When I got the HEI hybrid distributor for the Dodge, I wasn't 100% sure what wires I would have to get to go to the cap on the unit. The terminals on the cap are male terminals and the only wires that were available for the Dodge were for female terminal distributor caps. I thought about getting a set of wires for a GM HEI setup but they don't have a coil wire. I ended up getting a set of wires that would've gone for the regular 318 distributor with the female cap as I found a cap at the junkyard and wanted to see if it would fit right on the distributor but alas, it did not. The distributor body is literally a fish out of water, nothing stock seems to fit it. At this rate I figured the only alternative would be to make some custom wires. Since I already had the regular set of wires for the 318, I set out to get some 90 degree terminals for the HEI style cap along with the spark plug wire crimping tool that I would need to make these things.
I ended up finding a set of 9 terminals since I needed one for the coil wire as well. The terminals came with the boots as well. Along with the crimp tool I set out to turn these stock wires into custom wires for my bastard distributor and its cap. First thing I had to do was remove the old boots from the wires. With that I clipped the old terminals off. For each wire I had to take a razor blade and carefully cut the insulation around the first inch of wire so I can strip the insulation and expose the core conductor. Next I took the terminal, folded the conductor back over the insulation, then inserted the terminal over the wire end. I used the crimp tool to pinch the jaws of the terminal a little bit to hold itself on the end of the wire, making sure the conductor stayed folded back tightly. I then put the terminal in the spot on the crimper with the jaws of the terminal facing the closing end of the tool so when I squeezed the tool it would fold the jaws over and into the insulation locking them in place in the insulation as well as putting a crimp on the other side to hold the "bottom" of the terminal in place. Lastly I put some grease on the terminal, making sure not to get any inside the cup where it'll fit over the distributor cap terminal, and some grease on the boot where the wire is inserted. Lastly I pushed the terminal into the boot, carefully but firmly working the terminal and wire into the boot until the cup was seated in the boot and visible from the end of the boot that goes over the cap terminal. Repeating this with the rest of the wires I managed to make a set of wires custom for this distributor cap. After seeing just how easy this was, I've decided to invest in a roll of wire and the different terminals for both ends along with the boots so I can make custom length wires that are made to fit so I can actually have a nice neat wire run where each wire is just right for each plug and each terminal on the distributor cap. No more stock wire sets where some wires are too long and others are just barely long enough. The pictorial will show how things were done, very simple.
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May 2023
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