Ok I am wanting to upgrade my distributor, I have a slightly modified 351W that will be going back in, in the spring. I am looking at MSD and Mallory right now but I am open to suggestions also. Can you guys give me your personal experiences and thoughts on this subject, the good, the bad and the ugly. I couldn’t really find a thread that talks about this much. Thanks!
There have been several discussions on the forum about the pertronix upgrade not being worth the money. When I do upgrades to power, I always go MSD. Mallory are good as well, have many old friends run Mallory on there stuff and don’t seam to have any problems. I like the MSD pro billet with 6AL boxes. Have many features that work well, like the rev limiter. The digital boxes have even more features…
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You could do like I did and get a modified and engine specific tuned dura-spark set up from performance distributor. I have about 2k miles on mine and it has worked flawlessly. If you ever have problems you can go to any parts store and walk out with the module or other part you need and be back on the road.
351W mild roller cam with 1.6 roller rockers and loving the combo.
It all depends on what you expectations are. Getting rid of the points with a Pertronix Ignitor is a great mod. It will idle better, be less likely to foul the plugs, and eliminate ever having to mess with points. You do have to wire it correctly for it to work right, but that is true of most anything. The next step up is to run a higher output coil. Again to get the best benefit you have to add a relay to get 12 volts and enough current capability to make it actually work right. For a stock or near stock engine this is aout all that makes sense.
If you are building a really high performance engine, going the MSD6AL route is a great idea. The rev limiter alone is worth it. I agree that the Pertronix Second Strike is not as good as the MSD. One other factor is that you might want to consider going with a Duraspark distributor from a later model Ford. The MSD has to be triggered by something and the Dura Spark does the job well, but the real benefit is the larger diameter cap that keeps arcing from one post to another to a minimum. There were adapters that will fit you stock distributor housing the bottom and the larger Dura Spark cap at the top if you chose to go that way.
One thing to keep in mind is that there is really very little to gain from a more powerful ignition unless you have done other mods, the ignition is not your limiting factor.
Basically I am going for reliability and I have read good and bad both about Pertronix. This engine is not really a high horsepower engine just enough to have fun with. The car is not going to be daily driven but I want it ready to go when I want to drive it.
If you are not willing to run an additional power lead, to feed 12 volts instead of the 6 volts at the coil, to the Pertronix, don’t bother to put one in. The bad stuff you read comes from people that did not install it correctly. The Pertronix instructions are pretty weak so it is easy to see how people make the mistake on Ford products that use a resistor wire to feed the coil.
My prefered choice of distributor in a modified engine is a Duraspark hooked to an MSD 6AL. You can use a Dusaspark with a small cap for the stock look.
If I have breaker points and don’t plan to change the whole distributor I simply install a Pertronix.
Distributors I hate:
DUI----Mammoth, Ugly, Overbearing, Merry-go-round. Only slightly less offensive than installing a Chevy 350 in a classic Cougar.
Pertronix Billet----comes with a non adjustable vacuum advance—non adjustable…this is performance?
Mallory Unilite----where do you get parts for these?
There are others that I haven’t dealt with because there is no need to. Why? Because the Ford stuff works.
These choices function and may work well. However, a stock Duraspark or Ford points distributor also work well, are easy to adjust and many of their stock vacuum advances are adjustable. The Ford distributors are cheaper because you already have it. Or, they are available at the local autoparts store.
What happens when something on an aftermarket, billet, race-ready, performance, special distributor like the pick-up coil goes bad? In most cases, you don’t find them at the corner autoparts store like you would a pick-up coil for a Duraspark. Even the drop-in Pertronix might leave you stuck without parts available for “right now”. However, the drop-in Pertronix can be removed to get the engine running with the old points set-up.
If you like the aftermarket stuff because you are attracted to things that are shiney. Take the 200+ bucks you’d spend on an aftermarket distributor and buy a bench mounted buffer. Then, you can buff out the aluminum Ford distributor housing to an illustrious shine.
Will the next guy that asks about distributors please first do a search to satisfy questions? For some reason, after market distributors initiate kill mode in me. Especially that GM HEI formatted to weigh-down a Ford. Well, maybe not “kill-mode”, but no less than bigger hammer mode.
