Vacuum secondaries vs mechanical secondaries

[popscomet]

and air plane gas doesn't burn right in a car motor.....at least that's what I have read....we used to get it for a mudd drag truck back in the 80's...don't know that it helped,,,,to be honest....pop

[Joe Travers]

and air plane gas doesn't burn right in a car motor.....at least that's what I have read....we used to get it for a mudd drag truck back in the 80's...don't know that it helped,,,,to be honest....pop

Av fuel here in '80s was 106. Couldn't find race gas then.
I think av fuel is down to 101, but don't hold me to that.

Joe

[Lou's Comet]

I am thinking of getting this carb. Should this get me in the ballpark?

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/hly-0-82751sa

Joe, what ignition/ distributor do you have in the falcon? I was talking to a buddy about not running a choke and he said he didn't and never had many problems. Then he told me if I run a MSD it would help. That when he went from his old dist to the MSD setup the cold starting without choke got better. Was just wondering if the Falcon had MSD.

Thanks!

Lou

[comethead]

Hey Lou that carb should do the job!
In the Falcon I’m running an old school dual point Accel distributer with a SMP Blue Streak coil. I have a 6AL box somewhere that I’ve been meaning to wire in but it runs strong to 7k rpm and cold starts aren’t a problem so I haven’t bothered.
If my Accel ever dies Ill probably run this one https://www.summitracing.com/parts/msd-83525

Joe

[Lou's Comet]

Thanks Joe.

I have been going back and forth between the MSD with box and the Pertronix III. Been leaning toward the Pertronix because of price, plus know a couple people that had MSD boxes go bad. But also know a couple other people that swear by the MSD stuff. Going to make a few phone calls today and hopefully make a decision. Also heard sometimes you need to buy a adaptor to make your tach work with the MSD. I will look at the ready to run dist you linked to.

Will also add the carb to my cart.

Thanks again for all your help!

Lou

Hey Lou that carb should do the job!
In the Falcon I’m running an old school dual point Accel distributer with a SMP Blue Streak coil. I have a 6AL box somewhere that I’ve been meaning to wire in but it runs strong to 7k rpm and cold starts aren’t a problem so I haven’t bothered.
If my Accel ever dies Ill probably run this one https://www.summitracing.com/parts/msd-83525

Joe

[comethead]

Hey Lou there’s one on eBay right now https://www.ebay.com/itm/MSD-Pro-Billet ... 632-2357-0

[Boss/Cyclone]

Hey Lou there’s one on eBay right now https://www.ebay.com/itm/MSD-Pro-Billet ... 632-2357-0

That one has an iron gear. Not a good choice with a roller cam.

[comethead]

Yeah wasn’t sure what cam he’s running…not many go with a flat tappet anymore I guess. except me
I just mentioned it because its a great price…should be able to swap gears easily I’d assume.

Joe

[Lou's Comet]

Thanks guys,

Yea went with roller cam, wasn't going to but the builder (and a few friends ) told me I should. Hope it wasn't a mistake.

After talking to the people at MSD and Pertronix I decided to go with the Pertronix distributor/ignition.

I do appreciate all the help you guys have been giving me!

Lou

[popscomet]

Talking about MSD stuff,,,in the last 20 odd yrs we have one box go out on our dirt cars,,,late 90's had a box go out on wife's 56 ford,,,but my comet still has the same box from about 1996 when it was put on,but about 3yrs ago the pick up in the dist went out,,,,close to 25 yrs ago,,I installed a msd dist,coil and box n my 1984 5.0 mercury capri,,,wasn't on a hour,,,would not start,,,so I pulled everything back off,,put back in the boxes they just came out of,,called JEGS,,sent it all back ,,,week later they made it all good,,installed it all and it is still on the motor,,doing fine...don't know which was the culprit,,some have told reason my stuff has lasted so many yrs is cause my stuff is old it was made in the USA,,,,IDK,,,maybe a bit of luck comes to play....pop

[Joe Travers]

Talking about MSD stuff,,,in the last 20 odd yrs we have one box go out on our dirt cars,,,late 90's had a box go out on wife's 56 ford,,,but my comet still has the same box from about 1996 when it was put on,but about 3yrs ago the pick up in the dist went out,,,,close to 25 yrs ago,,I installed a msd dist,coil and box n my 1984 5.0 mercury capri,,,wasn't on a hour,,,would not start,,,so I pulled everything back off,,put back in the boxes they just came out of,,called JEGS,,sent it all back ,,,week later they made it all good,,installed it all and it is still on the motor,,doing fine...don't know which was the culprit,,some have told reason my stuff has lasted so many yrs is cause my stuff is old it was made in the USA,,,,IDK,,,maybe a bit of luck comes to play....pop

My MSD ignition is 10 years old, still running strong. Reading up on it, they say the multi-spark works from idle to around 3K rpm.
Claim this helps w/ smoother idle. My 302 idles pretty smooth @ 850 rpm. Just a hint of chop.

