MSD or not

[Rob72]

Morning,

Just got back from my mechanic who was doing a general walkaround of the car.  He suggested upgrading from my current 1972 ignition coil and black box ignition to an MSD ignition and blaster coil.  Engine:340ci, x heads, compression low 9s, 650carb, only street driving. 

Any opinions on if this would be a good upgrade

Thanks Rob

[Chryco Psycho]

If your ignition system si working properly you will see exactly Zero gain & you rwallet will be a lot lighter , if you decide to do this fully tune the engine first , change spark plugs & wires if needed , dyno the car & compare on the dyno after installing the MSD I bet it make no difference

[74 340 4speed]

If your ignition system si working properly you will see exactly Zero gain & you rwallet will be a lot lighter , if you decide to do this fully tune the engine first , change spark plugs & wires if needed , dyno the car & compare on the dyno after installing the MSD I bet it make no difference

   I just went through the same ordeal with my car debating on msd parts.  Keep it stock and you won't have to worry about anything.  My 340 is pretty radical, and it does fine with the factory ignition components.  The only thing I upgraded was the  spark plug wires, Accel 300+ race wires, and stepped up to an autolite #63 plug.  My motor loves this setup so I plan to keep it. 

[70RTdroptop]

I had my buddy install a MSD system in my Challenger last year, and I was impressed with the amount of additional horsepower that I could notice. I'm sold on it. I used the blaster coil and billet distributor along with the MSD 6AL box.

[buzzard]

 :aarg:Your setup for street sounds good. If it ain't broke don't fix it. The MSD will help if you have a wild cam or something and only on the lower end.

[cudabob496]

On my 496 cuda, which I run on the street, the MSD 6AL box and billet distributor have been great, along with high performance wires. I gap the plugs at 60 thousands, and cut back the negative electrode a little, plus I like the rev limiter in the 6AL box. It was a noticible improvement over my Mopar setup.

[Rob72]

Thanks for the feedback guys.  Since this is a street car only it sounds like I'm ok with my factory ignition system

R

[cudabob496]

For me, even on the street, I hate to loose. So whatever makes more power reliably and at a reasonable price, I try to do it. Safe travels!

[Chryco Psycho]

Just so you know the multi spark feature of MSD quits at 3000 RPM so about the time the stall converter locks up & the engine starts making some real power

[440Charger]

My understanding is that the MSD or any electonic ignition would be better than stock because it's laser accurate and you don't have to worry about points going bad.  Correct me if I'm wrong Neil?  So even though you lose the multi-spark at 3000 you would still benefit not from HP but from long term reliability?

[Chryco Psycho]

Basically true the electronic dists should really rarely if ever need servicing  the orange boxes & the MSD control boxes do fail though

[turbobitt]

Even though the multi-spark feature stops around 3000 RPM , you still have the added benifit of the capacitive discharge type of spark. It will fire through just about anything with its very high voltage on the primary side.