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msd plug and play distributors

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moparjohnny

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anyone has any experience good or bad with this unit?are there cheaper prices than i have seen for 399.00. i have already looked at summit prices 399.00.mostly want to hear about experience with part. thanks
 
Last edited:
In all fairness you two fellas, dave and ski, it was a two part question and you only answered the question that made you angry. The other question regarding experiences is a valid question. I'd like some background on them too.
 
Are we talking Plug and play or Ready to run? Plug and play to me takes the place of the factory Mopar dist and plugs into the electronic ignition harness. I went with a Firecore plug and play. $169 and I feel is easier to adjust, no bushings. Two screws will adjust mechanical advance.
What happens when the module in a ready to run dist takes a dump? Can't go to a local auto parts and buy new, or open the trunk and pull out the spare orange box.
 
About 10 years ago I was having problems with a Mopar distributor in my small block bracket car. A good friend mentioned the MSD "ready to run" distributors so I gave it a shot. I shift the car at 6500 rpm's. That was 10 years ago and it's still working great. There are other "ready to run" distributors on the market but I don't know much about them. Maybe some others will chime in. Just stay away from the $55 ones on ebay.
There are a lot of advantages to this type of distributor. They generally cost less than the box & distributor combinations. The distributor can be set up as vacuum or mechanical advance. The advance curve can be changed easily. The best part, trash that ballast resistor.
 
My son had purchased a car that had one (not a Mopar) and had nothing but problems. Removed, went back to stock and problems gone. I wish I could tell you more about that one but I can tell you about my 73 - 400HP. It had MSD on it when I got it and ran like crap. The car was restored shortly after and all that stuff came off and I went back to Mopar electronic ignition package. Other than the carb which has since been repaired it runs great.
Frankly $399 for a distributor????? It better come with lifetime internet, oil changes and tires because I don't feel it's worth that.
You can get a complete kit for less than that. http://www.jegs.com/p/JEGS-Performa...its-with-Forged-Distributors/2392919/10002/-1 and I'm sure if you shop you can find it for less.
Just my 2 cents.
 
ski and dave i did not mean for you guys to have to look up prices,i had a idea i looked up before hand,i was just asking and i should have worded it differently has anyone saw a cheaper price for it.apologize to you both,mainly needed experience with this part.
 
I put the MSD Ready to Run in my newly stroked 440. Not many miles on the car but the unit runs fine. No problems. Easy to install and fired right up. And continues to.
 
I too will recommend a FireCore Plug and Play for much less in price ($165.00) than a MSD. As stated earlier. very easy to adjust the mechanical advance and no bushings to wear out. It is rock steady at 8000 rpm.
 
I would go with the firecore over the msd for "plug and play", mainly because of price, I had an msd plug and play, it was used when I got it and it still worked when i sold the car, and I see the new owner who has never mentioned a problem, I bought it used for $150...

Now for the motor I am putting in my 440-6 I bought a spanking new msd 8546 for $255 (fleabay) and a new msd 6425 for $150 (also fleabay), both new and unused... I see deals for the ready to runs too, just look around.. As for the best price, amazon, summit, jegs, all pretty much the same, although with amazon if you sign up for a chase, citi, or what ever credit card they are pushing now you can get $50-$100 off of the distributor with the first purchase, besides something like that, I dont see any savings(and now that amazon charges tax, the cc savings is useless...)...

good luck..
 
Talk to Don at foursecondsflat.com. He curves the distributor to your exact engine build. I went with a pertronix three that he curved for me and am happy. Pertronix 3 is one hot wire and one ground. Pretty easy! Mine was 399 delivered.
 
slepr1 said:
In all fairness you two fellas, dave and ski, it was a two part question and you only answered the question that made you angry. The other question regarding experiences is a valid question. I'd like some background on them too.
Click to expand...

slepr1; I wasn't and am not angry. Part of building a car is doing the research and finding the parts. The nice thing about Summit's site is that not only do you get the price, but you also can see the installation instructions and usually several reviews by folks who have actually bought and used the product. I am a long time customer of MSD (sorry Lew) but unfortunately only have experience with the Pro-Billet distributor, so I withheld an opinion that wouldn't have helped Johnny. At the very least I got him to a site that could add to his knowledge...

- - - Updated - - -

moparjohnny said:
ski and dave i did not mean for you guys to have to look up prices,i had a idea i looked up before hand,i was just asking and i should have worded it differently has anyone saw a cheaper price for it.apologize to you both,mainly needed experience with this part.
Click to expand...

Johnny: No apology needed, but thanks anyway. Please see my post #15. The only thing I can add to this is I worked at a speed shop when MSDs first came out. The boxes and distributors are great quality and absolutely work if the rest of the ignition system is up to snuff and all grounds are good. A plus that they are made in America. I recommend Summit and Jegs because of their fast delivery and no questions asked return policies. Sometimes cheaper isn't always better...
 
I'm going to ask a follow on redundant question about this unit. I get you don't need a ballast resistor because you no longer have points - but with the ready to run do you still need a resistor to protect the coil from overheating?
 
Johnny, without going into a bunch of tuning detail about ignitions I will say this, I've ran most all types in the last 40 years in high performance Mopars, Fords, and worked on/tuned everything from the generals camp. Now, I have both types of MSD dists. that run in RB 440s with different gearing and engine combos and both work great and never a problem BUT there is a night and day difference in the drivability of the two cars but if I plug the vaccum port on the ready to run they behave basically the same! theirs only 10 degs. in the MSD can to be had at part throttle cruise but it smoothes the old 64 dodge WAY out and the drivability is like a different car! the question I ask you is this a racecar or a HP car you drive on the street and maybe run at the strip once a year? Also, cheap parts are cheap.
 
cryplydog said:
Johnny, without going into a bunch of tuning detail about ignitions I will say this, I've ran most all types in the last 40 years in high performance Mopars, Fords, and worked on/tuned everything from the generals camp. Now, I have both types of MSD dists. that run in RB 440s with different gearing and engine combos and both work great and never a problem BUT there is a night and day difference in the drivability of the two cars but if I plug the vaccum port on the ready to run they behave basically the same! theirs only 10 degs. in the MSD can to be had at part throttle cruise but it smoothes the old 64 dodge WAY out and the drivability is like a different car! the question I ask you is this a racecar or a HP car you drive on the street and maybe run at the strip once a year? Also, cheap parts are cheap.
Click to expand...
it is a hp car.
 
I just installed one in my 500 HP street build 440. Really plug and play, and easily adjustable. No problems so far. Picked it as the guys around here (Riverside, and other parts south, CA) really like it. Considered orange box/ mopar distributor but consensus was against. I'm very happy.
 
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