I've come to a point in my current project that I know very little about. AUTOMOTIVE WIRING! The story goes... After having the motor/tranny combo on my '56 Cad go out almost at the same time, I decided to dump the stock equipment & go for something a little more budget & common. That's right, a small block & T400 combo. My desire for this car is that it will be my daily, so I think I made a reasonable decision. Anyway, I've purchased an E-Z wiring kit & I'm attempting to wire the car myself. I've looked over the schematic that came with the kit & can follow it pretty well. So, I've also got an MSD distributor & one of their "6A" boxes. Some folks that I've talked to have said that for daily use, I won't need this MSD shit & would be better off with a dual point. This would also make wiring the car a bit more easy & clear to me. My questions are: What are the advantages to using the MSD equip. on a daily driver? Has anyone had significant problems with the MSD set-up? What would you do if you were me? -Randy
Hell, NASCAR boys gotta run TWO of them dang MSD boxes in case on craps out halfway through the race...and I've seen times where their BACKUP box fails, too!! The way I see it, they aint even good for 500 miles...you never saw ol' Jumior Johnson changing POINTS every 100 laps, did ya??? Hocus Pocus Mumbo Jumbo Whiz Bang Black Magic Voodoo Electronics...who needs it??
I think the MSD is a fine set-up for a daily driver. The 6 series is for moderate performance, the 7 series and higher are for racing. I have not heard of any serious reliability problems with the MSD boxes. The hook-up for the box is easy, just run +12 to the hot lead and have a good ground. You need something to trigger the box, pints or other can be used. However, to be simple as can be, and you are running a SBC, why not just get a 70's HEI dizzy out of the junkyard? The wiring could not be any easier, just +12 to the dizzy. Rest is self-contained. Sell the MSD stuff and use that money to pay for the HEI.
IV'E BEEN USING A MSD 6A BOX WITH A MALLORY DIST.FOR YEARS. I HAVE HAD THEM CRASH ALSO, BUT WHEN I SEND THEM BACK, THEY FIX FOR FREE AND RETURN. I HAVE NO COMPLAINTS. THEY MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE FROM WHAT I CAN TELL.
I've always used MSD stuff... in one of my cars I have a 6A box and coil, along with one of their rev limiters... Never had a problem ever... it's been 8 years or so... I say use it...I definitely noticed a difference in performance... I'd use an MSD distributor too if you are going to use the box...
you should give me that old Cadillac engine.i'll find a good home for it,and i won't say anything about how lame you are for installing a SBC-george
Thanks for the input. I tried to GIVE the Cad motor away when I pulled it, but nobody wanted it. I suppose someone on the Hamb would've taken it, but I didn't know it existed at the time. I'M LAME. I know, Cad stuff is way cooler but it's WAY mo' expensive too. (that might be why it's cooler) Whether I run the MSD stuff or not, you can bet I'm gonna plaster the promotional stickers ALL OVER my car. I love MSDEDELBROCKBITCHINCAMARO stickers.
I use MSD on all my cars, triggered by points and by pickup. Never had a problem. With points it takes the current off of them so they last forever without pitting.
I have recentlt installed a MSD ready to run dist. in our A coupe. So far nothing else has come close to the simplicity(wiring),performance and quality this thing has. It has an HEI type module built in, but it is a small dist. so you have to use an external coil. This set up looks more traditional than the "big cap" HEIs and solve firewall clearence problems. Dale
[ QUOTE ] I have recentlt installed a MSD ready to run dist. in our A coupe. So far nothing else has come close to the simplicity(wiring),performance and quality this thing has. It has an HEI type module built in, but it is a small dist. so you have to use an external coil. This set up looks more traditional than the "big cap" HEIs and solve firewall clearence problems. Dale [/ QUOTE ] Same here. This is the best of both worlds. It looks like a point distributer(put a black cap on it though) but has modern hei function and no Red Box to find a spot for. But the setup you have is fine too. I wouldnt even consider duel points. If you bought it new it has very easy instructions with the kit. Good luck. And don't be afraid to ask questions
The Smashcar MSD boxes are not filled or "Potted" with epoxy so the tech inspectors can check them to verify that there is no "special" high tech shit stuffed inside. With the epoxy filling missing, the vibrations can kill them quick but the ones you and I can buy will be epoxy filled and will live forever or at least close to it.
