ok guys so ive had my 93 lightning for awhile now and i also have a 81 f-150 which im looking to get rid of i have tons of money wrapped up in my 81 so i was wondering if could take all my msd stuff off my 81 and install it into my 93 any differences on distrubtor and ignation box my 81 has a 351m in it and of course my 93 has a 351w thanks for the help trevor

 

Yup they interchange. It is generic in the sense, the unit itselfis not tied to 1 ignitoion system mopar,ford,gm, it will work in all of them, some have a switch for 4,6,8 cylinders but in your case, you just have to hook it up as MSD wire diagram says to...

 

thanks for the help mustang6147 few more question do i have to change the Distributor Gear or is that the same also and i think my 81 was vaccum advanced and i dont think the lighting is can i just block that off thanks for the help trevor

 

What kind of msd box is it 6al ?? You can use the box but i would keep the ford dist , there very good , Lew

 

X2, yes keep the original dizzy, it is just a "crank trigger" and no real benifit from a msd dizzy, many say MSD TFI coil is no better than stock also, If it is a 6AL box, I would just but a 6500 chip in it, so that it cant interfer with the factory set rev limiter.

 

No the gear is fine... The distributer should be good also... You might want to take the cap and rotor off, exposeing the advanceing weights, take that shaft and wiggle it a bit, up and down movement is fine, but side to side si a signal of bushing wear. That distributor is good for stock engines... say upto 6500 rpms. The MSD box just gives it a better stronger spark with more duration. SO instead of a little tick. like a lawn mower spark plug... you get a blast, to burn the fuel better. Keep in mind, while MSD boxes are good. They act strange under 13.5 volts. The further down the voltage, the stranger the stmptoms become. SO in the event your alternator or battery goes south, and you get other symptoms they will correct upon them being fixed...


If you are above 6500 rpms, or at them. It would be a good time to either update the dist, or update the inerts. If you are timeing the engine and the marks are jumpin around, that is a good sign your bushings are bad in the distributor. As for vacuum or non... Vacuum advance is ideal for street use (drivablility/performance) That is a debated topic, just like what port to connect the vacuum hose to (ported or unported) you just gotts see what the engine likes.

One more thing, when setting up your ignition... find out from Ford or the engine builder what RPM's and what Degree's of timeimg is ideal. say 36 degrees of timing at 2600 rpms. Try to acheive that. DOnt read what people are doing to there chevy and mopar engines because they are different.

It is very simple to setup. The rpm and deg issue is often over looked, and can rob alot of power, that people dont know they have.

 

my msd box is just a 6a no rev limiter just my factory one will work wow great info exactly what i was look for cant wait to get my hands dirty and get them switched overi will try and see if i find a engine builder and ask him so i can get a few extra ponies out of my lighting, also my msd coil wont work for my lightning its a blaster 3 coil or do i have to buy msd tfi coil whats the difference?

 

as far as coils go... you will have to look at the coil mfg compatability chart, if you will. The 6a ia fine... It is my back up for racing. LOL old faithfull. It has been in a great many cars. The down fall is. No rev limiter, no 2 step. no nothing, just a ignition box. The 6al is noce but you gotts buy pills for the limiter... that get to be a pain, and you cant jump 100 rpm incremints..

I just went high tech... LOL I put a digital6 plus box in my Mustang... no pills, all dials. and I can adjust cylinder timing. it has a nitouse pull off built in along with 2 rev limiter,2 step, and other reatures... Wht a deal I ogt, but I am in a night college course to operate it. I need a 4 year engineering degree.... hahaha

 

DO NOT! use a vacume advance dizzy on a lightning.
unless you have removed the efi and went to a carb or whatever.
there is no advance mechanism in a lightning dizzy. It is done electronically from remote mounted ignition module on drivers rear part of fender, under cruise servo.
If you are after more power then set base timing up a 2-4 degrees, depending on what grade of fuel etc.
NOTE, Also these "hyper" pistons are strong but fragile, they do not like detonation, so dont let it ping, if it does back off the timing till you hear none. To set timing there is a little resistor (pill) that you must remove, this "shuts the ign computer off" so that you can use a timing light. Look at the info sticker on your hood, pill is near ign module.
Stock base setting on a Lightning is 10*, many run 12-14* just depends on fuel, mods, climate etc. IMO over 14* is asking for lots of trouble unless on race fuel etc.
as for gen1 lightning specific info, NLOC.net, is prolly your best source.
Good luck, and enjoy your Gen 1 lightning

last note, if you really want a MSD dizzy, they make a correct one, look in the msd catalog.

 

I think my94 lightning has it right , why would you want to put a vaccum advance or mechanical advance dist in a computer controled EFI motor , as far as the dist gears it depends on what cam you have , steel cam steel gear , cast cam cast gear ... Lew

 

I would rather have a distributer... Mainly because its what I am farmiliar with. I watch these ricers at the track with there laptops. I wonder if they ever get it right???

You can have fuel injection with a dist... I would rather have a carb though to LOL

 

if you want full controll of spark/fuel tables etc. get a tweecer or a tuner. then you can change any parameter you want in the EEC. It would be wise to get a wide band AFR guage, so you can know where to make fuel related changes and not just in the dark.
I will be adding my Innovate Dl-32 datalog box, soon,(I got it, just not time to install it, LOL) so i can track and record changes I make, So there is less risk of leaning out, or engine damage on my quest for more cowbell!

this may be abit over your head, and unless you have other mods done first, exhaust, heads, cam etc. It prolly not needed yet for you. so money prolly should be spent elsewheres first. good luck,
just ask yourself what you expect out of your truck, and what is best to achieve your goals, otherwise, you will spend alot of money,and may not end up with what you really want.

 

I would keep the lightning dist & use MSD on the rest , i have a 95 302HO and i use the msd 6al with blaster tfi coil , msd , cap rotor & wires & works great for me . If your truck runs ok now you should be good , i see in your sig you have ported heads & custom cam , i asume its still SD . A wideband AF gauge & fuel press gauge will help you keep an eye on how the trucks running , you can use a tunner like a tweecer unless your like me not very good at computer tunning , i had my truck tunned by a good tunner & helped a ton ... Lew

 

thanks for all the help guys im probley just goin try to and change out the distributer and the box dont think i can use my coil i will have to do some research so should i just lock out my distrubor since it is done electronically and take out my vaccum advance dont think i can use my coil i will have to look into that should give the ole lighting some more spark i still need to get my truck tuned runs decent for what it is.