Just about ready to fire the 302 in my 53 F100 but need to finish the ignition system. I have installed a late 70's style Ford Duraspark distributor. (Blue grommet style) Is there any reason why I need to spend the extra cash for an aftermarket ignition such as MSD etc. The application will be street cruising and an occasional interstate long haul for Pigeon Forge F100 Supernats. Looks are unimportant as I will probably try to hide the system from view anyway. Looking for reliability and decent fuel mileage. I question whether aftermarket offers improvements in either but am trying to keep an open mind.

Thanks
Dewayne
53 F100

 

If it's not gonna be a hot rod you probably don't need the ignition box.But I would spend the extra money and get a good msd or crane coil.Don't get me wrong the MSD is a nice piece.If money is not an option I'd say get one.I just think it's overkill for a stock engine.The aftermarket coils aren't that much and fire hotter.

Billy

 

Billy

Do you know the difference between MSD 5 and 6 series?. The 5 is very reasonably priced and not much more expensive than a quality stock Blue Grommet module. Is the MSD 5 a stand alone system or do I need a module anyway to run it? I have to buy a module and a coil anyway so I will likely take your advice on the aftermarket coil. I need to add the following details if I expect meaningful advice. Edelbrock Performer cam,intake and carb. Otherwise basically stock with a new Duraspark distributor. Installed in a 53 F100 I intend to drive hundreds of miles to car shows. Most stress it will probably ever see is my almost 40 wife ripping the tires after a kid at the mall revs his Camaro. Or at least she will tell me he started it


Dewayne

 

[updated:LAST EDITED ON 27-May-02 AT 04:21 PM (EST)]The 5 box is the bottom line multispark box.The 6 fires much hotter and comes with a rev limiter in some models.If you go to the the msd site they show wiring diagrams for the boxes.There are two different options for the ford duraspark ignition.If you need to install an ignition module you may be better off with the 5 box.They also make a blaster ignition which is a single spark economy box.It is just a step above the factory ignition.Looking at your set up with the cam and intake you would probably see some difference with the 5 box over the factory ignition.

Billy

 

Billy

Thanks for the help. The MSD site does have good info on the MSD 6 series. An MSD 5 plus a Ford module cost about the same as a series 6. If I go aftermarket, the 6A looks like the logical choice.

Dewayne

 

I just looked at your gallery pics.That's one sweet looking ride.

Billy

 

OK, here's my 2 cents. I've swapped the Duraspark system into several points equipped vehicles with the blue grommet box. For me, it has been a trouble-free system. Reliable, easy-starting, and good mileage. My plugs last for a full normal life cycle and they always show that they have been burning well. Yes, the aftermarket ignition systems may well deliver a hotter spark. Some claim 60,000 volts. This is swell, but it comes at the expense of shorter plug life. Another point to ponder is this - That blue grommet box is sitting on the shelf of every friggin' parts store in the nation. Autozone, Pep Boys, NAPA, all of them. Quite a few are open seven days until 11 PM. Reliable as they are, that's comforting information, at least to me, when I'm several hundred miles from home. Parts do break, electronics do fail. What happens should a MSD box fail? You either wait around a hotel for a day (that you could have been at the Nats) while a new little red box gets rushed in or you scramble for some schematics so you can hack a Duraspark box in and finish your trip. Maybe I'm a little paranoid, but since your building a reacher, that would be my concern. I'm sure you'll be happy either way. Would you be able to tell the difference? Who knows.

 

Rage

You hit all my areas of reservation exactly. Until I looked at the MSD website last night and saw it could literally be wired back to Duraspark in 5 minutes if you got in a jam. Especially if you buy the MSD to Duraspark harness. Only question now is whether the $200 MSD makes my truck run better. I understand the MSD sparks up to 20 times in 20 degrees crank rotation. Sounds wonderful, but does any fuel get ignited by this spark or do you just wear out the rest of the electrical system 20 times early. This is where the magazine reading, bench racing crowd can put up the theory and we could discuss it. Nobody seems to be complaining about MSD, I think they probably have a good product here. I have to have an understanding of the product before I lay down $200. I do that with everything and it's probably why I can afford to build my truck now.

