I am being offered a pretty new MSD distributor for my 76 F-100 with a 390 for $150. The guy said it was only used once for about 20 minutes while he moved his truck and is now parting it out. I looked at it last week and it looks new and is in good shape. The MSD model is: MSD Ignition 8594 - MSD Pro-Billet Distributors - Overview - SummitRacing.com Now my current distributor is the original electronic model with the vacuum advance that has been recurved to my truck specs. The question is would this mechanical advance distributor be ok to run in my truck that is currently using vacuum or would the vacuum / mechanical model: MSD Ignition 8595 - MSD Pro-Billet Ready-To-Run Distributors - Overview - SummitRacing.com be better for performance? Any advantage of either one and would one of these have to be recurved?

Thanks
OJ

 

I have the MSD 8477 pro billet distributor in my 1979 F150 with a 400 in it. The distributor works very well and this model has the vacuum advance which is just for fuel economy which can be locked out, and I am also able to adjust the mechanical timing as well with springs and bushings for what curve I need. That MSD you have should work well when you get the right curve. I noticed a big difference in performance when I added the MSD offroad 6 Ignition box as well. The ready to run distributor will bypass a the duraspark box and is very easy to install if you dont want to add an aftermarket ignition box. Hope this helps ya.

 

do some research...I believe you'll want a vacuum operated one for the street.

The OEM duraspark unit is extremely capable though, and puts out a pretty hot spark in oem trim. It's gonna take a few hundred horsepower to outgrow the duraspark. Swapping it out for the msd will be a nice visual enhancement, but you're not gonna see one bit of performance difference. IMO the only thing I don't like about the duraspark is the lack of a rev limiter...which "some" msd modules do have.

I'm running an oem duraspark setup in my 66 mustang/325 flywheel hp, and the duraspark runs very well with my setup, and works great on my 77 400 too in my f150 (can you tell I'm a duraspark fan? LOL)

 

No vacuum advance huh?

Well, you'll get worse gas mileage.

Second, if the thing takes a crap where do you get parts? At least with a Duraspark you can get some china brand stuff to at least get you home.

I wouldn't take it without vacuum advance, especially since you said you had your Duraspark recurved. And the MSD isn't going to be more accurate or have a hotter spark without at least backing it up with an MSD 6AL module.

Josh

 

i sell the MSD, Accell, Mallory,etc. i drive the Duraspark.

All that engine dress up stuff looks really neat on a trailer queen, not a street or dirt driven truck...but as a wise man once told me:
"Son, chrome dont get you home."

When that hipo distributor craps out and you cant find the parts to get going again, you will wish you had that good ole Duraspark in the hole.
..."If it aint broke, dont fix it..."

Cant tell you how any people i have met over the years that have learned that lesson the hard way. take perfectly good running parts and put on some oversold, less reliable, EXPENSIVE mods that you end up regretting more that enjoying.

 

I would get the ignition module too.. its 100% better that oem. the two togeather make a sweet combo.. I use a mallory system, and never fail a smogtest even without the smog gear in the truck

 

I would like to know why you *think* the MSD ignition module is "100% better" than the OEM Duraspark Ignition module?

If your current Duraspark distributor has been recurved to your engine specs, there is absolutely nothing to gain by going to a MSD, Accel, Mallory, etc. for a stock or even a built engine. Unless you are actually racing your truck or consistently operate at 5,000 + RPMs, there is no performance gain by going to MSD or any of the other fancy ignition systems.

Parts availability is something else to consider. Where do you go for parts when you are in the middle of nowhere and your pretty billet distributor or ignition module fails? You can walk into ANY parts house in ANY town and they will have parts in stock for your OEM Duraspark ignition.

The Duraspark also has the "start retard" function that MSD and the others do NOT have, which allows you to run more timing and much quicker starts. Plus there are THOUSANDS of vehicles still on the road today still on their stock Duraspark components. Keep in mind that Duraspark was dropped in the 1980s, which means the youngest vehicles will still be over TWENTY years old! How is that for reliable?

