So I bought the Speedway Motors Buick 400-455 V8 HEI Distributor. I would have gotten the TA Performance tried and true distributor, if it weren't for their international shipping deal being so expensive. I intend this to be a review thread, were we can share our experiences. What I can say so far is that is really impressive to get all this for that price. It is easy to spend this much on just some gaskets and bolts. I did only run it for a day, so cannot give an in depth review yet. Initial inspection is that it looks sturdy enough and spins over smoothly. My only concern is that the lower end bushing play is a bit more than I would like to see. I could easily feel it and using dial gauge on the shaft end I measured around 0.08 m.m. (~0.003") of radial movement. From all general information I have found on bushings around this size, that is is a bit too much. Any input on this appreciated. I have contacted Speedway Motors on the matter but they didn't have any manufacturer specs nor replacement bushings. Here is a link to the product: https://www.speedwaymotors.com/Speedway-Motors-Buick-400-455-V8-HEI-Distributor,443606.html It might be that this is the same as the Top Street Performancce HEI distributor, at least Speedway Motors links to the description of the aforementioned one.
So an update on the lower bushing. I had the distributor off the engine for some reasons. Now I cannot feel any radial play anymore. The distributor shaft came off easily so it is not crooked. So an oil film maybe was all it needed. Realize now I should have measured the bushing but I had other stuff going on that day. So the distributor seems more than good so far, engine starts easily and runs a lot better than with the old one.
