Odd Fire HEI

For informations sake, I went to Carquest the other day to get distributer cap for my odd fire HEI and they had to order one, now thats not too odd, but in the northeast midwest the part is not stocked at the regional warehouses, so it had to be ordered out of the main warehouse in Chicago. Also the last hit in Chicago was two years ago, that what my local Carquest said. I know that parts become obsolete if use goes down, Am I just over concerned or should I buy a lifetime supply of them?
Joe

 

I have always been able to just walk in and get one.

You do have me concerned a bit now though. I would like to hear from someone in the parts biz, maybe.

 

The standard HEI Odd and Even fire caps ARE NOT the same. The odd fire HEI cap is a modified V8 cap..The plug wires on top are 2 post/ blank /4 post /blank. The inside is VERY different. The even fire has 6 equaly spaced post.
Keith

 

I have a question. :? When was the first hei oddfire distributor introduced and what cars ran them?:? I went to 4 different parts dealers and told them what I had and they did not know what I was talking about. A clerk at kragen autoparts grabbed a distributor cap at random off the shelf and it matched my old cap identically. He did not know how to check on the system for the part number to cross reference what vehicles it was from. From what I've read, all gm 6 cylinder hei caps are a modified v-8 cap with 2 posts blanked out. GM did this to save money. I have never seen an even fire cap so I wouldnt be sure, just what I've read here in the tech search. These things must be pretty rare since no one at the 4 different parts store ever heard of oddfire or evenfire.:? To pull at random and find one to match tells me that warloch might be right.:stout:

 

Here's a link that might help...http://home.off-road.com/~merls_garage/oddfire.html
The even fire HEI cap looks just like any large 6 cylinder cap with evenly spaced post. The odd fire cap was a v8 cap but the even fire wasn't, I don't think.
Keith

 

It really is sad these people behind the counter at parts stores wouldnt know ther behind from a hole in the ground if it wasnt for the damn computer in front of them .And what that computer says is gospel even though I have found it wrong in many occasions.
ONly believe have of what you here from most of these guys.
FWIW the local napa in my small town has never had a problem getting them for me.

 

my motor was from a 75 regal i think. i went in and told them i needed a HEI for that year regal and it slide right in. the only diff are the cap and the spark ring at the bottom (magnetic ring that tells the computer to fire). on the even fire, it is spaced equally and the points are equal length. the oddfire has 3 pairs. a large point and a smaller point. along with this thisdiference, the cap is a modified v-8 cap. they had extra v-8 caps, why not modify em and use them?
i have had to order almost every time i got mine. but it was only a day out or so. no big deal.
the caps will interchange, but will spark differently. you will get a large arc inside your cap if you stick an oddfire cap on even dist. loose power when you kick off into it. thats one of the major differences that make odds odd and evens even. dist, crank, cam and flywheel. (of course in the later years larger intake runners, bigger cam journals, better rods, different water jackets and of course.. a turbo).

warloch, if you interchange the 2, then you might buy a real OF dist and stick it on and check yer power. might gain about 100 horses. if it still runs funny, might check your dist and make sure its an OF dist. i made the mistake once and mine ran ok at idle, but once i put my foot into it, POP POP BANG SPUTTER CHUG CHUG..POW!
it didnt like it.

 

Yup. The problem is the Parts industry refuses to pay QUALIFIED Professional Counter people a decent wage. They tend to hire flunky's who can't find their butt with a road map, train them on the computer, and let them go at it at minimum wage. That drives out the true Professionals because they get tired of dealing with angry customers bringing back incorrect parts because of the flunkys and the customer's unwillingness to give adequate information to get what they need. Plus, the parts houses would rather pay minimum wage than a decent wage to the Professionals. Not all parts houses are like that, but places like Autozone, Schuck's, etc. generally are. These places flourish because of their cheap-a#$ prices (with quality to match). Some of the older Mom and Pop Parts houses and places like CAPS and Napa may charge more, but generally cater more to the professional repair industry and tend to do a bit better. Parts tend to be more accessible also. Moral of this story, if you find a good parts house or person, stick with them, even if the parts cost a little bit more or we will lose them altogether. Nickmil.

 

Well the thread meandered around, but as far as the OF HEI cap (v-8 w/two blank towers!) has anyone had issues obtaining one? My local Carquest is VERY customer oriented ( I always deal with the owner) but on odd things, they are limited to experience (it seems that I know more than they do about ECJ-5's, I should with this site 's knowledge base!). I expect the same FLAPS in 1977 would have no problem finding the right part for a Buick OF V-6, we have more knowledge than current auto parts store's counter person do sometimes. I enjoy the relationship with my local FLAPS, I challenge them and pit Napa against Carquest and vice a versa all the time (small town!). I just got the cap today and it was the right one, but I would rather have brass contacts than the silver contacts on Carquest's cap, seems that HEI caps with brass contacts last longer. Anyway, we should all buy a new cap and rotor to keep demand up and manufacturers making new part so there will be no obsolete parts!
Joe

 

told the counterman I needed a HEI for a 75 buick Apollo.

 

I was suprised that I got a L-134 cap next day at Carquest! The entire jobber (flaps) industry has become very "No problem I can have it here tomorrow". A good traditional network like O'Reilly, CarQuest and Auto Value (Bumper to Bumper) should always be able to get ignition parts. As for big box stores, I am cautious due to the quality issue. I have my favorite places for everything based on brand of item. I trust Carquest for ignition stuff but its 20 minutes away. I only step into Wal-Mart for 5 Qt jugs of Mobil 1 that sells for about $20

 

yeah they can get you parts quickly, just not always the right one. O'riely been trying to get me a dimmer switch now for some time. Five weeks, that went on keep sending some unknown ignition part. Said the computer was transposing the number ,go figure. I've given up for now, out of frustration. I'd go to Napa but they are idiots too.R)