Did you check the voltage at the coil during cranking? The voltage should jump up from 5.5v to 9v or more. If it doesn't, that indicates a starter solenoid or wiring problem. No, the Cardone and TA HEI are most likely not the same. The TA one has a performance advance curve. Bet you the Cardone is whatever they happened to use as a core. It makes a difference. Don't fall for Coil hype advertising, it means nothing. If it takes 20,000 volts to jump your spark plug gap, that's all the coil supplies. Total misleading advertising. What distributor are you using? Is it 1112110? That would be the 1972 455 distributor. If so, are you still using 4* BTDC initial timing? That will hamstring the engine right there. Have you verified that your vacuum advance canister is working?
The Summit one (based on the price) may be an overseas model? Not 100% sure on that but price is pretty cheap! I myself prefer American Made stuff in most cases. I say that from years of dealing with aftermarket parts during restorations on these cars. If you decide to go with the Lectric Limited kit I price match if you find it cheaper. I also stock American Made Caps and ignition coils. All of these items can be seen on my website. Www.DieCastMuscleCars.com/dcmbuick.htm
Thank you all for advice, I really appreciate it. I am going the TA Performance route. Seems a pretty safe all-in-one solution. I really need to eliminate all possible causes for a poor running engine. I have a lot of money tied up in that 455. @Larry: you mentioned initial timing of 4*. I have a 72 Rivièra GS, this has the original GS engine with the bigger valves. Looking in the factory workshop manual I am always confused when they mention specs for 'only GS' or 'only Stage 1'. Is my engine exactly the same as the car model GS with stage 1 engine and are ALL Stage1 specs the same? The 455 stage 1 has 10* initial timing according to the manual. I looked up my distributor part number. This is 1111334 and looks pretty stock. But it does not comply with the part numbers from the manual (see pic). Strange.......
Marc, Lots of parts get changed over the years in a car that is 46 years old, and this is a perfect example. Of course it looks stock, all Delco points distributors look the same externally, but they differ in calibration. The 1111334 is a 1969 350-4 bbl distributor. If you change the gear on a 350 distributor, you can run it in a 455, and that’s what someone did. That distributor has 26-30* of mechanical advance, so running 4-8* of initial advance would be best. Your engine should have come with the 1112110 distributor, big valves or not. If you had the 1112016 distributor, 10* initial timing would work. Look at the 1112110 specs though. That distributor has 14-18* of maximum mechanical advance. If you timed it initially at 4* BTDC, well, do the math, at WOT, you would have 18-22*, about 10* less than what is needed for best power. The 1112109, and 1112110 distributors are great for an engine with a moderate cam in them. You can advance the initial timing up around 16-20* and still have the 32-34* at WOT. Bigger cams like a lot of initial timing.
