ready to run or plain mechanical distributor

[Moparmatt72]

Which would be better? I'm looking to get the one from custom wire set. They are a billet distributor and the nice thing is they use a oem cap. Just require a blaster 2 coil or a cd coil. Would like to know your thoughts on either options for the distributor.

 

[HitIt]

I'm not sure if this is the same thing you are talking about but I have the 440 source 'ready to run' distributor' it works well but there is no way to adjust or limit the advance. So you are sorta stuck with it as-is.

I actually pulled mine completely apart and bent the limiting tabs that are cast into the distributor body to limit the advance. Not very precise but it did work.

So I'd just check that whatever options have adjustable ignition advance.

 

[Moparmatt72]

Yea that's exactly what I was wondering, so ideally it would be better to get a regular one and set it myself.

 

[Don Gould]

Stock Mopar distributors are designed to run 200,000+ miles virtually maintenance free. They are infinitely adjustable in the hands of the right person.
The distributor is simply a small generator that produces a small electrical current (Chinese pick-ups .2-.3V Original Mopar .3-.5V) as the paddles of the reluctor pass over the magnet in the pick-up and sends this signal to the ECU, CD1 or whatever Ignition box or module your using, the coil then multiplies the voltage and fires the plug.

Coil design is critical to the output of the ignition system that’s where the Voltage is made. What coil works with one ignition system may not be the best choice for another…. Blaster Coil is not the best for a ECU type ignition but may work well on a 6AL.

Don’t be fooled by people who try and sell you a 80,000V system, a naturally aspirated Race motor may only take 30-35,000V (expressed as 30-35KV) to jump the spark across to the ground strap. Your street cruiser hot rod going down the highway may only need 16-18KV. The system will only produce what it needs to jump that spark to ground. As the conditions within the combustion chamber change with pressure and fuel density the ambient air becomes denser and creates higher resistance, therefore a higher voltage ignition system may be needed to jump the gap. As you increase the plug gap you also force the ignition to produce more voltage. A plug gap of .030 may take 18KV to spark whereas a gap of .050 may take 35KV. You can force the system to put out higher KV’s but it will usually overheat the coil and lead to premature failures.

The distributor doesn’t add any power, doesn’t matter whose it is, it’s the set up and timing events within that distributor that will unleash the potential power it doesn’t matter whose distributor it is.

You want a distributor that can be easily serviced, standard parts available from any Parts House anywhere and anytime. It needs to be well machined with solid parts and most important of all set up by a professional that knows what the hell he’s doing.

Call your local parts house and see if they carry a Module for any of these “Ready to Run” distributors.

…….all these distributors are “Universal Fit which actually means they fit nothing in the Universe”

 

[ChgrSteve67]

I have a MSD R2R distributor and it came with advance stops and springs for adjustments.

Two wires to the coil and one ground wire and done!

 

[Moparmatt72]

The reason I posted is I currently have the Mopar distributor but its vaccum advance and my cam is pretty desent and doesnt give me all that much vaccum to allow the MP dist. to utilise it. My understanding is a ready to run has a set advance that cant really be changed for the most part, but a regular one can be set up. The one Im looking at can use the factory cap and rotor, either male or female tops, and is made just like the msd with a billet shaft and a ball bearing/ or roller bearing for ease of turning, its from customwires.com. I would go with a msd one but the wires I already have for my engine require a female cap and as far as I know or have seen msd only has male caps, unless im wrong. I do have a msd 6a box with a blaster 2 coil, course Im not sure if my 6a box still works since its been sitting for a long while same with the coil.

 

[Don Gould]

"Just Like" I love that statement, do you also believe in the Tooth Fairy and Leprechauns?

Here’s couple of examples of “Just Like”

SB Mopar distributors imported…. “Just Like” the Factory, except they didn’t get a good weld on the plate to lower shaft and they had to come here…..all of them, to be disassembled and re-Tig Welded which cured the 15* timing bounce.

BB Mopar distributors….. “Just like” factory, except they put ½ the reluctors on upside down and the phasing is 20* off, trucked to us to correct all the inventory and return.

