The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area The Electrical Bay MSD 6AL Box

Being a X drag racer, I have a couple of MSD 6AL boxes sitting around, I was thinking about putting one on my stock 55.2 235 TF 3100 truck with stock ignition. I'd just be out my time, and no money involved. Would there be anything to gain by this, or am I just peeing in the wind?
TIA.

Be sure to keep the wind at your back.

While there might be an advantage to firing a plug 4 or 5 times in rapid succession in a well-shaped combustion chamber with the uneven charge density in a turbulent mixture in a drag race engine, I can't see any advantage to doing it in a stovebolt chamber at low speed. Look at the shape of that chamber, and the position of the spark plug- - - - -it would be hard to intentionally design something worse!

In my decidedly biased opinion, doing race stuff to a street engine is a big waste of time and effort. If you have to buy the stuff you're installing, it really makes no sense!
Jerry

I agree with Jerry in that I sure wouldn't buy a MSD box, but since you have one already why not install it and post up the results. I've got a Summit clone stuck back somewhere, just never thought about using it.....wait, I'm still running 6 volts.

"Would there be anything to gain by this, or am I just peeing in the wind?"

Brian,

Isn't the only way to find out to try it and see what happens? I did that on my '71 Dodge van that I bought new with a small block Mopar engine. "71 was the last year for point ignitions on vans. I took a stock Mopar electronic ignition off another van in a self serve wrecking yard and put it on my '71. I immediately noticed better starting when cold and when flooded from heat soak, for example after filling the gas tank.

What harm can come from doing the experiment?

Moparguy, I still have that van and it's still going strong at 361,000 miles. You can't kill that Detroit iron, huh?

Make sure and stay from an electric fence while doing that!

Ed

Ray said "Moparguy, I still have that van and it's still going strong at 361,000 miles. You can't kill that Detroit iron, huh?"

I've read of 50's vintage AD trucks going well over 200K miles. I do suspect these were highway driven work trucks that didn't spend there life on the farm driving dusty turnrows and dirt and gravel roads.

I'm not really in your league but my bought new 1995 Dodge 1 ton Cummins diesel is pushing 300,000 miles. All I've ever done to the engine is adjust the valves a few times (now I did upgrade the turbo, install bigger injectors and exhaust system, change the springs on the injector pump flyweights and tune on the afc housing ). All these enhancements caused the stock clutch to slip in 4th when pulling a loaded trailer so had to upgrade that.

But even with the power being increased by almost 100% I'm thinking I won't live long enough to wear the old Dodge out.

RonR

Thread hijack over, back to the stovebolt.

Jerry, Ron, Ray, and Ed, thank you for your replies. My 235 starts and runs like a top. I think I'll just leave it alone (if it ain't broke don't fix it).

"I've read of 50's vintage AD trucks going well over 200K miles."

I am not following the banter/bragging, but does someone know of a 216 or a low-pressure 235 going 200K without a rebuild (or, at least a valve job)? I'll bet my 1954 A-D high-pressure 235s were lucky to go 50K miles before lower-end rebuild?

Or, is that 200K road miles on the truck, not on the original engine? Kingpins, rear axle seals, etc, etc . . ?

I don't think there is any downside to it. My 261 will get one this coming spring. Yes, the combustion chamber is of a pretty funky and inefficient design which is just why you might consider it. The single throat carb has to feed that motor from idle to wot so there are some compromises built in. One is that at idle and off idle, it can sometimes run a little fat so the multiple sparks might help get you a cleaner more complete burn. As you said, you only have your time in it.

"Jerry, Ron, Ray, and Ed, thank you for your replies. My 235 starts and runs like a top. I think I'll just leave it alone (if it ain't broke don't fix it)."

Brian,

If you're going to stay with a point ignition you might look at a Delco D105P point set. It's listed for early 1960s era vehicles but I found it to be a drop in replacement for the funky 2-piece point set in my '36 Chevy pickup. I've heard that the D105P fits Delco distributors back to the 1920s and it's much improved over the "original" points and really inexpensive on ebay.

I did sorta step into it with that comment. Can't factually qualify the 200k and I was referring to the engine. I made the mistake of repeating what I've read on forums where the writers related high mileage figures from personal experience with an air of authenticity. I mean it was on the internet, has to right.....right?

Even on my truck I can't absolutely say the indicated 50,0523 miles are in fact actual. I do know I'm the 4th owner and the 3 owner to actually drive the old truck (I bought it from a small museum which put basically no miles on it). The original owner/farmer in Indiana died in 1988 and the copy of his title and the 2nd owners support the current mileage.

All that said, based on what I found with the paint under the crud, the lack of marks on the fasteners and such when I pulled the oil pan and replaced the rear main seal made me think I'm the first to pull said pan. I did plastic gauge the mains and they were within spec so I did not remove any shims and that was at about the 45,000 mile mark.

It's now over 50k, but I don't see it going 200k at all.

Now if one of the "well seasoned" members would step in an shed some first hand stories that'd be pretty interesting/informative.

RonR