the biggest killer of MSD's in street use is heat. i've had one i boughrtused in my truck for 7 years with no trouble at all. i mounted it on the right kick panel in the cab out of the heat in the engine compartment. i think that's one part in its longevity. jerry
I run the 6A boxes on 4 of my cars. and noticed a difference right away. The only premature failure may occur if you have them mounted too close to the headders. Heat kills them quicker than vibration. I put one on a Challenger with a 440 that I used to have to sit and "baby" after I cranked it, until it warmed up. After the msd, I could reach in the window and crank it without ever touching the gas pedal.
I've run an MSD 6al and Mallory Unilite vacuum advance distributor in my 462" powered 32 roadster for about nine years and close to 40,000 miles. No problems with either one. A good ground for each is of paramount importance. Heat is a consideration as well. I have mine mounted on the inside of the firewall just under the cowl vent. The biggest advantage I've found is the quick starting. The engine lights off like any other modern car and doesn't sit there spinning the engine over for a while before it will fire up. A subjective opinion, but the idle and low speed running is smoother. I think the biggest problem with the electrical stuff is that people just don't read the instructions. Auto electricty isn't that difficult and following the manufacturers instructions is easy. Both MSD and Mallory have good, clear and easy to understand instruction sheets. The next project is going to use a points triggered MDS box although I gotta admit I'm tempted by the Crane spark box. Nothing against the Unilite, but many times the stock stuff can be made to work very well. In any event, be careful not to contact a plug wire or coil wire with the engine running. There's enough voltage present to make things dangerous. And if MSD happens to be reading this, I see that you are making a billet distributor for the 455 Buicks. Very nice, but howz come you aren't making it in the vacuum advance version? Maybe a guy could be enticed to buy one of those....
I've run them on just about everything. Never had a problem. The keeping it away from heat is a good suggestion.
I've had a couple 6As and am running a Crane Hifire box now. They do make a noticable difference in performance. I did have one 6A fail, the only thing I could think of that could have made it crap out was about a week earlier I had taken the truck to the local dyno tuner and they mig welded a bung on the collector without disconnecting the box. The first one I used with the HEI dist and Accel coil, the second I had a MSD Probillet dist and Mallory coil, and the Crane box I have now I'm using with an older Mallory tach drive dist. converted to Unilite with a Crane coil. These were/are all performance motors, on a stock motor I would stick with a stock ignition. Paul
So would I be able to run the points-fired MSD box instead of buying one of those Pertronix electronic ignition kits? Which would be better then? I want it for a Studebaker, so an HEI distributor is out.
on a '57 Stude V8? I'd find an old Mallory Dual Point and a hot coil and skip the electronics that's just me though
if you look at the instruction sheet or go to the msd siteit shows how to hook it up to a points system. the box can be hooked to either electronic trigger or points. jerry
Make sure you use a top of the line Dissy cap. I remember having a problem once with a crap (new aftermarket) cap. It was with a GM HEI. "it's all coming back to me now."
Get a crane box. I have one on my dart, never had a problem at all. Starts like it was fuel injected. The best part is that it comes with a rev limiter, unlike the msd which you have to buy seperatly. The crane box dosen't use those stupid ass "pills" it has rotary swithes built in to change the rev limit.To get a rotary switch for a msd it's like 80 bucks extra.
