy housing, honed bronze sintered bushings and a centerless ground shaft. The HEI III module runs multi-spark discharge through redline with an adjustable digital rev limiter and microprocessor dwell control at 7.2 amps, and Pertronix rates the combination to operate without misfires beyond 7,500 rpm. |
2. Two Fitment Warnings Worth Reading Twice
Neither of these is obvious until the part is in your hands.
| Voltage | If you are using factory wiring, confirm you have a full 12 volts at the distributor. A car originally built with points used a resistor or a resistor wire, and that must not be left in the circuit. |
| Application limits | The RPC units do not cover the 301 and will not work with a Tri-Power intake, and they do not include a distributor gasket. Order one with the distributor. |
3. Gear, Cap and Wires
An HEI is a .491" shaft distributor, which narrows the rest of the order.
| Gear | Use a .491" gear, and pick the material to suit your camshaft. The BOP composite .491" gear is listed for factory GM HEI and Pertronix HEI applications. |
| Cap and rotor | Replacement HEI caps and rotors are stocked separately, including caps specific to the RPC distributor. |
| Wires | An HEI cap takes a socket-style distributor end, which is what Butler's custom-routed Pontiac wire sets are built with. |
If you want more out of an HEI you already own, the module and the in-cap coil can both be upgraded rather than replacing the whole distributor.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Email our tech team at tech@butlerperformance.com. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.