The hei is stout , 1 wire from key on source and your rollin , and can be modded to give 20° mechanical. But they are very un water and spark proof ,plus just plain bulky .if i was running msd or old big box tbolt and going out on lonely water it would prob be a great dist to toss in box with a b+ wire with a alligator clip on it just in case.
I keep a few around just for testers , back ups. They dont like sundeck water dripping on them one bit . And they just aint pretty lol

I have been playing with my timing as well, and they really like 16-18 degrees of initial timing just like 5050's. Does anyone know if I can adjust the timing curve of these high performance gm hei distributor. Right now when I have them set at 36 degrees full advanced, I am only at 8 degrees initial and it's not enough timing.

When I was in high school I used to weld up the slot, then file it back to the desired throw and adjust the travel

Back in my high school days, fooling with Pontiac engines, I recall changing to different styles of center plates, and weights, to alter the maximum advance, and springs and what not. Playing on the ole sun distributor machine. Those were the days of different letter metering rod hangers, and stuff like that with the old quadrajets. My brain was melted during those times, therefore, I cannot be of much help. Sorry!

Weight and spring kits are still available for non computer controlled G.M. H.E.I. distributors.