mallory for flatheads what do you think?

hi just wondering what people thought of the mallory magnetic breakerlesss electronic ignition for a 50 flathead,i am putting 2 holley 94s on a offy regular dual intake,what are the opinions on this type of ignition,my flathead is completly rebuilt stock camshaft aluminum heads has 2000 on the rebuild,never over heats and runs smooth as any engine i have ever seen...thoughts?

 

I run a Mallory electronic on ,my 46 Flatty,and i have also run one on a 50 Flatty. I noticed a remarkable difference on both these applications. My opinion is go for it, you get a hotter spark and better performance. Starting is improved also.

 

Why go mallory, can't you do the same thing with Pertronix and retain the factory distributor? Of course if your old one is messed up in some way, then maybe, otherwise i would think you would be wasting money.

 

Most folks who run flatheads learn that the 8BA stock distributor is pure junk. Almost anything is better.

 

Yes, the infamous "loadamatic" distributor is not the hot setup for any sort of performance.

 

It's the later model 8BA distributor that gives hot rodders trouble when they add the second carb as he is doing. The crab style doesn't present the same problems.

 

I have a Mallory Unilite on mine, runs real smooth. Alot of guys wire them wrong or they don't protect the module from voltage spikes, which can kill the module dead.

 

thanks for the info i have had alot of people with differing views especially when it comes to mallory VS MSD,i was at mooneyes a couple of weeks ago and spoke to the guy from H&H flatheads and he said they were crap,MSD was far better WTF? it will be wired right and what do you recommend to protect against spikes? how difficult or easy is the timing for these units,,again your thoughts?

 

Does the mallory have vacume advance or is it mechanical only?

 

I got a Mallory like that from summit. It came curved for an SBC. I had to re-spring it. Then the module went out. They said it is a common problem. There is a hamber (gmc buba) I think that is selling point style SBC dizzys for flatheads. I would consider this. 1/2 cost of a mallory, and easy to get parts.
ROB

 

I have a unilite that I have been running for 14 ? years in a 8ba , with a msd box ! love it , works great ! look`s stock after a year or two !

 

These are working really well and i have a few at a good price. HAMB special at $135.

http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=147578

 

I.ve used several of both styles, the early crab type, and the later 8BA type. Never had a problem with either type. Points belong on lawn mowers, not cars.

 

if it ain't broke, don't fix it? sounds like my 84 yr old daddy. go for the mallory. updates are good

 

I wanted to stay with 6 volt, so I went with Pertronix. I run it with dual carbs and the vac advance plugged. It runs strong.

 

A Mallory works fine on 6 volts.

 

I use the mallory magnetic breakerless in my 8ba. 38 x 3/8 got 3 97's big ass motorcyity cam releived ported and polished . never one seconds problem with it and it is a hot firing sob. you don't have to beleive this but I swear on my dead mamas grave that when we first got it running and tuned right you could shut it off and if it stopped in the right spot when you turned the switch back on it would start without even turning the starter over. It would do it about one time out of five or so , it was unbeleivable. I wouldn't have a problem buying another one if I needed it. Stafford

 

The unilite module is somewhat fragile. They don't care for voltage spikes at all & anything much above 9 volts will kill 'em too.

Some folks run 'em & have no problems with the flatty, some run 'em & have burned several modules. I've run one on my late-model for years - had one module go in 16 yrs, but was probably my fault due to a temp fix to get me home.

Here's what the anectdotal evidence points to - generators with old points-style regulators seem to fry them. Alternators don't & generators with modern electronic VRs don't seem to kill them - as often. Solid steel wire looms are a mixed bag - some report having no problems, it seems more folks report problems with them.

If it were me (and I will probably run one in my next 8BA), I'd be converted to 12V & running an electronic VR w/o wire looms. I'll also invest in the $35 Mallory inline electronic filter. These are supposed to really help with dead modules.

If you ever need to weld on your car, be sure to disconnect the battery (and maybe even the dizzy just to be double sure). Voltage spikes from welding have definitely fried a few.

BUT you asked about the magnetic breakerless - I have no experience with those, but believe them to be a bit more robust than the unilite...I'd still err on the side of the things that help make the Unilite live though...

 

They're real damn fragile as far as voltage is concerned... I ran one a Cleveland and blew the thing once, IIRC it was about 80 clams to replace. Needless to say I bought the filter at the same time. Never had a problem after that.

 

The vintage mallorys are far superior to the new ones, but those are still better than stock. I like the dual point over the electronic crap myself.

 

thanks for the advice,the 50 flathead is 12 v runs an alternator,what is the problem with putting on wire looms for the wires? i will be running correct suppressive wires,where can i get hold of a something to protect against voltage spikes and how common is this if your electrical system is virtually new and wired correctly?

 

Summit Racing sells the unilite filter - about $35-40 I think.

Dunno what the deal is with looms.

I believe the spikes are caused by the VR points opening & closing with arcs as they regulate the generator fields causing large momentary spikes...alternator shoudl be better.

EDIT - Here's the powerfilter:
http://store.summitracing.com/partdetail.asp?autofilter=1&part=MAA%2D29351&N=700+400249+4294853865+115&autoview=sku

 

Okay, I build transmissions with my eyes closed but don't know squat about ignition/electrical...I have a 37 flatty that I'm starting totally from scratch (I don't actually have a car yet), planning on 12V, alternator and want electronic ignition...
Here's how dumb I can be, I know that dual point is not electronic ignition, but what about the MBI etc...? Which one of the mallory distributers do I need to get?

 

Yeah, I've got a 59AB also. Been running a stock dizzy with external coil, dual carbs and 12 volt alt. Starts and runs great. Would an aftermarket electronics dizzy show me any performance gains?

 

The Mopar conversion is the least expensive, and in the opinion of some, the most reliable. Who ever head of a pointless Mopar with ignition trouble?

 

Hi all,
I'm running a mallory breakerless dist. in a 46 engine with alt , I bought the coil to match 12 volt of course. Also used the carbon core spark plug wires.I checked mechanical advance and it was set correctly for the motor. This has been the best improvement I have made to my Tee. I blip the starter switch and it's running and real smooth too... Best of all it dose'nt overheat anymore... Me like....

 

I'm running a unilite on my 50 flatttie and it's been trouble free for 6 years.I just converted the wife's stock 35 ford to Mallory this year and it made a big difference in performance. Had to run a filter though because I was running a converted 12v generator.But I got lucky and it came with the distributor.Ended up sending the seperate one I ordered back.Good luck.