It seems odd to me that GM went from a small cap, remote coil (non hei), to a large cap in cap coil (hei), back to a small cap remote coil (hei)

anyone know the definitive reason for this?

I was thinking that a larger cap with the coil in cap would make more sense... more distance between the posts for less chance of crossfire and less distance between the coil and rotor for more spark energy.

Only thing I could think of indefense of the small cap remote coil were that maybe the coil got too hot on the cap or some grounding issues or something??

anyone know what the real deal behind this is?

 

Pacageing them into smaller trucks liek the s10..The bodys are tghe same for all the 6s and 8s and its cheaper to keep them all the same size and justy run different internals..More than likely thats the reason..

 

Agreed. Mostly packaging. Also, getting to coil out in the open where air can circulate around it helps it live longer. Air circulation in modern, small, cramped engine bays is probably at a premium, too.