Go with the Dura-spark kit, It comes with dist., module, wiring( which is a direct plug in) and Ford has been using it since 1976 and you can find parts (if ever needed) from any parts store. OH , and it’s cheap.
Feel free to post a link… I’m all about learning and won’t be offended.
Post a link to what? That HEI unit that needs it’s own hood scoop?
You asked for the next guy to ask about distributors to do a search 1st. I was wondering if you new of a thread that would lead me to the MSD/Mallory conversation??
Oh, like that. No, it’s just when someone brings up the subject about aftermarket distributors, I go through the same old routine about my dislike for certain distributors. I probably should have worded differently about doing a search first as the situations are usually different and correct answers can vary. I hope nobody gets too offended at my distributor comments.
I gotcha now, I thought I had missed something on my search.
Nope, not offended at all. I put the DUI in my avatar just for you in fact 
So why suffer the barbs of indignation that monstrosity brings? It has to do with the type of engine I have. Performance applications seek to stuff all the air/fuel mixture into the cylinder as possible. A big hot spark ensures rapid combustion and peak power.
I am running my plugs @.045 and if I still have some hydrocarbons coming out when it goes to test, I can add a unit to ramp up the coil voltage to 18v and run a .075 gap. SMOKIN!
This is why top fuel dragsters use 30-40 amp magnetos which weld the spark plugs by the end of the run. They are stuffing INCREDIBLE amounts of fuel in, and need to get it burnt.
Advances are for idle ops, at WOT the additional advance is taken out. The advance curve in between is engineered into the DUI, along with circuitry to minimize latency for rapid throttle response, all of which I saw after installing the unit.
It’s not for everyone, but they didn’t make a business of it for 40 years selling smoke and mirrors. Just MHO
The easiest and most reliable and most easily serviced is the conversion to the Ford electronic Duraspark distributor. You can use it to trigger an MSD or other ignition system, or not.
If you have an aftermarket manifold that’s kind of a high risers, watch that the distributor doesn’t bump against the intake and prevent proper static or idle timing.
The most bulletproof and serviceable setup I’ve seen is the Duraspark with an MSD 6AL-N box, which is the NASCAR ignition that amounts to a 6AL on vibration isolation mounts. Very useful for a car that sees miles. If your car is just a garage or car show jewel that sees maybe 500 miles a year, you don’t need it.
The billet distributors are fine. Pertronix works. Just don’t buy some cheap junk that’s too good to be true, like the crappy GM HEI distributors sold on eBay.
Hi Andy, LTNS! Happy Holidays! Revised femur (10/7) is serving me well and I am getting better each day.
I am with you (literally), my ignition is a recurved Duraspark w/Crane adjustable VA can. It triggers a MSD 6AL currently.
Am beginning test assembly of the 408C and Santa is bringing me a MSD 6530 (programmable 6AL). I will remove/lock out the centrifugal advance in the Duraspark to use with the 6530, it controls advance electronically. In actuality, it retards, you put in max timing mechanically and the 6530 removes it electronically, has start retard, boost retard options too. You can specify advance curve down to 100 rpm intervals. Serial port to laptop running MSD SW, should be a hoot.
Regards,
Robert
Thanks for the input guys!! Much appreciated. I am still up in the air and trying to do some more research.
Bob! Glad you’re doing better!
Nice to hear you’re still making progress. 
Cumminskiller, it’s always good to look before you leap. 
I just bought a Ford Duraspark to replace a MSD dizzy. This is on a 351 Cleveland on my Ranchero. The PO installed a MSD coil, 6AL, and distributer. The MSD is so big you cannot use the stock air cleaner and it touchs the Ford racing air cleaner PO installed arcing into it. The motor is fresh with only 2000 miles since build but only running on about 6 cylinders. Just running without the air cleaner huge differance.
As previous on parts, special order wires, cap etc. with MSD. Looking forward to improvement this weekend with the Duraspark and serious check on other maybe issues.
I cannot believe he ran it like it was. First thing I thought when I drove it was someting is Wrong. This is my first Cleveland but I expected much more.You could see it in daylight and hear it as well.
351 Cleveland is the greatest engine Ford ever made. You’ll be loving it once you get it unforked from what the PO did to it.