Ok guys/gals, dumb question here...I am moving from the HEI to MSD. I am installing the coil and the easiest place (closest) is to mount it on the drive side head. The p*** side head has the alt. in the way. So is this a bad idea to have this current right beside the fuel line? Here is what it would look like. Braided line is fuel line. Its not pinching, crimping or anything like that, its just riding along behind it.
are you wanting to know what we think? bad idea.how about on the intake? or even flip the braket over on the coil so it puts the coil up next to the valve cover.
Yeah, as missydad said (knew i could count on you , gas, fire! my question was is this a bad idea? figured as much. i see many mounted this way, but never paid attention to the fuel line. intake is possible but i would have to make a bracket, this msd one i bought wouldnt work that i can see. If i mount on the fender well, requires a new and possible too long of coil wire.
Try the firewall or inner fenders . Good plug wires will carry the voltage just fine ! Have you ever looked at some of the race cars guys run . Most have them on the firewalls or inner fenders away from the engine heat . The last 2 I worked on had them there and they are running mid 10's . That coil will have plenty of spare voltage for a longer coil wire ! Please DON'T place it where you are thinking of ! Very dangerous there next to a METAL gas line ! Jim
Didn't mean to be a smart a** but placing a coil (fire) so that the first alternate ground would be a metal fuel line (gasoline) is really a bad idea. My first thought is always, what did the factory do? OEM placement of components is usually well thought out and very often the bracketry already exists. This is not a highly creative approach, but it does avoid most of the obvious pitfalls...
Missy no sweat, I am a smart @ss myself and can appreciate another one My thing with this was, usually I see them mounted on the head like I showed above. I was going to put on the fender originally and a buddy of mine (long time rod builder) said "mount it on the engine/head, thats where they always are". So I started looking, and seems pretty common. maybe their fuel line just doesnt get in the way? I put it on the fender and measured, looks like about 23" of coil wire, then I need a little slack for engine movement, which would put me in the 2 1/2' or more range. I may have to get creative and mount on the intake somehow and keep the shorter wire.
Another thought, I think my fuel line is long enough to do this, then it wouldnt be in contact and several inches away. Would this suit? Here are a couple I saw online in similar situations
Well, since you asked... My first move would be to get rid of the braided line and create a steel or aluminum fuel line from the fuel pump to the carburetor by the most direct route...hard plumbed all the way with no rubber. This will eliminate the danger of fuel leaks in the engine compartment. Remember, it's never a graceful weeping leak, fuel sprays when it's pressurized by the fuel pump. This gets really nasty in a big hurry! Then I would take the bracket off the coil and throw it away. This will free up your mind for a more creative coil mounting location and means. Hold the coil in the most likely locations until you settle on one best location. Then build a bracket to hold it there. I'd keep the coil mounted to the engine itself, not on the fenderwell, for neatness' sake, but the length of the coil wire is probably irrelevant...within reason, of course...on a street motor. Us Chevy guys have it easy. We can mount the coil on the inside of the firewall and run the coil wire through the firewall to the dizzy through a grommet. Out of sight... Unfortunately, Ford guys don't have that option. Good luck!
Well, I guess thats one way to put it. I probably wont throw the bracket away since I just pulled it out of the MSD package yesterday Sell it maybe... I will see what I come up with on a fresh mind tonight As for the chebby motor, been there done that. Pulled a 307 to put this one in. Hated and never understood the dist. in the back, it was a nightmare to me, hard to reach, firewall in the way, etc.. but it would serve useful for mounting the coil on the firewall. But if I really wanted to, I could mount mine inside to with this little jewel http://www.jegs.com/p/JEGS/JEGS-Firewall-Feed-Thru/1287063/10002/-1
I've been looking at Ford motors since you started this thread, and have come to a conclusion that you might like: If you can get a steel fuel line bent to hug the block closely from the fuel pump to the carburetor as I mentioned before, I think there will be room to mount a coil on the front of the head as you first indicated. Here's a suggestion: Mount the coil as high as possible using the current bracket and the highest bolt hole in the front of the left head. Then, using a length of welding rod in place of the steel fuel line, bend the shape the steel line will follow, snaking it under the coil and close to the block. There should be an inch or two between them, if my eyeball doesn't lie, and that should be enough for safety. Once you get the shape finalized with welding rod, you can use the welding rod as a pattern to make the line from steel tubing. The braided line you've got on there now is bulky and takes up a lot of room. The formed steel line will take up much less of the available room on the front of the head and will look a lot neater, too. You may have to use a different elbow on the oil pressure sender to allow the fuel line enough space to be shaped gracefully down by the pump, but that shouldn't pose much of a problem. Use a steel-case hard line fuel filter mounted as close to the carburetor as you can get it. The fan should provide enough air flow over the fuel line and fuel filter in that location that vapor lock should not be a problem. I think this is a winner!
