Switch from MSD back to Mopar?

[streetmachine79]

Hello. Since there is quite a few Small Block people here I figure I would see if I could get some help. I'm still learning here so, please pardon me in that regard. I've got a 1979 D150 with 408 Magnum stroker the prior owner had built. To give some specifications it has Hughes Custom Cam, B-Body TTI Headers, Edelbrock (Hughes) Aluminum Heads, Crower 1.7 rockers, and I think the compression is 10.5.1 with Holley Street Avenger 770cfm. It currently has a MSD Ignition on it that was installed I think in 2012 from what receipts I have. The distributor is a 8534 unit, Blaster 2 coil, 6AL2 Ignition Box with MSD Street Fire Wires.

Here leads to my question(s). This truck was setup for street and strip use. Since I bought it back seven years ago, would a Mopar Performance Distributor with the FBO Limiter plate with the standard Mopar or factory style items be equal to this setup for street use or more reliable? I tried to search and saw a couple of people mention that vacuum advance might be better for strictly for street use? My goal is to have something maybe more easily serviceable especially in a pinch but, I would like reliability if I decided to drive say 2,000 miles from here in the Midwest say to the West Coast or Pacific Northwest. Any help or information provided would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

[harrisonm]

Here is my $0.02. I have a complete MSD setup on my 69 Barracuda with a 340 modified to about 375HP, 4 speed, headers and 3.55 Posi. Just kidding- Sure grip. Anyway, about 6 years ago I got tired of dealing with tuning and harder that necessary start-ups. So I got the MSD box, non-vacuum distributor, coil and plug wires all in black. I didn't want the red stuff under my hood. The difference was remarkable. It starts so much easier, it idles so much better, and it drives so much better. I would NEVER go back. I would not hesitate to take off for California in my car.

 

[Bewy]

Probably the only benefit would be a dist that has a vac adv [ VA ] unit. However, if this engine has a large duration cam, it may not have enough vacuum to actuate the VA.

 

[TT5.9mag]

Hello. Since there is quite a few Small Block people here I figure I would see if I could get some help. I'm still learning here so, please pardon me in that regard. I've got a 1979 D150 with 408 Magnum stroker the prior owner had built. To give some specifications it has Hughes Custom Cam, B-Body TTI Headers, Edelbrock (Hughes) Aluminum Heads, Crower 1.7 rockers, and I think the compression is 10.5.1 with Holley Street Avenger 770cfm. It currently has a MSD Ignition on it that was installed I think in 2012 from what receipts I have. The distributor is a 8534 unit, Blaster 2 coil, 6AL2 Ignition Box with MSD Street Fire Wires.

Here leads to my question(s). This truck was setup for street and strip use. Since I bought it back seven years ago, would a Mopar Performance Distributor with the FBO Limiter plate with the standard Mopar or factory style items be equal to this setup for street use or more reliable? I tried to search and saw a couple of people mention that vacuum advance might be better for strictly for street use? My goal is to have something maybe more easily serviceable especially in a pinch but, I would like reliability if I decided to drive say 2,000 miles from here in the Midwest say to the West Coast or Pacific Northwest. Any help or information provided would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

If all of it is installed properly and in good working order I wouldn’t change a thing. Except maybe a vacuum advance distributor If you want a little more fuel economy.

 

[Demonic]

Welcome to the forum. As others said, the only real difference would be to have vacuum advance for better street mileage. Your setup should be reliable now. As for long trips, most folks in the hobby that do that carry a trunk of spare parts.

 

[BrianT]

My Duster has the Mopar ignition in it, and I just bought the same MSD as you have for my new stroker engine. Are you having problems with yours?

 

[MadScientistMat]

A couple thoughts:

Yes, vacuum advance and a well tuned advance curve are going to be better for fuel economy. The more vacuum the engine pulls in cruise, the more gain you'll see.

Finding a spare MSD box at a local parts store in the middle of nowhere will be easier than finding a good quality Mopar ignition module. The supply of metal can type transistors dried up over a decade ago. The people making the parts store boxes generally have either gone with sketchy inventory that may been sitting in a warehouse for decades without being used (and that's the best case) or riveted a modern transistor to the inside of the case without thinking the cooling requirements through. You can still get good modules, but they're either through specialty sources or new old stock, neither of which a parts store in the middle of nowhere is likely to have.

