350 Distributor Question

" I am in the process of putti

" I am in the process of putting a Volvo penta I/O with a 350 engine together, I recieved the setup in pieces and got two distributors with the engine, one is the original mallory unit with points the other is a automotive HEI unit. The HEI is tempting because of simplicity and higher voltage spark, but is this conversion just asking for trouble? like what to do with the vacuum advance? Also is there a electronic conversion for the mallory which seems to be a higher quality dist. anyway? "

"I don't know of any HEI&#

"I don't know of any HEI's that are approved for marine use, Dave. I'd use the Mallory unit and replace the points with a Pertronix electronic ignition kit. If the Mallory is original, it will have the correct shaft length and gear, not requiring shimming unless metal was machined off the heads or block.

You don't need vacuum advance in most marine engines - it's an automotive item. Vacuum advance uses high engine vacuum when you take your foot off the gas at speed to keep the ignition advanced as the engine slowly spins down. Without it, car engines would tend to backfire. Marine engines spin down very quickly, so backfiring isn't a problem.

"

delco voyager marine is hei w

delco voyager marine is hei with coil not in cap but that is not what you have because voyagers timing is all electronic. volvo does or has used them.

" Thankyou for the comebacks o

" Thankyou for the comebacks on this subject I think I will use the mallory distributor with conversion, I have also talked with a friend who used to drive water taxis and he said that quite often they would use automotive long-blocks scavenged from boneyards as replacements,the transplanted HEIs tended to be problematic, the mechanical advance in them tended to seize-up from the marine enviroment, he used to pack an old point distributor with him in case of problems! "