Regards
Dewayne

 

Billy

Thanks for the compliment, the truck is getting so close to road worthy I can taste it. Just a few issues left. I now have Mustang shorty headers. The previous owner put a sweet flowmaster exhaust system on it 20 miles before I bought it. Too bad it had a 305 Chevy at the time. Sounds like another post if I can find the Mustang crowd.

Dewayne

 

You do have one sharp, sharp ride, 'fenders. I am glad to see you go to the trouble and expense of stuffing a Ford powerplant back in it, though. Wish I'd got to your accessory bracket post before you had already found them. I've got 3 or 4 sets hanging around the shop! I realize that you race Bowties, too. I won't bang you up for that at all. It takes a lot of character to walk both sides of the fence! Keep up the A1 work and let us know how she runs!

 

Most everyone I know that has a classic or hot rod car is running an msd box with no problems.On a highly modified engine the extra spark is needed,on a mildly modified engine it's a toss up.You may see mild gas mileage and HP increase,but is it worth the money?Only you and your bank account can answer that one.

Billy

 

Rage

I dumped all the bowties. I am officially converted to the Blue Oval" I still appreciate a fire breathing 454 but the sight of yet another belly button SB Chevy in anything makes me yawn. My patience was severely tested by the 302 adventure. Had to buy 3 engines to get one that was rebuildable. Whats up with that? That is what caused the mixture of brackets, pulleys and balancers. Being a Ford rookie, I was unaware they re-engineered the front of the motor every 18 months or so. The set I got off an LTD last week is unbelievably slick looking. Serpentine but the water pump moves in the proper direction. Smog and AC were completely separate brackets. I caught a break for a change. I like the ease of repair and interchangability on a Chevy but I really feel like Fords are more reliable.

Dewayne

 

LOL Well, Dewayne, welcome to our world! Consider yourself initiated. It seems like a big hassle, but you get used to it. A lot more stuff interchanges than it initially appears. Figuring out what takes a little experience. The deal with the differences in the front of the 302's is more a function of body platform than year. Any given year yields 3 or 4 different accessory mounting arrangements. One for Crown Vic/Grand Marq, one for Mustang/Cougar/T-bird, one for trucks - you get the picture. Short of that, I don't think there is much difference between years short of different engine equipment options. It wasn't so bad in the seventies, but with the advent of serpentine drive in the eighties, things started getting a little funky. Hang in there and welcome to the "dark side"! No bellybuttons here, that's for sure!

 

Hello all - just thought i'd add my real world experience with the Duraspark/MSD debate. In my 49 F1 I'm running an internally stock '87 5.0 HO roller motor topped off with an edelbrock performer intake and edelbrock 600 carb running the '87 T-5 and 3.70 rear. I put it on the road in '93 with a durapark distributor and blue ribbon box. It started right up and cruised ok, but it seemed to be holding back the motor as far as acceleration and top end power (i was getting some misfire above 4000 rpm). When funds became available, I purchased the MSD billet distributor and 6A box. Before even starting it i was impressed with the tunability of the distributor -- approx 30 different advance curves are available by changing springs and stop bushings. To tune it i would take it out, make a WOT pass until i noticed pinging, and then took out two steps of advance. After i got it dialed in, the following are my observations: 1) the engine ran a whole lot smoother, especially from 4000-6000 rpm, 2) my gas mileage jumped from 12/16 to 14/19, 3) this was the most impressive improvement (and one which i did not expect) TORQUE!!! the switch to MSD netted me an amazing improvement in torque -- before if I stompped it in 5th gear without downshifting at 55mph (approx 1600 rpm) the engine would bog -- but with the MSD it takes off!!! I have now been running the MSD for 8 years and put 40,000 on the truck (mostly rod runs within a 200 mile radius) and have not had a single problem (at first I too was worried "what happens if the box goes bad in the middle of nowhere?" -- but after consulting with many who have run it for years trouble free i decided not to worry). I have run NGK UR45 v-groove plugs for the past 35,000 miles and have had no occassion to change them. Anyway that's my perspective -- but like the advertising linguists like to say "your results may vary".

Chris Seay
Bealeton, VA
'49 F-1s
'68 F-100

 

Chris

Thanks for taking the time for such a thorough description. The mpg improvement you state is very impressive. We have a somewhat similar application. I have located an MSD 6AL that I can borrow. When the time comes I will do a head to head of the 2 systems and report the results here.

Dewayne