Green SBC400

thanks for the info guys. so I'll need to look closely at everything. i did have an idea about getting an HEI for a 75 chevy. got a book called "Motor Auto Repair Manual 1976 39th Edition" came with the Monte. it's a general repair book for all sorts of cars, which is pretty cool. Grandpa had everything for the Monte marked and what not. Anyways in the igintion timing column in '75 everything turns to Figure I for chevys. Turns out it's a HEI figure. so maybe just getting some oem replacement stuff from rockauto for a 75 Monte may work. i use that site to keep my truck and the grocery getter going. Hasn't really let me down, except for a couple dealer only parts. So new HEI distributor, new plug wires, and maybe an aircleaner all for a 75. probably not, i bet they only have filters. so I'll need to find an aircleaner that fits a 2bbl. thanks again for ideas and just generally letting me work through my thought processes too.

so I've gone back and forth between points and a magnetic pickup keeping the original look. unfortunately either way go it works for a while then just gets unreliable. got a sbc 400 and was wondering what disributor I should replace the current one with. I'm thinking HEI, i know I'll have to do a conversion or just use a relay to provide the 12v. any suggestions on an HEI that'll fit? and hopefully reliable.

I looked up a few and thought the FAST would be fine. It didn't require changing anything. I'm going to get a test light and test the module. Then if it fails the simple test I'll contact FAST support and get a new module hopefully. Testing out that 1 year warranty already. If a second FAST fails I'll try the pertronix ignition. Unfortunately digital stuff will sometimes smoke for no reason other than poor quality control.

So I put in the old coil and it ran for just a bit. Not smooth at all so it really didn't run. I'm going to get a test light, I don't think the coil is firing all the time, which means that module is already toast. Seems about right, a couple good drives and then just moved it out of the garage and then nothing.

Here's what I installed, I'm attaching the FAST XR-I instructions. Perhaps I just need to re-adjust the module. Move it as close as possible to the distributer shaft. I don't recall adjusting it at all. I'll adjust the module then figure out how to check the timing. The rotor and cap worked with the points, so I didn't change them. Maybe I should change them? The rubbing block on the points was worn off which is why the Monte left me stranded a few miles from the house. Anyways I'll hopefully get to mess with this tomorrow. 2881710.pdf

I found my answer.... It's a capacitor and belongs on the positive side of the coil: Posted November 17, 2019 Do you have a coil capacitor on your coil bracket? That wire would go to the + side along with the resistance wire from the harness(probably crimped to a yellow wire).

What's this wire and white thing? Is it the ground for the distributer body? The story: Points left me stranded, so I decided to convert over to FAST XR-I module and PS20 coil and I messed it up. I followed the directions everything worked for about 3 short drives. Anyways I'm taking things apart trying to trouble shoot it. What is this black wire that goes into this resistor/canister white looking thing? Is that a ground? Looks like it to me. I took the wires off the original coil and placed them back where they were found, I think when I did the conversion. I'm thinking this ground should be placed on the coil negative side with the control module negative, or it's a ground for the distributer body? I had it hooked on the positive side of the coil, which would have grounded everything if that is indeed a ground. So it running was probably a miracle and it'll be a miracle if I didn't burn anything up. I'm handy with tools, but I don't have a book on just the Monte. I've got 3 repair manuals for 70 to 76. A Chilton's, a Motor, and a Big book of repairs. All have general ideas but I'm more of a specifics minded person. I've got projects lined up for the Monte before I try to daily drive it. Anyways I need it back in running shape. And I'm half tempted to put points back in, I need a 1970 book on this car. It's all original except for this FAST XR-I thing. I'm thinking I didn't pay close enough attention to taking the original setup apart and I got lost with the little wires. I payed so much attention to the spark plug wires and distributer positioning and not enough with the little ones. To convert back to points: So it looks like a have a 6V resistor wire and a 12V start wire that goes on the positive side of the coil. The negative side goes to the points. Then there's that wire with the white thing. Where's that go in the points setup? My before pictures it looks like it's on the positive side of the coil. I'm so lost. Thanks for any help.

Woke up with a flat tire, so this afternoon after work I found a good place for a floor jack and block of wood. Decided against using the bumper jack. Took the tire off and made it 2 minutes before the Tire place closed to get a new valve stem in. Looks like the tires are 2004 and the tire in question is still good so hopefully the rest are good too. Glad they made it the 800 miles.