Joe

[comethead]

Talking about MSD stuff,,,in the last 20 odd yrs we have one box go out on our dirt cars,,,late 90's had a box go out on wife's 56 ford,,,but my comet still has the same box from about 1996 when it was put on,but about 3yrs ago the pick up in the dist went out,,,,close to 25 yrs ago,,I installed a msd dist,coil and box n my 1984 5.0 mercury capri,,,wasn't on a hour,,,would not start,,,so I pulled everything back off,,put back in the boxes they just came out of,,called JEGS,,sent it all back ,,,week later they made it all good,,installed it all and it is still on the motor,,doing fine...don't know which was the culprit,,some have told reason my stuff has lasted so many yrs is cause my stuff is old it was made in the USA,,,,IDK,,,maybe a bit of luck comes to play....pop

My MSD ignition is 10 years old, still running strong. Reading up on it, they say the multi-spark works from idle to around 3K rpm.
Claim this helps w/ smoother idle. My 302 idles pretty smooth @ 850 rpm. Just a hint of chop.

Joe

Hey Joe what happens above 3k rpm? That’s where my Falcon lives. I have a 6AL box but I haven’t installed it yet.
Joe

[Lou's Comet]

Talking about MSD stuff,,,in the last 20 odd yrs we have one box go out on our dirt cars,,,late 90's had a box go out on wife's 56 ford,,,but my comet still has the same box from about 1996 when it was put on,but about 3yrs ago the pick up in the dist went out,,,,close to 25 yrs ago,,I installed a msd dist,coil and box n my 1984 5.0 mercury capri,,,wasn't on a hour,,,would not start,,,so I pulled everything back off,,put back in the boxes they just came out of,,called JEGS,,sent it all back ,,,week later they made it all good,,installed it all and it is still on the motor,,doing fine...don't know which was the culprit,,some have told reason my stuff has lasted so many yrs is cause my stuff is old it was made in the USA,,,,IDK,,,maybe a bit of luck comes to play....pop

From what I have gathered the MSD boxes are now made overseas, and from what the guy I talked to from MSD some of the distributors may be also. When I asked him If I would notice a "seat of the pants difference" with the MSD compare to Pertronix he told me no. He did tell me I would get better fuel mileage.
Also from the people I talked to and what I have read the older MSD stuff has held up very well,,,the newer MSD stuff not so well.

The Pertronix is still made in USA,, which still means something to me.

Even on the Summit site the MSD distributors do not have the made in USA icon anymore. Where the Pertronix does.

Also talked to a guy at Pertronix and he told me I should go with the II instead of the III. For a couple reasons. Main one is I don't have to worry about anything frying if I leave the key on, and that a street car doesn't really benefit from multi spark except for a little better mileage and a little smoother idle, which neither are a concern.

Plus the Pertronix is cheaper which comes in nice with all I still need to get, can take what I save and put it toward better rocker arms!!

Plus it is nice to see the "Made In USA" on the box!!

Lou

[Joe Travers]

Hey Joe what happens above 3k rpm? That’s where my Falcon lives. I have a 6AL box but I haven’t installed it yet.

Their claim-

CAPACITIVE DISCHARGE
The Digital 6A and 6AL feature a capacitive discharge ignition design. The majority of stock ignition systems are inductive ignitions. In an inductive ignition, the coil must store and step up the voltage to maximum strength in between each firing. At higher rpm, since there is less time to charge the coil to full capacity, the voltage falls short of reaching maximum energy which results in a loss of power or top end miss. The MSD Ignition features a capacitor which is quickly charged with 520 - 535 volts and stores it until the ignition is triggered. With the CD design, the voltage sent to the coil positive terminal is always at full power even at high rpm.

Joe II

[Joe Travers]

The Pertronix is still made in USA,, which still means something to me.

I'm with you on that one, Lou.
Thanks for the scoop on the Petronix system. I wasn't aware they made a CD system, just the conversion kit. Trying to catch up on all of this aftermarket stuff available.

Joe