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April issue of Classic Trucks magazine( www.classictrucks.com ) starting on page 32. They did an article using Mallory's "Custom-Made" Stovebolt Unilite. You have a new distributor, Wayne's rocker and pushrod cover set and a new coil. The sources are www.malloryperformance.com in Carson City,NV., www.patricksantiquecars.com in Casa Grande,AZ., and www.astrocoil.com in San Jose,CA.. Hope you guys find the links helpful. Dave

I read that article and it sounds like a good product....but it may be expensive. anybody know the price range?

I noticed that RF has a small air cleaner on that engine. I can't remember where I read it (probably on Stovebolt) but doesn't the small air cleaner "choke" the carb all the time?

Price range on what, the UniLite or the Wayne set? The custom-order Mallory units aren't any more than OTC (over-the-counter) ones, at least that's what I was told. The Astro Coil was a little pricey, but I figured it was worth it for the different look that tied in with the Wayne stuff (also, Mallory backed up the performance of the Astros).

As for the Hellings air cleaner, which is no longer in use (I got a Moon shell-type finned one), it didn't seem to restrict let alone choke the carb any more than the stock one. I drilled out the base bracket with 1/4" holes to help with breathing. The Moon one has an open back exposing the K&N element, and it seems to work good so far, as well.

Dave, thanks for the links!

I can't find any reference to a Mallory "Custom-made Unilite" in the links Dave provided. Patrick has had a Mallory electronic distributor without vacuum avance in his catalog for a good while. Is this the "Custom-Made" Stovebolt Unilite you guys are referring to?

Wayne Mfg Co had a mallory unilite with vacuum advance in their catalog but they are no longer in business. In fact I sent cash for one but got ripped off when they dropped out of sight.

Does anyone know of a source for a mallory electronic distributor with vacuum advance that will fit 6 cylinder chevy 235 and 261 engines?

The magazine provides "sources" at the end of the article but they don't include part numbers. Why not?

At the "source" I found this:

http://www.malloryperformance.com/P...ID=5265&selection=&minselection=

I didn't look very hard but I did not see the "custom" option for the adjustable vacuum advance.

There is NO part number for the custom-order UniLites, that's why. As for why it's been hard to get any info from Mallory, I can't answer that. I listed the source as they requested. My contact there, Mike Golding, said all custom distributors were done from the Carson City location (OG Mallory), and the number listed was to that dept. Also, because there is no part number, nobody else carries it (Patrick only has mech advance).

How about this, if Mallory still makes this dist. for the 230/250/292 motor, why not modify that unit for the older motor? Haven't seen a Mallory catalog in a while but my old dusty copy list electronic dist. for 230 motors.

Mallorys numbers, Unilite-4562801/4662801/4762801

Seriously, if you guys want a cheaper alternative, you might try a Pertronix electronic ignition conversion kit for the stock distributor. It replaces the points completely, allows you to continue using your stock distributor, and takes about 10 minutes to install. And man does it work great. Reliable and quick starts everytime in any weather.

That's around $79 from Summit Racing...800-230-3030.

Sure do like my Petronix. No worries under the cap.
Jim

I'm still a big fan of converting to HEI using a distributor from a later six, all it takes is grinding or filing off the cast ring on the shaft and then clamping on a new one higher up so the distributor will stick in as far as it needs to. You can pull a distributor and coil from a wrecking yard for close to nothing and the work it takes is simple and not very time consuming. HEI puts out lots of spark too!