MSD Ignition question.

[TheJDMan]

I was at my local speed shop earlier in the week and was talking to the counter guy. I mentioned I had an early Accel dual point distributor and was looking for something to replace it. He said I would be better off using my existing distributor by removing one set of points and the condensor and using the remaining set of points to trigger an MSD. I don't know why I didn't think of this since it is exactly how I modified one of my garden tractors for pulling. So my question is which MSD unit would work best?

[GregWeld]

Originally Posted by TheJDMan

I was at my local speed shop earlier in the week and was talking to the counter guy. I mentioned I had an early Accel dual point distributor and was looking for something to replace it. He said I would be better off using my existing distributor by removing one set of points and the condensor and using the remaining set of points to trigger an MSD. I don't know why I didn't think of this since it is exactly how I modified one of my garden tractors for pulling. So my question is which MSD unit would work best?

MSD's are set up for a "points trigger".... if wired correctly.

I've been using the MSD 6AL -- I like the electronic limiter over the old style chips.


There are two circuits that can be used to trigger the MSD Ignition; a Points circuit (White wire) and a Magnetic Pickup circuit (Violet and Green wires). The two circuits will never be used together.

White Wire: This wire is used to connect to the points, electronic ignition amplifier output or to the Yellow wire of an MSD Timing Accessory. When this wire is used, the Magnetic Pickup connector is not used.

[oldgoat]

It is not uncommon in period correct looking builds to use a point type distributor to trigger an MSD. The points will last forever (until the spring gives up) as the current is next to nothing. The only down side is that the same spring will be your rev limiter due to point float. I have had point distributors on my distributor machine at over 10K distributor RPM with fairly stable signal.

[NOVA1958]

Looking for pics of MSD 6AL box that have been installed inside under the dash of 3RD Gen Novas.

Thanks

[oldgoat]

Just be aware that an MSD box such as the 6AL is an analog box and will produce RF noise. It will be necessary to use a filter to prevent interference with your sound system if it gets too close. I have not heard that the noise is a problem with the current generation of digital boxes.