 

[Oldmanmopar]

Keep the MSD.

 

[66fs]

Hello. Since there is quite a few Small Block people here I figure I would see if I could get some help. I'm still learning here so, please pardon me in that regard. I've got a 1979 D150 with 408 Magnum stroker the prior owner had built. To give some specifications it has Hughes Custom Cam, B-Body TTI Headers, Edelbrock (Hughes) Aluminum Heads, Crower 1.7 rockers, and I think the compression is 10.5.1 with Holley Street Avenger 770cfm. It currently has a MSD Ignition on it that was installed I think in 2012 from what receipts I have. The distributor is a 8534 unit, Blaster 2 coil, 6AL2 Ignition Box with MSD Street Fire Wires.

Here leads to my question(s). This truck was setup for street and strip use. Since I bought it back seven years ago, would a Mopar Performance Distributor with the FBO Limiter plate with the standard Mopar or factory style items be equal to this setup for street use or more reliable? I tried to search and saw a couple of people mention that vacuum advance might be better for strictly for street use? My goal is to have something maybe more easily serviceable especially in a pinch but, I would like reliability if I decided to drive say 2,000 miles from here in the Midwest say to the West Coast or Pacific Northwest. Any help or information provided would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

I had a MSD 5C a long time ago. It slowly went away to the point of low ignition spark. I swapped the Chrome Chrysler box back in and it is still running today, literally. I don't run anything else, but the Mopar ignition system with Taylor Spiro Pro and platinum Plugs. We would drive 2 days straight between the upper midwest to the east or west coast running 70 and 100 mph all day long, for 50+ years and at least 500,000 miles. And that was with 273s. I'm not sure what you are worried about?

 

[Dart Frog]

I ran MSD 6 boxes and really liked the way they ran. But after replacing two of them in approximately 5 years at $300 a pop I went back to Chrysler unit with the mixed results. I now run the fire core distributor and the high Rev 7500 ignition box. Inexpensive setup that I have found to be as good as anything else that I've used. And very tunable.

 

[HPP]

On my drag car I ran three different systems 1)a chrome box, MP distributer and Jacobs coil b)MSD box, distributor and Blaster coil c)a Mallory HiFire system with their control box, distributor and coil.

There was virtually no difference in the starting, idle, and WOT performance of any of these systems. There was more variation in the driver than could be found with the various systems. I never used any of these in a street cruiser application, but wouldn't expect them to be any different except for long drive time, heat soak issues, which I never got to with a race car. Agree a vacuum advance with an adjusted curve will help with part throttle cruise power/mileage.

These days, MSD parts are easy to find and get. Jacobs and Mallory are long gone. Mopar stuff is still around but most aftermarket boxes are suspect. Someone has stepped up with manufacturing these and they can be found at Summit and Jegs. There is a great source for NOS and verified good boxes here on the site. Search for ignition box in the for sale section.

 

[1969383S]

I have been using this setup for the last 10 years and it performs very well! Start-up is very quick as this system is high enerygy! I would trust this set-up to drive anywhere in the country.

PerTronix 71381A Ignitor® III Chrysler 8 cyl Electronic Ignition Conversion Kit​

PerTronix 44011 Flame-Thrower III Coil 45,000 Volt 0.32 ohm Black​

A standard Points Distributer tuned to limit advance to 36 degrees while initial is set to 18. Rev limiter set to 6200 RPM. Vacumm Advance hose is blocked with a ball bearing. The Ballast is bypassed from behind after removing the resistor and soldering in a solid piece of wire.
I use black 8MM Taylor Resistor wires custom cut and terminated. I keep a breaker plate with points and a unmodified Ballast in the glove box with an 11 way driver and a couple ignition wrenches as backup. Hard pressed to tell it is not totally "STOCK"!

I have used pretty much every system out there over the last 40 years, Chrysler Gold box was my favorite, next to my current set-up.

