the kids where i work part time are telling me i should put on a MSD Street Fire ignition box on my `36 ford. they say it will make a big difference. well maybe it will on their "tuner " cars , but what will it get me? here is what i have: `36 ford coupe with a th350 and a 8" ford rear with 2.79 gears. the chevy 283 is mild with 520 castings power pack heads , flat top pistons for about 9:1 compression , Summit K1102 camshaft (204/214 duration at .050 and .420/.442 lift), edelbrock Performer intake with 500 cfm carb. stock points distributor with good AC delco ignition points it's certainly no racer....but the engine starts easy , performs well considering it's size and weight of car. gets decent fuel mileage too so it is worth the $120? will i notice a difference? what is your real world experience?
I think adding an MSD box to your setup is kind of an overkill. I love MSD boxes for times when you have a street strip car, but the boxes add a lot of stuff that you will not really be taking advantage of with your setup. I think you would benefit from an MSD distributor, with a good hot coil, but I think the box would just add a lot of things that you don't really need. JMO
I like the basic boxes, the multiple spark really does make a difference at lower RPM and you get a better spark coupled with an MSD or other aftermarket coil. You also have the option of a rev limiter
I'm running a 6AL box behind my stock points. It seems to make my engine start easier and run a little smoother that when I was just running the stock points. I did notice about a 1 mpg change in millage. But I really don't drive my truck for millage, so that was a added bonus. I'm running a 355 Chevy,same cam you are ,8:9:1 comp, Wieand 2x4 with carter AFB's. and a 2.79 rear. Plugs run clean,and I'm happy.
The MSD really shines on a more agressive combination with a big cam and lots of carb. Can make a BIG difference in the idle quality, even on something that is otherwise really well tuned. I've never used the "streetfire", dont even know what it is, my experience is with 6's and 7's, and digital 6's. On yours, I dont think it would make a huge difference, although you may see an increase in fuel economy, like master mentioned. That alone may make it worthwhile for you. IIRC, your car is a daily driver?
I had a '68 Mustg Fstbk 390GT, Holley 4150 4V, top-loader, 9", all factory original. The engine has to be raised to change all the spark plugs. I added a digital MSD 6A, because I thought plug life would last longer,and not foul as much when driving around town. The MSD 6A box helped with 20 degrees of multi-spark duration for increased combustion. If it wasn't for the 390GT being showhorned into a small engine bay, and making sparkplug replacement difficult, I would not have purchased the MSD 6A box ($175). Did not notice increase in performance on the freeway with the MSD box.
The one sure benefit is longer point life. Beyond that, whether the MSD, or MSD with associated upgrades, would result in a noticeable improvement depends on your particular engine.
I put an old NOS Delta Mark Ten B CDI box on the mild 454 in my old truck. I don't really notice any difference when I flip the switch...but it does look neat. You are into maintenance, right? if so, you probably won't gain anything noticeable by adding the MSD box, and you'll have one more thing that can break. I do run an MSD box in my 55, but I have an (old) electronic pickup distributor, and I race it.
Spend the 120 bucks. It takes a hour or so to install and your ignition system will notice a diffrence even if you don't. (but you will) Your stock points trigger the MSD so they don't have any load and will last damn near forever. Plus, multiple spark under 3K for faster starting and cleaner burn at low RPMs. Well worth the money. Plus, it comes with a sticker.... Good luck, -Abone.
If you have room you might consider an HEI distributor. Summitt and others sell complete units for about the same price and after you install and set the timing you're done. Hot spark and parts available anywhere if ever needed.
I know of too many people that had MSD box failures compared to a stock HEI. Do you think the OEM could survive if it had the same failure rate. Sometimes original parts are hard to beat. Ago
That ignition is a good ignition for the mild street engine. Its best gain comes under 3000 rpms, giving you 20 deg of spark. That itself will improve normal driving performance and throttle response. As with any electrical part, most failures are from bad grounds or wire foul ups when installing. Its a tough choice, your probably fine where you are at, but the box wont hurt either. in the end.... Pure preference. I run a digital 7 and a pro billit dist in my race car
Nicely done, sticker you say... hmmm.. Ummm. you may want to go back through your understanding of electrical theory. A real easy way to look at it is... Voltage is the Cause, Current is the Effect
thanks for the input , it was just as i suspected that it really wouldn't do me any good. i'm going to leave it alone and not fix what is not broken
Unfortunately the OEMs are far from being immune to ignition module problems. Ford had so many failures of their bread and butter TFI ignition modules that in addition to numerous lawsuits settled individually, there was a global settlement/rebate that was said could cost the company over 2 billion dollars. I remember GM having quite a few failures of early HEI modules. Early MOPAR ignition modules were flashbulbs. Early Lucas electronic ignition was notoriously unreliable. The older "7" series MSD boxes were not reliable. With the "6" series MSD units, excess heat, poor grounding, or other wiring issues cause the majority of failures. However, I am not suggesting that MSD can do no wrong. I have seen legitimate failures of MSD "6" series boxes, and two that had the pick-up/trigger wires connected backward. Putting MSD into perspective, they are a lot more reliable that a Mallory Unilite, especially if the Uniliite doesn't have the optional protection module.
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