Comparisons and Installation

What do you guys have preference to? I've been looking at MSD Ignitions:
http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/part_number=6425/424.0.0.0.0.0.0
They seem to be very good and I've seen many people at shows with MSD boxes.
The other Ignition I was looking at was Ignitor 2/3:
http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/part_number=6425/424.0.0.0.0.0.0
From here it seems like everyone has had very good luck with Pertronix and I haven't heard a single complaint.

For MSD, Am i just paying more for the brand name, or is it actually going to give me a better quality running vehicle? Also, what else do I need to run each. I know it is recommended to buy the Coil for pertronix, And they have Coils for MSD which I'm guessing would be the smart choice to go. Do I need to do anything new distributor wise? MSD site does not have a dist. for my car which was slightly worrying to me. What else is needed to do the swap from points to each of these ignitions? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Looking to buy within the next month.

P.S. Any NW Owners, Wapato Showdown is coming again, Last weekend in August (25th) And I would love to have another Maverick by my side for once! Let me know if you're interested!

 

I've been running msd distributor, 6al box (older style) and one of their coils without issues since 06, just don't buy a cylinder style coil (blaster2), they are junk in my opinion, I had one and it cracked between posts, I have been using street blaster since without an issue.

I see multiple distributors to pick from if you have a 302 based motor.

 

Unless you are running high compression/93 and up octane fuel and or a fat cam with lots of overlap....Buy the pertronix, you dont need the Msd...

 

It is just a daily driver, 200I6, nothing fancy, all stock under the hood. Do I need to run a new distributor with with pertronix? And do you recommend just the ignitor II? or should i step up with the III?

 

The pertronix will replace the points on your existing distributor. Either one will do you but, I would recommend the ignitor II unless your 200 is hopped up.

 

I would replace it because its old and worn out

 

based that you have a 6cyl I would also recommend the petronix, no need to waste money on msd

 

My Maverick has had Pertronix on it since long before I bought it 10 years ago. Never even a hiccup. I have run the same MSD 6AL box for 12 years on two different cars (SVO Mustang and Maverick) with absolutely no problems. The MSD stuff is pretty flawless in my opinion. But I do believe you pay a bit of a premium for the "MSD look" under your hood.

 

I put a first gen pertronix in the stock distributor in my 351W a long time ago and it has 20K miles on it, no problems. I also used one of their coils.

This is a motor with a fairly hot cam, carb with no choke, and other mods, and was one of the best changes I made after my motor swap. Made it much easier to live with on a daily driver basis.

For your car and if trying to keep the cost down, I would take a good look at the distributor first. If the bearings are still good in it, I would get the Pertronix II kit for it and their basic coil.

The III kit has more of a MSD approach, multiple sparks and other bells and whistles. It might make the car run a tiny bit smoother, but is probably overkill for a mild motor.

You will notice a big change in driveability just stepping up to the II.

 

I think I'm going to go through and get the pert II. Would I be fine running the old distrib for now and then swapping it out later on down the road for a new one?

 

Also, Where do I find my Distributor stamp? So I can get the correct pertronix to go with it.

 

As long as yours is still in good shape, I would say run it. If the bearings have any slop, I would replace it.... about $40 at Advance Auto for a V8 replacement unit ... didn't look up one for a six.

You'll be replacing the points and condensor, and placing a trigger over where the points ride ...pretty simple, but a bit easier on a bench than in the car. There is minor rewiring from stock too. The kit will tell you how.

I don't know what they mean by distributor stamp ... perhaps a part number on the body.

 

Ive got a msd box on my 250 it has definately helped with hot starts and all around spunk over the duraspark i pulled off

 

Yeah, I believe it's the part #. It says it should be stamped on the distributor or on a small tag. I haven't looked to hard because it was dark when I was looking yesterday. My distributor was just off about a month ago and was in good shape. Do you think upping to Premium fuel (91 Octane) would help my car run smoother as well? Was reading through the Owners manual and it recommends 91+ and I've always ran 87.

 

One great trick with stock Ford distributors from this era is that there will be a medium weight advance spring (under the plate the points are on) and a heavy one. Get a second medium spring and replace that heavy one ... it will bring the advance curve in faster, in a range you can use it. (whatever you do ... don't go to a speed shop and get two super-light springs ... it will be too much).

I would get the pertronix, and see how it runs on 87. Dial it in with maybe 10 degrees initial advance and see how it behaves. Up it to 12 and see if pings under load ... going uphill, heavy throttle. Or if it runs on after you shut it off (dieseling) you might have gone too far.

I am not a fan of running more octane than needed... more octane means the gas actually burns slower ... it carbons up the motor under light throttle and creates a dependency. If you do it too much, you will have to do it all the time. Better to get as much timing in as it will tolerate ( a bit more than original specs is usually OK with a healthy engine, factory specs were conservative usually, until computers came along ).

My 351W with all the mods runs 89 around town. If I go out on the highway, I will put 87 in it and just not stomp it, because it will rattle a bit at full song. Never has needed 91 ... and won't until I get some great heads on it and serious compression.