Seeking Spark Help Part II
 

My FTE Friends,
It is my pleasure to announce that she is back up and running, my truck that is!
As it turns out the distributor came in yesterday, I dropped it in, timed it and voila!
It's so awesome to know she's there for me when I need her - as I pet her on the hood...
Thank you All
But the lingering question still is, what caused it to not work when it was working properly?
The other question is, "is buying an affordable distributor the same as buying a MSD or not so affordable"?
Oh well.

Bumpity bump

Not all distributors are of equal capabilities, but in this point and situation in your life, the one you have, has accomplished a lot more than what it was meant to do. (it's so awesome to know she's there for me) speaks alot

I agree with gerry that not all dizzys are created equal, but that a working dizzy is still "pretty good". My experience in rebuilding/futzing with distributors is mostly in old Volvos, as most of the other cars I modified or raced were later model systems with coil packs, etc. Way less moving parts, and I think that's where a higher quality dizzy can be a benefit, if it doesn't break the bank. MSD or 123Ignition units are (hopefully) built to tighter tolerances, are clean and smoother running out of the box, and will be able to handle almost anything you'll need from them with regards to spark requirements. They are also much more $$$ (as you know) than a rebuilt OEM distributor.

I've had OEM dizzys rebuilt (which can wind up costing as much as a new, higher performance brand anyway) and have rebuilt a few myself (not that hard to do, but definitely not nearly as good results as a new one). If you can find bushing and washer kits for the old ones, it's fun to tinker with them. But you eventually find shaft burrs or the casings are worn bad enough that nothing you do can tighten it up enough. And as you know, once you start getting slop or play in there, it's impossible to get good solid timing out of it.

But all of this depends on what you need from the distributor. If I had to replace mine, I wouldn't put a 123 unit in my all-original Flathead 6.

Just my 2 cents.

Hi Gerry,
I drive near by to my appointments monthly and even once tried - with my wife and kids - to pay an unannounced visit but I could not make heads or tails as to how to get to you. I know we were in the area... Come spring time, if heavens permits, I will give you a heads up and stop by to shoot the breeze... That's me assuming you have time for such things...
Paul

I have an MSD in my flathead.. They are largely a clone of a GM HEI, the kind without a coil in the cap. That's good in terms of buying some parts (the cap and rotor) and the mechanical advance is very similar. But when I bought mine, they were around $250, now they are $500. Not worth it IMO unless your dizzy is scrap.