What ignition setup should I go with? MSD, Mallary, Crane, Jacobs........ Anyone have pros/cons for any of these setups? Be on a 87 SS with the stock 305HO with the biggest cam I can stuff in it. Eventually going with a BBC once the car is setup for it.
Ignition upgrade?
- Thread starter TheFullMonteSS
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MSD all the way. I was out at the races one night (25miles from my house) and I did the burn out then right after it started running really bad woldlnt rpm and sounded like it was missin but it wasnt shaking. So just kinda limped it down the track come back up the return road and I couldnt firguer out what was goin on. Pull into my pit and my dad thought we broke a valve spring I said we had a jet fall out because it sounds like it was super rich and wasnt fireing hard. so we decided to bag it and drive it home (since I dont have a trailer and no for some reason it didnt cross our minds to check the damn thing) I end running out of gas about 6 miles from home luckily we brought a tow strap and pulled it all the home. I get it in the shop and just for grins I pull the primary metering bowl off and sure as sh*t there was a jet layin in the and the other one was loose. I screwed the jet back in and tightened the other and fired it back up and it was fine. The next day I went and got new plugs and oil and oil filter expecting to see a lot of fuel in the oil and fowled plugs. Did the plugs first and they were all firing and not fowled. The were a little black but not wet and not fowled. I change them anyways then I went to the oil once again I couldnt see any evidence of fuel being in the oil. Moral of the story, my MSD 6a (which is old and out dated compared to the new stuff) and Blaster 2 coil, fired a 1/4 inch stream of fuel plus another size 69 jet and ran the whole way till it ran out of gas and didnt fowel any plugs or get fuel in the oil. That sold me forever on MSD ignition. MSD 6AL2 in the future tho 🙂
I've got a stock replacement HEI with an Accell cap and rotor, and Taylor 8mm wires with AC Delco plugs, no complains here.
My car just had an MSD Street Fire distributor installed. It hasn't been on the street yet, so I can't tell you to much, but I can tell you this.
Before the MSD was installed I had a stock unit with a new module, cap, rotor, and high output coil. Also new cheapo 8mm wires. The car ran, but it was a bit hard to start, had a miss, and backfired a bit when revved up. So we put on the MSD Street Fire distributor and plug wires. And wow, a big difference. The thing fired right up and all the previous issues were gone. And it was easy to hear, the engine was running WAY better. But I'll have to give it some time to see how it lasts in the long run.
Before the MSD was installed I had a stock unit with a new module, cap, rotor, and high output coil. Also new cheapo 8mm wires. The car ran, but it was a bit hard to start, had a miss, and backfired a bit when revved up. So we put on the MSD Street Fire distributor and plug wires. And wow, a big difference. The thing fired right up and all the previous issues were gone. And it was easy to hear, the engine was running WAY better. But I'll have to give it some time to see how it lasts in the long run.
tc1959 said:MSD =TheFullMonteSS said:
depends what you buy from MSD...I have the E curve distributor, made in the US and works great...I would not buy anything from them made in china tho
I should have mentioned in my post.....there's one distributor you don't have listed but I it would be my recommendation second to the E curve that is.....take a look at the DUI distributor
http://www.performancedistributors.com/gmssdui.htm
http://www.performancedistributors.com/gmssdui.htm
My buddy is using the Davis unified distributor in his 403 Olds Cutlass. I'm using the Accel Blueprint distributor with the same coil as the Davis unit. Taylor 8mm wires NGK V-power plugs. Otherwise nothing fancy.
I think the Davis unit would be a good choice. They set it up according to your cars specs.
I think the Davis unit would be a good choice. They set it up according to your cars specs.
My 2 cents:
I've had no problems with MSD stuff. I've used MSD modules, 8.8 plug wires, drop-in Street fire and pro-billet distributors, theur cap and rotor kits, and their coils. Everything I've ever bought from MSD has been good. Not great, but good. They are inexpensive and they get the job done. Stay away from Accell anything. Everything I've bought from Accell I've regretted. Also, I REALLY like the Taylor big-block straight-plug wires. They have an angleplug boot on one side, and a straight plug boot on the other. They come in a box pre-assembled. They're a little pricier than the small block wires, but the straight plug boots make it super easy to pull them off the plugs. I removed my heat shields from my exhaust manifolds, and I was having problems cooking my old plug boots. I bought a set of Taylor spark plug boot protecters to keep the heat away from the plug boots, might have been overkill, but they look good and do a great job at keeping the boots cool. So I recommend those too.
I've had no problems with MSD stuff. I've used MSD modules, 8.8 plug wires, drop-in Street fire and pro-billet distributors, theur cap and rotor kits, and their coils. Everything I've ever bought from MSD has been good. Not great, but good. They are inexpensive and they get the job done. Stay away from Accell anything. Everything I've bought from Accell I've regretted. Also, I REALLY like the Taylor big-block straight-plug wires. They have an angleplug boot on one side, and a straight plug boot on the other. They come in a box pre-assembled. They're a little pricier than the small block wires, but the straight plug boots make it super easy to pull them off the plugs. I removed my heat shields from my exhaust manifolds, and I was having problems cooking my old plug boots. I bought a set of Taylor spark plug boot protecters to keep the heat away from the plug boots, might have been overkill, but they look good and do a great job at keeping the boots cool. So I recommend those too.
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