256 I6 Upgrade Distributor Help/Advice

[Techlight]

Hi All,

I hope you've all been well. I haven't been on the site in quite a bit.

I need some advice on an HEI distributor. I have the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l with the Howell throttle body kit. I'm in CA so I have the CA legal kit.

Awhile back my re-manufactured motor went south. From what I gathered from the mechanic and here on this forum the cause was the distributor eating the cam gear. I'm told the only solution is to rebuild or get another re-manufactured motor. Fun times.

So I have a new re-manufactured motor coming next week and I want to steer clear of the cam gear/cheap distributor issue. I spoke with Troy at Howell and he recommended an HEI DUI vacuum advance distributor. Like something from Performance distributors:

https://performancedistributors.com/product/amc-inline-6-cylinder-dui-distributor/

https://crtperformance.com/shop?olsPage=products/amcjeep-232258-42l-i6

The above is not CA approved.

Can anyone suggest a distributor with a part number that is high quality and fits my motor? Something I can "bolt in". I have no problems with wiring modifying etc, but I'd like to avoid changing gears on the distributor or anything like that. Just looking for something high quality I can drop in and follow the instructions to wire lol.

I guess the other option is to keep the duraspark system but buy a quality distributor. Any thoughts and part numbers are appreciated.

I don't want to spend an arm and a leg but I do have some money in the budget for an ignition/distributor upgrade.

Also please keep in mind I'm in CA but I'm not sure if that matters for distributors...but it seems too. I might be able to slip by since I have the Howell kit controlling the smog stuff..

Thanks in advance for all the help. It's always appreciated.

 

[JeeperChris]

Just curious, why didn't you just replace the cam?

A distributor with a bronze cam gear should keep you safe from chewing things up again. Even if you change the gear to a bronze gear it's only a roll pin holding it on.

 

[Techlight]

Just curious, why didn't you just replace the cam?



A distributor with a bronze cam gear should keep you safe from chewing things up again. Even if you change the gear to a bronze gear it's only a roll pin holding it on.

Thanks for the advice on the bronze cam gear. Any links to a quality distributor with one already on it?

On why not changing the cam...i ended up replacing the distributor because I thought that was my issue and ended up with a really bad knock and it will barely run. Mechanic said the motor needed to be replaced. Maybe I should have gotten a second opinion at that point? Learning stuff the hard way is expensive.

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[JeeperChris]

I'm sure the mechanic knows better than me ;-)

Since these motors use the Ford distributors I don't know which one to search for. Maybe someone else will chime in that knows the correct Ford model number, then we can look for the right distributor with the gear on it.

 

[Techlight]

Well...after reading around and looking at the reviews I'm leaning toward the CRT HEI (link below). Anyone care to chime in on the quality and my fear of cam gear stripping with the CRT?

I figure I'll brave the smog nazis here in CA and try to explain that the Howell does all the smog duty and see if they wont just hook it up to the sniffer and see how it does with the CRT. Worse case is I'll dump a stock distributor in it to pass the visual and then go back to the HEI. The stock is easy enough to dump in if I leave all the wiring for it. I'll probably put a phone call into Troy at Howell for good measure on the CRT.

Would really like the forum to chime in on the quality of the CRT though before I pull the trigger. Any takers?

Thanks again.

https://crtperformance.com/sho...oducts/amcjeep-232258-42l-i6



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[JeeperChris]

I'm getting a bad link on that.

Any HEI should be fine even for Ca. since it's an upgrade to the OEM part. Might ask them if they have a California Exemption number on any of their products.

 

[JeeperChris]

C.A.R.B. Exemption Order number, that's what I was thinking of.

Is this the one:

https://crtperformance.com/shop?keywords=Jeep&olsPage=products/amcjeep-232258-42l-i6

 

[caveman]

C.A.R.B. Exemption Order number, that's what I was thinking of.

Is this the one:

https://crtperformance.com/shop?keywords=Jeep&olsPage=products/amcjeep-232258-42l-i6

That distributor should fit the bill just fine. I bought one a few years back and have had no problems with it.

 

[Techlight]

Yeah that is the one I was thinking. They dont have a CARB exempt one that I know if but I'll try to contact them. It wont be OE though cause it's got the coil on top of it and eliminates my stock ignition system. But I'm hoping with Howell they'll over look it.

Glad to hear on the gear. I'll just grab the CRT and worst case throw the stock one in for smog trips.

Thanks for the input.

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