Whats the difference in the MSD 6A and the MSD 6AL?
when ordering some parts for my 351m, the guy at the parts counter said a MSD 6AL would be perfect for my truck, but when talking to a buddy he said he has a 6A still in the box i could have, would this still work??

 

The only thing different is the 6al has a rev limiter and the 6a doesn't. It would work fine.

 

oh ok sweet thank you, i tried looking on MSD's website but i didnt understand what it was talking about. well i guess ill go pick this up and figure out how to hook it up!

 

i have a 6a. works great, install was a piece of cake. only other difference is it doesn't come w/ vibration mounts- you can buy them separately for around $12 (i'm just using the included sheet metal screws, which also work fine, though i'll probly upgrade eventually).

 

ok thank you, any tips on wiring it up by chance?

 

Yeah, I used the "purple & green" setup from the manual. Changed my coil to an MSD High Vibration at the same time, but am using the stock distributor (with a pretty red MSD dist cap, because, y'know, it's all about style!).

Cut the three wires on the distributor and crimped waterproof disconnects on the ends of the two wires that get used, think I might have had to change one of the disconnects on the box, too, but don't remember. It was obvious and I'm sure there are a bunch of other ways to do it, too. Everything just plugged right in, including my aftermarket tach (which looks around 20 years old).

When the manual says you have to use an "optional adapter" or whatever they're talking about one of the pre-crimped pieces of wire that's included in the plastic bag.

If you want to mount the box where the old ignition module is, the included wire going to the battery isn't long enough to reach. You'll need to run a longer piece yourself. For now I've just mounted mine on the passenger side, behind the starter solenoid (it's fine there, I'm just in the process of designing a whole new harness and will also need to move it when I install a/c). You can put it anywhere- I did some reading and there are even a bunch of obsessive Mustang restoration guys out there who mount them in the glove compartment, but the manual specifically says not to do that (plus it looks cool, why hide it?).

Biggest piece of advice is not to freak out if you accidentally flip the page and suddenly are trying to read a diagram other than Ford V8 (purple & green) and can't figure out what you did wrong. At least, that was the only problem I had.

Lemme know if you need photos or have other questions...

 

So I use the MSD 6A box instead of the stock ignition module not in line with it?

Sorry dont mean to hi-jack thread but got a used MSD 6A box and I am planning on installing it soon. Have the wiring diagrams fromt he MSD website.

Thanks

 

Darn slow internet and no patience for the double post

 

photos would be awesome if its not an inconvenience, because he lost the manual for it.
your post was extremely informative!

 

Here is a link to the manual.

http://www.msdignition.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10175

Hope it helps

 

yeah, the diagrams in the manual are pretty clear, definitely pull it from the website.

the 6a completely replaces the stock module. now that i think about it, i guess you could cut the wires there instead of at the distributor if you wanted to keep the stock harness/connector. my thinking was the shorter wire run, the better.

i'll find the camera and take a bunch of photos tomorrow afternoon.

 

Raidervader thank you for that link! Im going to print that off so that i will have a copy.

Brooklyn TIA for taking the time to snap some photos for me also!

Also how do I know if I have a magnetic pick up distributor? Im still after 4 years of owning this truck dont know all the things about it, but I am slowly learning.

 

Raidervader thank you for that link! Im going to print that off so that i will have a copy.

Brooklyn TIA for taking the time to snap some photos for me also!

 

Okay, here ya go. Let me know if you need shots of anything else. As you can see everything is kind of a mess, waiting to cut and route wires until I have the full harness design complete. Also you can totally cut that white wire, I just wanted to test things out first and then decided I'd wait until everything was in its final location. The green wire is tach. I included a shot of the coil because I'm using the stock bracket.

The electrical tape on the dist wires is just overkill, there are disconnects with heat shrink tape underneath.

...and on an unrelated note, that flash really highlights that I need to clean my bay!! Thanks for getting me out there.

 

Bump and a huge thanks!!! This was the first post I found that helped me with the install. Can it be sticky'd?