[Alan Roehrich]

You'll never be able to count on a relatively stock HEI setup in a race car. The design was originally intended for engines that never saw the high side of 5500 RPM, and rarely ventured past 4000.

Sure, the aftermarket came up with several crutches over the years. Some work okay. But they're really intended for mild street use, or classes where the rules require stock ignition systems.

Anything that uses an HEI module, stock or aftermarket, will fail, and will never offer maximum performance.

You can "get by" using an empty HEI distributor, with only the magnetic pick up coil in it. But make absolutely certain you get a premium pick up coil for it, I have had the best results a genuine GM AC/Delco part. Also, be sure you have the correct unit for the rotation of the distributor. Do not put a pick up coil made for a clock wise rotation distributor in a distributor that rotates counter clock wise. A lot of people will tell you that it will work, but I have seen instances where it does not work well.