Ignition system upgrade

[MOPEkid]

I want to upgrade the stock points-type ignition on my 318 and decided I might as well go all the way and get a nice MSD-type Capacitive Discharge setup. I liked the idea of a digital CD box for the same price as an analog one from MSD, so I picked out Mallory parts.

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...D29216&FROM=MG

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...61003M&FROM=MG

http://store.summitracing.com/partde...D6852M&FROM=MG

Do I need anything else? Is Mallory a good company, or is there something else similar in price that is better?

[bOb shingler]

it doesn't show anything.

[ehostler]

Honestly, unless you have done a lot of work to the 318, you're just wasting your money.

[Walkercolt]

If you want to ditch the points, I don't blame you, but just a stone-stock Mopar electronic ignition set-up, will give you a great, reliable ignition that's trouble-free for much, much less money. If you feel you've GOT to have more, I had fabulous luck with the Jacobs Street-Pro set-up. Again, lots less money.

[MOPEkid]

UPDATED THE LINKS IN THE FIRST POST

Altogether I think that still costs less than a Jacobs Pro-Street setup, which is around $350. The reason I want to go with this is because I am going to be upgrading my 318 in other ways soon (4-bbl, cam, dual exhaust) and eventually be putting in a 360 (maybe 1-3 years down the road), and I figure I might as well go all the way now so I don't have to worry about it later. I also think a multi-spark ignition will help with gas mileage, as my Duster is my only car and is driven daily.

[Walkercolt]

I don't have any experience with the MSD, but on a Magnum 5.2L the Jacobs gained me a solid 1MPG in-town in a 4400Lb Dakota Club Cab 2WD auto, and when I got my 5.2 stroked(to 390CID), in the first 3000 miles, before it was broken in, I was getting 18 MPG in town, then the truck and motor were totalled. Get a Magnum and buy the iron R/T heads and stroke it, drop it in your Duster and you'll "dust" any new Mustang if you buy good performance tires.

[MOPEkid]

The 360 I'm going to build is going to have ported Magnum heads, and it's going to be hooked up to an overdrive A-833 4-speed. For now I'm just going to upgrade the 318 for mostly efficiency, as I really don't like the super-restrictive teeny-tiny single exhaust and un-tunable BBD 2-bbl.

[cudabob496]

MSD is great. Especially with their distributor and wires. You can gap the plugs to .060 inches. A lot better than my Mopar set up with the orange box.

[valiant64]

For the money, I'd buy the MP conversion kit or check out FBO Systems website on their ignition kits. Unless you're building something fairly hot, the aftermarket distributors are overkill & a waste of $.

[MOPEkid]

I'm not going with an aftermarket distributor. I'm not going with the electronic conversion after all either. I'm just going to get a reman'd distributor for a '70's small-block and hook that up to the Mallory coil and 6A box.

[ehostler]

You would be better off with the FBO A688 setup. It will cost less, the distributor is properly phased, and Don will set up the advance curve for your engine.

[dave5711]

I'm with the "don't bother" gang here too.

My car runs high 11's with a stock style FBO set up, on beefed up 440. No capacitive discharge needed.

MSD is only really required with a cam of 250@50 or more.


Personally, I also don't like that MSD is hard on caps and rotors. Especially on something you are going to run daily.

my .02, but hey, give'r

[rumblefish360]

There (MSD) also good on daliy drivers looking for mileage. Otherwise, I'm with Dave.

[Rug_Trucker]

I wouldn't use the Mallory conversion with the light. It craps out on you? You are screwed!

Been reading bad things about FBO lately. Boxes are bad. Sucky attitude from the customer service etc. I have a friend that runs 13.38's with one in a '60 Belvedere 451 with the factory long tube crossram.

I think I am going to do a GM HEI conversion on my Duster when I go electronic.

I ran the Pro Street Jacobs on my van for over a year. (2000) It was like flipping on nitrous! I had reliability issues with it. It is a hybrid system. If it craps out you move back to a stock coil wire and run with your factory electronic. It uses the stock ignition to trigger their module.

[clifftt]

Just to chime in....will a multiple discharge unit reduce emissions? My stock two barrel 273 could smell a whole lot cleaner at idle!

[pishta]

I got 2 bad MSD 6A boxes in my junk bin, one is out of its enclosure so I could attempt to see what the F(*k went wrong with it, and the other is bad too. Geez, they look like they were designed in the 50's. Huge resistors, caps and pots, and PCB's that looked like they were traced out with an etching pen and a hobby board, like in an old TV. I run an antique (almost period correct for my car) Mallory Hy-Fire 5, the analog version. It has a dial up rev limiter, point or electronic trigger, CD, multi spark, status LED's and hits like an arc welder with my E-core PS-92 coil. Plus, it was cheap at a swap meet and looks menacing, like a cast AL finned lunch box! About the same size too. Multi spark CD will smooth out an idle if your current system is an OEM weakling and will detonate a 14:1 motor and may reduce HC levels at idle.

[DonCarr]

No one seems to have mentioned the recently introduced HEI type distributor. Just search (mopar distributor) on ebay. $68 + shipping.

We have one, not yet installed on a restoration project. Seems to be their Ford unit casting on top, including cap. A boss is added behind the body of the distributor with a GM type high performance module and chrome cover.

At a glance it looks pretty much like a stock mopar distributor. Looks to be high quality (suppose looks can be deceiving). This is not the huge honking DUI unit.

It requires a coil to be added, but no ballast resistor. Essentialy it would perform as a GM HEI with performance module + coil.

FBO (4secondsflat.com) has a test chart on GM module + MSD coil. It's good, but their module + coil + ballast resistor is much better, especially cranking voltage I suspect.

Perhaps the FBO module fails (if it does) because they've maxed out the current with a nasty coil and small resistance ballast resistor. (Use higher resistance ballast???)

In my '74 Cuda, I installed a GM performance HEI module inside a gutted factory ignition module case, bypassed the ballast resistor but left it on the firewall for appearance. Seems to work very well. Can carry a spare module if necessary.

Summary: Offshore - $68 + shipping - very hard to resist.

Pertronix: fits in points distributor I believe.

FBO: very high cranking voltage - someone says they fail though. Ballast resistor required.

MSD : ????? As I recall multispark helps huge cam/compression engines start, but drops to single spark about 3000 rpm. Expensive. Not necessary for street engines?

'74 Cuda style - about $20 and a bunch of work. (remember to carve an aluminum heat sink for the module. The module can also be mounted on a chunk of aluminum and hidden inside the car with the stock setup left for appearance. Some demolition derby guys add an extra resistor to better match inductive pickup. Doesn't seem necessary.

Google video search Alex Jones, David Icke, Richard Cook, Alan Watt, Dr. Deagle ....