Took my '70 Challenger to a buddy of mine on Friday, so he could install a MSD ignition - the whole ball of wax, brainbox, billet distributor, blaster coil. Keep in mind that I'm running a 440-sixpack, and was using a Mallory distributor, points set-up. Engine rebuilt last year, blueprinted and balanced. Ran pretty darn good, I thought. Anyway, I'd been having problems with backfires, engine bogging down for a split second when I got on it, and was quite frankly tired of that. My buddy, who's a serious Mopar gearhead, said that the ignition system was probably the culprit, and in any case, the MSD was a lot better than the original points-type system that I had. Anyway, he installs the MSD ( 'cause when it comes to stuff like that, I'd rather have someone install it who knows what he's doing ), and I really didn't know what to expect performance-wise. Got in the car, fired it right up, and my buddy and I went for a little spin on a nearby highway. HOLY SH*IT ! To say that I was pleased with the results would be a gross understatement! That new ignition system really woke up my engine. I could not believe the performance difference. As an example, driving through town at 25mph, dropping the slapstik into 1st gear and flooring the gas pedal just smoked the tires! Never did that before, I can tell you. I never would have believed that an ignition system could make so much difference.
( Of course, things have a way of balancing out. Later that same night ( and it's like 11 PM, when no stores are open ), my alternator decides to throw in the towel, and as an added bonus, fries my fusible link. Luckily my buddy had a spare vehicle to lend me so I could make my 40 minute ride home). Anyway, sorry for the long post, but I just had to share this story with all you good folks out there.
