MSD, Mallory, or Mopar original

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75Dart440

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Ive got a 75 Dart sport. I put a 440 in it. the engine has a distributor with points and the car is set up for electronic ignition. I am going to but an electronic distributor for it. I found a complete MSD ignition system (distributor, cdi box, and coil) for about 400$. I also found a complete mallory system for 255$ then i found mopar original system for 169$ The mopar system is not considered "performance" My question is what is the difference?? obviously MSD is the big name out there in performance ignition, Mallory i think is just as good. Will i lose anything going with the original mopar? anybody gone through this before or have anything helpful to say?
 
I wouldn't go with any of them...I would go with an HEI distributor.
I've used them for years, and they are fully self contained, with exception to the coil, are extremely low-maintenance, and reliable. These are frequently found new on ebay for around 60 bucks, and probaly the same for a coil. 120 bucks for a great ignition.

Yeah, I am committing sacrilege by adapting GM tech onto chrysler...write your congressman!

As an alternative, I would go with the e-curve billet from MSD, or the pertronix equivalent.
 
ignition 7a msd and msd blaster 2 coil your 440 will run amazing with no problems!
 
On my street cars I always use factory stuff, If I have a problem out on the road, parts are right around the corner at any NAPA or Advance auto. Not that I have had any problems, thats just my thinking.
 
For the ultimate in basic, get a stock electronic distributor from a parts house ($52), install one light spring from the Mr Gasket advance spring kit ($5), timing tape ($3), and have the advance plate welded at your local exh shop ($20), and the Standard Ignition LX-101 module. Get the connectors (module and distributor) from any junk yard vehicle made from '72-'87 or so ($10) and follow the MP wiring schematic found online. That ignition, when properly tuned, will be all new and is the equal to the MP/Summit/FBO stuff out there for $90.
 
POS Dakota said:
I wouldn't go with any of them...I would go with an HEI distributor.
I've used them for years, and they are fully self contained, with exception to the coil, are extremely low-maintenance, and reliable. These are frequently found new on ebay for around 60 bucks, and probaly the same for a coil. 120 bucks for a great ignition.

Yeah, I am committing sacrilege by adapting GM tech onto chrysler...write your congressman!

As an alternative, I would go with the e-curve billet from MSD, or the pertronix equivalent.
Click to expand...
Do you have a picture of that HEI distributor in a 440ci engine.
 
What are your plans for the car? Do you need a rev limiter, two step, nitrous retard, that kind of thing?

If not, there probably isn't really any reason to run the aftermarket stuff. If you do plan on some street/strip/nitrous action, I'd get a Mallory Hyfire Digital VI box.

There's no way I'd run an HEI. I understand they're reliable and economical. They make your engine compartment scream CHEVY. For some this is no big deal, but the only way I can get through the winter is to periodicially go in the garage and look at my engine. LOL

Steve
 
moper said:
For the ultimate in basic, get a stock electronic distributor from a parts house ($52), install one light spring from the Mr Gasket advance spring kit ($5), timing tape ($3), and have the advance plate welded at your local exh shop ($20), and the Standard Ignition LX-101 module. Get the connectors (module and distributor) from any junk yard vehicle made from '72-'87 or so ($10) and follow the MP wiring schematic found online. That ignition, when properly tuned, will be all new and is the equal to the MP/Summit/FBO stuff out there for $90.
Click to expand...

Sorry Moper,have to disagree.Ran FBO on my street ride for 4 years and it was much better than stock. Idle improved as did low and mid range power AND the gas mileage picked up. Big improvement over stock,so much that I'll gladly buy another FBO for a street car.
 
I think multi-spark systems do have a place on street cars. Especially on a big-bore engine like the 440, having multiple high-power sparks per cylinder firing will improve efficiency at lower RPMs. The ignition setup for my Duster is a Mallory HyFire 6A box, proper Mallory canister-type coil, and factory electronic distributor. Total came out to $250 or so and that was with all-new parts, and it did make a noticeable difference compared to the stock points setup. I'm also going with this setup on my cousin's '72 440 Polara as we need to eke out as much MPG as possible. If you have a more modified engine you would probably want to upgrade to one of the "Promaster"-type coils and an aftermarket dizzy to keep up at high RPMs.
 
The primary thing that makes a distributor a performance distributor is the ability to adjust the mechanical advance internal to the distributor. If you have modified the engine with more compression and/or a cam the factory advance is no longer ideal for the combination.

Mopar Performance sells a distributor that looks like a stock unit but has the Mallory adjustable advance mechanism inside. This will allow you to adjust the advance without resorting to tearing the distributor apart and welding up slots as moper mentioned. Also, the Mallory mechanism has a more extensive tuning kit with a wide assortment of springs to dial in the rate and spacers to set the stops for the mechanical advance. The vacuum advance is also adjustable on this distributor (but so are most stock distributors).
With this distributor you could use the stock control box or one of the performance ones from Mopar Performance or FBO as well as Capacitive Discharge control boxes from MSD, Mallory or Accel.

The big advantage to the aftermarket distributors from MSD, Mallory, Accel, Pertronix, Davis, etc is they are self contained in that the control module is built in and does not require an external control module. They also have the adjustable advance mechanism. They are typically made from billet aluminum and most will have bearings verse the shaft riding directly on the housing. The bearings will increase the life expectancy over a stock cast housing but then again the stock housings last for well past 100,000 miles. The billet material is more of a situation where it is cheaper to program a CNC machine to hog the housing from a sold chunk than it is to tool up to cast housings. These distributors can also be mated to external CDI boxes to get the advantage of multiple sparks at low rpm. Down side is if they break down you can't go to the corner parts store for parts.

The various performance control boxes from Mopar Performance, FBO and Standard Parts used to have one (not sure if the one mentioned by moper is it) when mated the appropriate coil and ballast resistor will provide you with an ignition that has much more rpm potential. The CDI boxes from Mallory, Accel and MSD have a distinct advantage at rpms below 3500 in that they provide multiple sparks which can make up for less than spot on carb tuning.

Unless you want to save some money and aren't afraid to tear into a distributor and weld up advance slots I would recomend the Mopar Performance distributor with either the Mopar Perfromance Chrome module or FBO module and a good aftermarket coil with the recomended ballast resistor. This will give you a fully adjustable solid perfromance ignition system that if anything fails a stock replacement from the corner parts store will fit right in and get you home.
 
I went with Pertronics and it works great, You do not need any of the conrol units or ballistes, So it really cleans up your engine alot, no etra wiring and boxes going everywhere, they have several different choices to go with, I have the mutli spark dischrage box that is good through out the entire RPM range, most others drop off at around 3000 RPM's. This system works great on mine I have a 440 and a 383 and both run great with it. no complaints here.
 
I stayed with the MP ECU. It is simple to install and have been running it for years on my drag cars and on the street. You can switch for the street orange ECU or chrome ECU to the race one with out any problems. I am not saying that you can not have any problems, But it simple to resolve any problems the eletronic ignition could have.
 
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