I'm starting to shop for distributors for the SBC in my new project. Anyone have strong feelings for or against a specific brand or type? MSD? Mallory Unilite? Pertronix? Accel? Vacuum advance vs. mechanical? HEI (yuk)? Going into this, my thinking is that they prolly all perform about the same so the difference is in reliability and how easy they are to rebuild or tune, if neccesary.
I like anything from MSD and have a Mallory Unilite in a '73 Stingray that has worked well for years. I like vac advance for any street driven car or mild motor. I also like the late model HEI with external coil, bullet proof!
Blake, As the man said, "anything that MSD makes", is quality equipment. I agree and like him, I use a Mallory Unilite in my SBC. A little different twist in my tuning philosophy, I use a mechanical advance, I set the initial timing at 14 degrees and the total at 34, I also have it set up to rotate to full advance as soon as the engine starts. Obviously, that won't work for everybody. I'll suggest something that not everyone knows...............if you can get to a major event; NSRA, Goodguys, NHRA drags, etc., go over and purchase the distributor of your choice from the guys, tax free, in the Edelbrock truck. If your going to use a Mallory Unilite, I'll offer some more advice. They stockpile customer returns, some are returned for nothing more then minor scratches, some all also ruined during installation, and rebuilt by the guys in the truck while at events. Biggest cause of failure is smoking the module during improper installation. They will also sell you an extra module for 20 bucks, it's about 100 bucks when it's all said and done at Jeg's or Summit. It is tuff to find a Mallory module in the middle of nowhere. Another thing that will fry that, and many other manufacturers modules, is a spike in the voltage......when it says to not charge the battery or weld on the car without unpluging the distributor wiring harness........beleive it! John
all those things you mentioned are why I won't even consider putting a unilite in any of my rides. MSD has been good to me, but there stuff is a tad newfangled for these old cars. Somehow millions and millions of cars drove for years and years with nothing but points in them....think about it.
I recently swapped in an MSD distributor for the Mallory Unilite I'd had for several years. I had a constant problem with difficult starting and intermitant rough running for the whole time I had the Unilite - really odd problems that were difficult to determine. Even pros couldn't figure out why my car run crappy. I'd always thought the Unilite was fine because it fired all cylinders so it must be working, right? Nope. As soon as I swapped in the MSD all the nagging little problems I've had for years were solved. Even stuff I never attributed to the engine. For instance, I have been planning to swap the gears in my 3rd member from the 3.25 I have down to 3.50 because when the overdrive kicked in at anything less than full highway speeds the car would fall on its face - which I attributed to just having the thing geared wrong. Not so. As soon as I dropped in the MSD, the car will pull overdrive even going fairly slow on surface streets. It turned out that the Unilite was giving too weak of a spark at low RPM which kept the car from being able to pull the gearing I had. It also explained the difficult starting - low rpm/week spark = hard to start. At one time I even swapped a new power module into the Unilite but it made no difference. I know there are guys who like their Mallory Unilites - and up until a few weeks ago I was one of them - but like I say, as soon as I dropped in the MSD distributor, my car runs soooo much better I could shit myself.
My belief as well. If you get nervous about the possibility of changing points, how can you be a hot rodder? I'm not going to junk the HEI in my truck for a distributor from a '55 Chevy, but the best insurance for a points ignition is another set of points in the glovebox. I don't know why the original poster followed HEI with "yuk", unless it's about the unit's rather ugly appearance. I consider it the most trouble free ignition to come on a factory car, and many racers over the years agree with me. Again, be honest with yourself about what your ignition needs are, and don't spend $700 on an ignition system that won't do any more for you than a $50 ignition would.
Mallory Dual point. I see 'em at swap meets all the time for $10-$15. Parts easy to find. I personally have had nothing but bad luck w/ MSD products so I only use Mallory stuff. Josh
I'm planning on running an older Mallory dual point in my 61, but I can't figure out what's what! I guess I need to spend the $$$ to find a nice clean COMPLETE old distributor. they apparently used several different caps and rotors over the years.
I think the big PAW catalog has the breakdown of the various parts you'd need. Or contact Mike at Vintage ignition. Josh
I have a complete MSD setup- Dizzy, 6A box and coil. It took two calls on the tech hotline to get it right. Since then (16 years and 25K miles), it's been perfect. Period. Nothing more needs to be said.