 

Personally ... i like resting easy in the fact that i've got brand new parts. It forces me to buy nice new things ( when i can afford them ) and gives me peace of mind. That being said.. when you get that one thing that was falty .. you feel pretty burned haha. I bought a really nice billet alum. accel distributer and it was nice till i found out that it was the problem i had with my set up. Wires that ender the housing .. once inside.. were being rubbed by the advance stuff... so much so that by the time i figured it out.. i only had like 2 strands of red wire left. I returned it without hassle and promptly paid a few dollars more for the msd ford ready to run dist. my cleveland 4v an been A+ since. New doesn't mean better always. guy's in the know save alot of money on parts that they don't actually need... and put it towards proper upgrades. But you have the money. let all these guys here learn you then make your own mind up.... they'll still help you regardless !. great folks

 

I have seen so many people in here swap out their stock ignition systems for an aftermarket system and then rave about how much better their truck runs. What happens is when they switch out their twenty year old stock parts for brand new aftermarket parts, an improvement is noticed. They have come to the conclusion that the stock setup must have been junk, when in reality, their stock components were just old and not functioning correctly anymore.

The truth is, it is hard to beat a correctly functioning Duraspark ignition system. After determining your ignition wire harness is still in good shape, you can replace your original coil, ignition module, and distributor with brand-new OEM parts much cheaper than it would cost you for a fancy MSD or other aftermarket ignition system.

 

and that's the truth...my 77 had a points ignit in it...previous owner apparently couldn't figure how to troubleshoot duraspark.

Cost me all of $44 for a rebuilt duraspark dist from autozone, and $26 for a brand new control box...I was on the road with an amazing elec ignit for $70 with all new or reman parts, lol. Can't beat that. How does it run? I'm completely blown away by how smooth it is compared to the old points ignit. Best $70 I've ever spent in my life.

 

It also has to do with dropping $500+ and making oneself BELIEVE the system is working better, when in reality it is the same or slightly worse.

Josh

 

I replaced my duraspark a few months back with a new one. I also have replaced my coil, electronic brain, timing chain, and fuel pump. My truck is an extremely hard starting beast. Once in a blue moon it will fire as soon as I turn the key. I have nothing against the factory stuff. I just write it off as part of being a truck. It has not left me, so that is a good thing.

On the other hand I have nothing against trying the aftermarket stuff either. I will be running a msd distributor, msd 6al box, and blaster coil on my 351 windsor in the hopefully near future. My total investment for these items are zero. If I have it why not use it?

 

If your truck is hard to start and you are running the stock Duraspark ignition, you have another problem somewhere:

Is your starter worn out?
Where is your timing set?
Have you checked your battery?
How old are your battery cables?
What about your grounds? I had a hard start problem last year, and it turned out to be a loose ground.
What brand of ignition module are you running? Buyer BEWARE: Some of the cheapo "AutoZone" modules do NOT have the "start retard" feature the stock Motorcraft units have and are notoriously unreliable Chinese JUNK.

With the "start retard" feature, it should start by barely turning the key at all. The Duraspark module actually retards your timing a few degrees for quicker starts. I kid you not, my truck actually starts up faster than my wife's 2001 Mustang, and my own 1998 Jeep Wrangler!

 

I have checked all of those mentioned. The starter is new. The timing has been set to 8, 10, and 12 degrees. It runs hot at 12, pings at 8, is decent at 10. I have no smog items and run an edelbrock intake and carb. It ran the same before I made the changes. To be honest, I really notice no difference in mileage, starting, or pep from stock to modified. All of my electrical is in great condition. I have swapped my factory module to the advanced auto parts module with no difference. I have to crank and crank to start my truck. I think my fuel loses pressure while not running. My battery is a couple of months old and my cables are good.

My dads 83 fires up as you describe, so does my 79, and 61 ford trucks. This 83 is stubborn.

 

I sense a duraspark troll here