Ok, I appreciate all the insight. I have decided I am going to mount it on the fender, over by my batter and where I mounted my MSD ignition box also. It wont be exactly where it is pictured below, but in the area. Then all my wiring will be short and neat. I went to the store and found a coil wire long enough to make the reach 24", so I think this will work out pretty good, since there are already wires running from that fender to the engine, it will blend right in. (Those other wires are not hooked up right now though)
I had a 70-73 351W A/C mounting bracket for sale a couple of weeks ago,the guy that bought it used it as a mount for a Super Coil so He could run a short wire.
ctfortner , using the 24" coil wire will be fine with the bigger MSD coil that you are going to use . Plenty of voltage and with the better spark plug wires you are using , you have nothing to worry about . Looks good too ! Jim
Like Retro Jim said, it shouldn't be a problem. But just to make sure, after eveything is hooked up, when you're ready to fire the engine, do one thing. Remove the coil wire from the dist. and hang on to that end TIGHT. Now have someone turn on ignition, and try to start engine. Then you should be able to tell us if it has enough kick.
I've been thinking about this all day. I think you'll come to regret putting the coil over on the fender well. It's not that it won't work okay, but it's just not up to the well-thought-out neatness of the rest of the engine compartment. Just my $.02
Todd,not meaning to be a smart*** but do you think you will notice a performance gain as an end result? The HEI eliminated all the extra work you are going thru and was producing a 55kv output.When you get it all hooked up and working post the results.
Really all he would need to do is buy a piece of flat alum at a home improvement store and make a bracket to bolt to almost anything including the intake hold down bolts . Just bend and have the coil sitting up off the intake on the p***engers side of the engine . That way it away from the fuel line . Then when you have it the way you want it , just polish it up or paint to match everything else under the hood . I have done that one before in my race car days . Just a thought ! Jim
Parklane, I use that same method of checking for spark but I used the kid next door. Keeps him out of my hair for a couple of days. His Mom is starting to get su****ious tho, she's always asking why his hair is curly after a "visit".
Hey guys , just remember when your wife asks if she can ever help you to just ask ! just kidding ! When I was turning a wrench at Montgomery Wards for a while there was this one guy who had the biggest tool box with all the tools but didn't know how to use them , I am sure you have seen the type . Well one night he was working on a car for a tune up . Well we were in the next stall shooting the BS on a slow night , so we took and ran a wire from the coil on the car we were working on , under his car to his tool box . Well everything he had his hands on the tool box looking for something we would hit the hand starter ****on and shock the **** out of this guy . He would holler and no one would even say a work . This went on for about 20 to 30 minutes and even the shop foreman was in on it after a while of him yelping . Well one time he had a big wrench in his hand and the other hand one the tool box , well he hit the starter ****on again and that guy screamed that his tool box was alive and shocking him all the time . ! We would just laugh but after a while he finally got smart enough to try to figure out what the problem .was . Well he finally saw the wire and figured out what we all were doing . That was a good one too ! We also use to charge up condensers and leave them laying around until someone would reach down and pick it up ! They would holler and drop it cussing up a storm and never knew why that condenser shocked the hell out of him ! Yes those were the good olé days of turning a wrench ! Jim
Jeff, the main reason I did this is that it was my intention all along. Also because I already had the MSD igntion box and MSD coil, before I bought the HEI, so I knew down the road I would make the swap. That big HEI also takes up a huge amount of room, although it worked. I got the MSD 6420 box for $70 ($200 retail), the MSD high vibration coil for $30, and the duraspark dist. with MSD steel gear, crane springs and MSD cap and rotor for $60. All in all, very cheap for a very nice setup. I have been having major issues getting the timing and curve right, so I decided now was a good time to change. Not that is was all the HEI, just that I have everything to do it so while I am tearing into it already, might as well. I put on a new intake (dual plane and remove single plane) hoping for better streetability in the lower RPM range, Duraspark distributor with crane recurve kit using the lightest springs and advance all in by 2800 RPM, and the MSD box and coil. It all started with the broken rocker stud. So I had to replace the rocker stud, set the lash again, replace intake, install MSD, wire it all up, find TDC again (dont ask) drop new distributor in, change the oil, re-install the radiator, blah blah... Finally fired it up yesterday after being down for a couple of weeks. Its a miracle, with all that I did, it fired right up, and runs strong. so far NO leaks, woohoo. Cant drive yet, seats are out while I do my redneck temporary carpet job. Sure is a great feeling when you do so many things and it all works like it should, the first time. Will be parting ways with the HEI I have if anyone wants one, has 80 miles on it, looks brand new. Has steel gear though, for roller cam. Oh and by the way, the wife didnt appreciate holding the coil wire to test for spark
Actually that HEI will work OK with a roller or flat tappet cam(mine is) go ahead and post it for sale here as things can get buried fast on the main board.The deal with the steel gear is you can't use an earlier cast iron gear with a roller cam,but the steel gear will work on both cams.There is always talk these days about putting a "spark" in your *** life,but Todd 50kv is little OT! (tell us if it works)
The Jalopy Journal