I've got a 6AL with an adjustable rev limiter that works in place of the pills, and a Pertronix ignitor. I put it on my supercharged little car, and it was like night and day. I'd recomend MSD to anyone, and all my cars are getting them. My car didn't used to start well, and would hesitate when you stomped on it, the box fixed both(and I picked up 3 MPG). I really like the rev limiter too. It's handy on quick winding motors. When testing my box, it threw a spark as big around as a pencil lead a half inch. -Bugman Jeff
I would recomend MSD I have the 6A box, timing control box, and the pro distributor and I never had any trouble
I was noticing in my Jeg's catalog that MSD now has a "drop in" distributor that is a CNC milled piece that requires no box. I would look at something like this first.
randy - I am in the process of finishing up my EZ Wire kit in my 61 Chev truck. Here's some advice. 1 -Make a copy of the manual and use the copy so when it gets greasy you still have the original 2 -Get some black or green wire for grounding, which they would put some in the kit. 3 -The hardest part i had was the light switch, i broke the original trying to get it out and bought one for a mid 70's truck worked out pretty good. My advice is to get a modern car one and use your caddy knob. I cant find the wire for dome light that comes off the reostat to the fuse block. 4 -there are 2 sets of brake light wires (white & orange) dont know if they are dup's or not - going to call and find out. 5 -Mount the fuse block close to the ignition switch, the wires to the switch are really short - i had to make jumpers for mine 6 -Dont cut your wires until they are all ran and mounted in place to frame and body. For the MSD box - my boy went thru 2 on his Jeep with a built 304 - wouldnt let it rev past 2K and wasnt the pills just bad boxes. Has a good one now and loves them. Good luck
I've never run anything but a distributer. Perhaps I'm not keeping up with the times, but I just never saw the need. I've heard good and bad about them, More good than bad. MSD and Mallory both make a good product. I'm more of a Mallory man myself. I personally don't think that what we do to cars and or scooters (motorcycles?) is necessary for daily driving. We do it to make em better. Right? As far as the dual point goes, do you like to tune? If you want real simple and don't mind the look a GM HEI will do. One wire hookup. On the otherhand I run a Mallory dual point in the Galaxie. But I don't mind tunning. I grew up with points. The motor I got in the F-Truck is running a Mallory Unilite with no box. Looks traditional and is a no fuss distributer. The motor regularly saw 7,000, run it 5 years (about 30,000 miles give or take) without a single ignition problem. I'd like to try the MSD stuff though, wanna trade for my Unilite?
I don't see any reason to use an MSD box or such in an auto trans street cruiser. The stock HEI does everything you need, is practically free in the junkyard, and lasts forever. I've used a number of HEI's (mostly on converted earlier Chevies) and most of my friends have used them also, Hundreds of thousands of miles between us with NO failures. They do need cap and rotor replaced every few years as the high voltage burns up the centers, but I've never seen one stop running even when everything between the coil and the advance looked like a lump of charcoal. I always carry a full set of spare electricals (cheap new, dirt cheap from junkyard) but have NEVER actually needed to fix anything to keep moving. Two mods are usually necessary: Put in a faster advance kit such as Moroso, as the stockers have a lazy smogger curve, and unless you are running EGR (would a HAMBER EVER run EGR??!?) you need to put in the advance can from a one ton truck (or an aftermarket on) as EGR cans give about twice as much advance as you need and ping like crazy on non-smoggers.
Just a note##################### NEVER EVER BUY A SUMMIT HEI. I have one at the house that has 85 degrees of advance built into it! I have talked to a couple of other guys that have had similar problems. I paid full price for a new dist. and got crap. I need to see if I can have it recurved to get it back to reality.
Thanks for the comments. I've decided that since I have all the MSD stuff, I might as well go ahead & run it. If it sucks I'll look for other options. Last weekend I wired the ignition & had pretty good luck. I guess I was afraid of the unknown or something, because when I finished I saw how simple it can be (especially if you follow the directions!) A friend of mine told me to make all the connections w/out cutting any wires, test the stuff; then if it works cut the wires to length. It's a pretty safe way for a NOVICE such as myself. Thanks again. -R
I have used MSD stuff on a bunch of my trucks and have had nothing but great success. Their stuff rules - and the ready to run distributor is a real space saver when compared to a traditional HEI unit. Personally, I won't use anything but MSD on my vehicles. Plus a monkey could hook it up...
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