I've put close to 80k miles on my MSD setup over the past 16 years, and it didn't take any calls to tech to make it work. I can't really speak for their more recent products.
It's not either mechanical advance or vacuum advance. It's mechanical advance only. (For racing.) Or mechanical advance combined with vacuum advance. (For street.) Running a GM engine? Get a distributor with vacuum advance can or you'll probably overheat during hot summer traffic. Go here: http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=54221&highlight=Got+Time%3F Read.
HEI ignitions aren't that ugly. Ive got this one set at 12 degrees initial & 36 degrees total. The vac advance is locked,& I dont run it.By playing with springs & weights,you can have a very streetable unit with no vac adv.I carry a spare pickup coil,,,coil,,,rotor & module at all times. These HEIs were known to "break up" over 4000 RPM. MSD has an electronic module that screws right in to alleviate ignition break up,but this one is all stock except the cap & cover.I get scared when I run this thing over 3500 RPM!
Uhhhhh...yeah they are. I do use 'em though on all my later model (60's) cars. I've got an old Mallory Dual Point that the wires come straight out of the cap like a Mag. Just need the $$$ to replace some of the missing parts. Pretty cool looking unit. Josh
Around here, you can still buy the vintage Mallory distributors with the waterproof cap for SBCs at swap meets for $20 or less--I picked up another one out in Dunkirk two weeks ago for $5.
i run an early-style chevy distributor that's been converted to HEI by www.davessmallbodyheis.com. i like the idea that every single part in the distributor can be found at NAPA.
MSD makes a small body HEI that looks like a old regular distributor ... for the Chevrolets. Easy to hook up, vacuum and mechanical advance ... are some of it's features ... I put one in my 40 Ford with SBC ... and the SBC was adapted to the Ford flathead transmission with a engine/transmission adaptor ... SO ... you know it is tight at the firewall and the MSD fit Like said before ... improved starting, better mileage and overall better driving. The MSD # was #8360 ... I believe ...
I like the Mallory unilite but you need to add the transient suppressor in line that they sell. Any electronic module will fail if the right voltage transient hits it. One other thing if you are non gas welding on your car, remember to disconnect the ignition module/distributor that will save a few ignition modules. Like it was said points are a no brainer and easy to replace but the electronics out perform them.
I run the HEI's in both of my Chevys. Never had a problem with either one of them and they have been on the road for over 10 years. Keep the hood closed and no one will know how ugly they are! I have the Chrysler electronic on my modified with an MSD AL 6 box and its been on the road for five years with no problem. The only reason I'm running it is, the motor is blown and it does seem to make a difference.
Just looked, and Summit has these on sale right now. Almost $30 off, plus you get $20 "Summit Bucks" to spend on future purchases. Not a bad deal, really.
i run an old points distributor with adjustable vac advance can installed curve kit and crane xri electronic module works for me.
I can not speak more highly of Dave and his HEI's. Might take a while to get but no complaints from his product. I run one and would not look at another hei. Cheaper than MSD too.
I like old school Accel, Mallory or even stock Chevy points distributors to trigger MSD, Crane, Jacobs or any capacitive discharge ignition box. The points have very little voltage going across them, and they will last along time with a CD box. If the box fries, you can still get home on points power.
I've seen way too many old Mallory dual points that racers sold off to street drivers when they were too worn out for racing. For reliable street driving I'd just buy one of the HEI units from Skip White on ebay andbe done with it. Not the prettiest but plug, play and be done with it with no issues. At least for me for the past fifteen thousand miles on my daily driver 712 GMC with a 350. It did turn a pissy hard to start engine into one that busts off in -4F with no issues and that is with a Holley 650 Double pumper with no working choke. You can spend a shitload of money to awe the mothbreathers or you can spend about 75 bucks to get one to the door and add a set of decent wires and drive the wheels off it. MSD, Mallory or any other high Zoot ignition systems are great if you really need them for racing but on a street car about all they are good for over a regular ignition are the Bubba factor and a lot of extra money out of your hotrod kitty.
Im might have to use one of these old school rebuilt mallorys ..... Old school look with modern reliability ! Cool look , great performance............
I used a crane unit in my 50 ford with a sbc in it and used a stock point dis. threw away the points and put the crane unit in the points place. great ,great,great pieace of cake
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