She runs great then dies

I have the set up you describe above gun-driver with the white balast resistor underneath the red cut off switch with the purple wire going to the coil

Pete, The HEI is an automotive ACCEL distributer. As we all know that the engine is reverse rotation so the gears on the automotive dis were backwards as automotive engines are regular rotation, luckly the dis gear from the Malory was an exact fit on to the ACCEL dis. The guy that helped me do the work, told me that all the marine dis that he's ever seen never had an advance with centrifical weights-IE mercruiser , so he just tac welded them togethor to make the timing advance obsalete.        long story short we just changed the gear on the dis and tac welded the centrifical weights togethor and the thing fires a spark so strong you could power a house!! ;)   "not really"       Hopefully all that made sence and sorry for any incorrect spelling as I am in the Infantry all we know how to do is pull the triger and kill the enemy!!! Will be home on leave in three weeks from S. Korea so show you pics in detail of the Beautiful all orginal '84 SN 2001

TRBenj wrote: 84SN2001 wrote: Pete, The HEI is an automotive ACCEL distributer. As we all know that the engine is reverse rotation so the gears on the automotive dis were backwards as automotive engines are regular rotation, luckly the dis gear from the Malory was an exact fit on to the ACCEL dis. The guy that helped me do the work, told me that all the marine dis that he's ever seen never had an advance with centrifical weights-IE mercruiser , so he just tac welded them togethor to make the timing advance obsalete.        long story short we just changed the gear on the dis and tac welded the centrifical weights togethor and the thing fires a spark so strong you could power a house!! ;)   "not really"       Hopefully all that made sence and sorry for any incorrect spelling as I am in the Infantry all we know how to do is pull the triger and kill the enemy!!! Will be home on leave in three weeks from S. Korea so show you pics in detail of the Beautiful all orginal '84 SN 2001 I have a feeling Pete was baiting you with his question. What your mechanic told you is incorrect on many different levels. Locking the timing in will likely either cause the boat to start/idle poorly or run poorly up top- or possibly both. Marine distributors still use the mechanical advance (weights and springs) mechanism, what they dont have is a vaccuum advance, since boat engines are always under load. Also, an automotive distributor is a major safety hazard on a boat (and a violation of USCG regulations), as it is not spark arrested like a marine unit. Just a few gas fumes in the bilge and you have a recipe for disaster. I would strongly consider ditching the HEI you have on there now, in the name of safety. Performance Distributors sells a marine HEI unit if you want to stick with that type of ignition system.

Tim,
I don't understand what you're implying?
Brian,
To a certain extent, Tim is correct but I really was confused about your mechanic welding the weights together. Every engine needs a means of advancing the sparks as RPM's increase. I'm still confused but it must be a misinterpretation from your mechanic.

Tim is absolutely correct that not running a marine rated component is unsafe. Take a look at getting it swapped out.

Thanks for the advice.

I will purchase the MSD 822 epoxy and ballast resistor and exchange them before i go out next, all we want to do is top keep the boat running, it became such a pain last year to spend 4 hours out of your day to be dissapointed every time we got in the boat and have to be towed home. I will let you know how we get on.

HOOOAH Thanks, I will switch out the dis when I get home for leave and put the correct marine one on so we dont blow the engine cover off and kill some one. I can still asure you that the centrifical weights are spot welded togethor. When I change out the unit which still runs awsome but not safe, I will take a few pics and post them in about three weeks for you mechanic guys that are confused on how it does not work! Hell I might be confused

As to why PCM/ CC used 350's in some models as an option back then, I couldn't tell you. Well, other than that the fords ARE better;) The SBC's are definitely less popular in these years, and most years up until the early 2000's, and of course 2003 when there were no more 351w powered CC's.

Sounds like the same issue I have every year. The fuel screen on the inlet of the carburetor gets all blocked up with crap that's sucked up from the fuel tank. I have to remove and clean the screen every year. I suffer the same symptoms as you described. Good luck and keep us posted. Ken