Aftermarket, high-performance HEI units do a much better job; MSD's unit promises full spark up to 9,000 rpm, which should be good enough for just about any hi-po application.

If you're swapping points to an HEI distributor to lower maintenance requirements, you’re good to go, but will you be able to feel a difference if you do?

The MSD ignition is also a clean-burning multiple-spark discharge system below 3,000 rpm, and it offers stable, high-energy ignition all the way up to 12,500 rpm-far higher rpm than a factory ...

When the HEI in our '76 Firebird started operating erratically, we started looking at distributor options for its 455 and found the MSD Ready-To-Run unit an easy fit for us.

The 400 is paired with a built TH350 transmission, and the mechanical upgrades include Edelbrock RPM Performer heads, an MSD HEI Street Fire distributor, and a BeCool radiator with an electric fan.