I won’t bore you with the Ford and GM Import distributors that we’ve had to fix, I think the Import GM stuff is the worst including MSD’s Budget HEI distributors. They eat the gear off the bottom (like all the Chinese distributors) in few thousand miles, the thrust collapses because of the inferior metal they make it from, the pivot points for the weights are in the wrong location and they won’t return to the idle stops but hey .....looks “Just Like” factory and the oil filter should catch most of the material.

I guess your spinning the motor 7500-10,000 RPM as you feel you need a bearing to protect against the side load caused from your point’s spring. If you use an electronic distributor there is NO Side loading as there’s nothing loading the shaft that’s why the bushing with NO LOAD lasts 250,000 miles. How long will that bearing last? We change a lot more bearings than bushings.

If you’re concerned about stabilizing your Mopar distributor then make sure your intermediate shaft to oil pump is good and the tang fits in it snug end to end and side to side, always replace the bronze bushing in the block where the shaft rides, that’s what will stabilize your distributor.

“ease of tuning” there’s one of those Leprechauns, our distributor machines (4) all run on a ¼ HP motors, we let them run at 8000 RPM for hours sometimes days and they never hot. That would free up lots of HP I’m sure.

“I do have a MSD 6a box” so all you need is a trigger? So why are you looking at a distributor with a module in it? Like I said, call NAPA and ask them if they carry a module for any of the imported type “R2R” (there’s that tooth fairy) distributors. Look inside any of them, do you have the tools needed to release the electrical connectors? Unless your MSD Box has been sitting in the rain it probably works fine, in fact the older the better the new stuff sure isn’t my choice the CD1’s run circles around them. Same for the coils, they were designed and manufactured by Andover here in the USA, now they’re made in …..guess. Can you guess where MSD has their caps and rotors made? You know, the $40.00 red ones.

“Mopar distributor but its vacuum advance and my cam is pretty decent” How big is decent? Do this test, at Idle crank the timing to 30* advance, bring the idle back down and adjust the carb to give you best vacuum, now tell me what the vac at idle is? The rule of thumb is “If the motor will make 10” or more of Manifold Vacuum at Idle with 30* timing then the engine will greatly benefit from a properly set up vacuum canister” Conversion of a vac distributor to all mechanical is a $5 charge when we curve it.

Steve: “I have a MSD R2R distributor and it came with advance stops and springs for adjustments.”
I have a good set of 45* long needle nose pliers and a syringe I use for CC’ing heads, but I still can’t inject Novocain pull my own tooth. Having the tools and parts still doesn’t help you unless you know what you’re trying to accomplish…that’s takes years to learn.

You can reach me in “Live Chat” from my website I’m here from 6a to 4p Pacific Just Google ... Mopar Ignition Tuning.

Sorry for my sarcasm but I get tired of all this internet hype and misleading advertising by importers with no data to back any of it up, we have the data we’ve run and torn down almost every distributor you could possible buy… some stuff is decent but a lot of it is just creative marketing.

Don’t call a proctologist if you need glasses, you may end up with a Shi**y outlook on life.

 

[Moparmatt72]

Don: thanks for the valueable info. My cam is a Isky 292 @.050 its 245 duration with a 108 centerline. Not to my knowledge do I remember doing a vaccum test, I was going off the fact that when I was driving the car I had to pump the power brakes to get the booster to kick in. When I put the motor back in ill do a vaccum test.

 

[Don Gould]

Rule of thumb....If the motor will make 10" of Vac or more at with 30* initial timing then it will greatly benefit from a Vac Advance can with a properly set up distributor and connected to Constant Manifold vacuum.

Any Good Distributor can be easily adjusted, where to set the timing events correctly for the application is where the expertise comes in.

In 2011 we set up and/or rebuilt 1343 distributors Between Jim and I we have over 90 years of distributor tuning experience. We also repaired over 900 new units for various importers so they would at least fire the motor when installed.

 

[Moparmatt72]

Thanks for the info, after I check the vaccum, maybe ill pm you and see if you could mess with mine if needs be.