 

[streetmachine79]

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone whom has replied so far. It seems consensus thus far is the MSD Unit over the Mopar stuff. Regarding the truck, I haven't drove it or fired it up in about 5-6 years. I know all the MSD Stuff I believe is from 2012-2013 I believe. I hear the newer MSD stuff has down in quality but, at this point hearsay. I bought the truck back in 2018 and drove back from Wisconsin to near Indianapolis here plus another few hundred miles added on. The only issues I recall at that is it would sputter and quit but, that was later on. I can't recall if it was ignition, fuel, or electrical related but, now since I'm hoping to get this truck going again at some point soon enough hopefully, I'm just trying to eliminate possibilities and make it better.

That being said, I'm still hoping my unit is good especially considering the MSD Unit is now about $399 now but, I guess we'll see. I will add that my cam is pretty big to me. It's a Hughes Custom Grind and the specs are 228/236 @.050 and .550/.565 with 108 LSA (4 degrees of advance grounded in). It also has 1.7 Rocker Arms and I believe installed after the cam was done. I want to say my vacuum is 14-15" but, hard to say. I know they ran it on the dyno and I think my advance is set at 32 degrees.

It has currently has a Blaster 2 Coil and the wires are custom Street Fire Wires so 8mm with HEI ends for the distributor. Those wires are I think from 2008-2009 when I first sold the truck to the guy I bought it back from. Also, when I got it had Autolite 3924s in it but, I've then switched to NGK Plugs. Anyways, I'm just trying to make this better than it is now. I have some NOS Mopar ignition related items and a spare unmodified engine harness as well. Thank you all again.

 

[Bewy]

I would be surprised if idle vac is as high as 14-15". I would use NGK plugs with a '5' heat range.

Try this simple 5 min test. Engine idling, loosen dist clamp & slowly turn dist CCW. Idle will get smoother & rpm increase. Now how did I know that? Would you like to keep the smooth-er idle?

 

[ir3333]

I have known quite a few guys that had to replace their MSD boxes and
also guys that had to replace their mopar control boxes. Maybe make your
decision based on cost and carry a spare?

 

[HPP]

In my example above, I did have to have my MSD Digital-6 rebuilt when the rev limiter function stopped working. So they aren't bullet-proof, but they also offer after the fact services when things are out of warranty.

Of course, plenty of people can point to stock control boxes and ballast failing.

 

[68dodge]

All I been using for years is the Mopar Chrome box in my Scamp. With a Blaster coil. I still run 11.30-11.40s. Now I did use a Rev-n-nator box from RT Garage. It worked very good.

 

[MadScientistMat]

While I think that MSD ignitions have some areas where they can improve, my impression of parts store replacements for Mopar electronics is considerably worse. I would make sure the box is protected from water -they are best kept in the passenger compartment, as the MSD boxes aren't truly sealed. They are protected against water, but it is possible that enough rain can get in and do some damage.

 

[streetmachine79]

Just wanted to say thank you all again. For now, I'll think I'm thinking I'll stick with the MSD stuff.the weird thing is the factory ignition and the old 2008-2009 MP Orange ECU (Made in USA) is still there but, bypassed at this point. Attached is a picture of where my MSD is mounted. I didn't do any of this and this was done by a shop the prior owner took the truck.

One of my goals here is remount the coil vertically is it oil filled. I may relocate the MSD Box as well as I'm considering cleaning and replacing the wiring. Regarding the vacuum, I know it has enough vacuum for power brakes and that's what I can tell you about the vacuum. The other of this is I do have the engine that came out of this truck as well.

 

[1969383S]

Aparhently you required no assistance! Have you reseasearched

 

[streetmachine79]

Aparhently you required no assistance! Have you reseasearched

? I'm little confused by your post here. I'm still researching and learning so, if you can bear with me. I have the factory distributor this this truck and some other NOS ignition pieces as well. That was also part of the reason I made this post as well. If I have further problems, then I have this thread to refer back to in addition to others. Thank you again.

 

[1969383S]

? I'm little confused by your post here. I'm still researching and learning so, if you can bear with me. I have the factory distributor this this truck and some other NOS ignition pieces as well. That was also part of the reason I made this post as well. If I have further problems, then I have this thread to refer back to in addition to others. Thank you again.

I Apologige this must have been an aherent post!