I'm in the process of picking up the parts needed for the MSD vette distributor / ignition pkg. Going to go with the 6AL box and rev limiter chip of 5800...... (I think ZZ Crate engine redline is 5500-6000.)

I am probably a couple of weeks from the install, which I may not do myself - not sure if I can.

There was a post on this once (search did not find) about where everyone mounted theirs, complete with pics.

I hate to duplicate a post, but does anyone have any tips for me on making sure this gets done right, both functionality and appearance wise?

MSD tells me I need coil, coil wire, box, chip and dist for parts to do the job.

 

Good Luck with MSD When I put the ZZ4 in 5 years ago, I wanted the tach to function, so I bought an MSD #8572 tach-drive distributor (even though the "crate" came with an HEI distributor) and the #6200 (6AL) box. From the very beginning, I experienced "bog" occasionally from a standing start, but I blamed it on the Edelbrock carb. At the end of '04 "Cruise" season, the engine was momentarily "dying" on occasion and I was almost "T-BONED" a coupla times. 2 weeks ago, my mechanic checked the '62 out & said there was a problem with the 6AL. He called MSD & was told they could re-build it for $40 to $80. Of course - LOSER that I am - I expected it to cost the higher amount. When my bud called them to check progress, they said it had a "cracked board" & couldn't be repaired... ...
Since you can't buy "direct" from them - no matter what the circumstances (read: "NO Discount") - I had to get one from Summit.
In 2000 it cost me $122; '05 price is $188! I have a feeling that the "hot box" was defective from the beginning (but there's no way to prove it), as it has NEVER run stronger than it has for the past few days
Cruz

 

First attempt ever at including a picture in my post....



I believe that many, many Forum members are running MSD systems in their mid-years and are very happy with their performance.

Because I was adding an electric fan, fan bypass switch, electronic ignition and electric choke, I decided to mount all of my power distribution stuff on a single panel, then install the panel in the car. It was a lot easier for me! It's hard to tell, but all of the components are mounted on an 8 1/2 x 11 sheet of red-and-black carbon fiber. It is very thin, very stiff, and I think very cool. It is mounted to the firewall on the driver's side just inside the side gills. The firewall is wide and flat at this point.

Steve

 

I have an old MSD Tach drive distributor with no vacuum advance (they did not make cav advance back then) and an MSD6 with a Blaster coil. I'm quite happy with the setup, although I would not mind having vacuum advance.

After about ten years or so the coil went out while I was on a cruit to Arizona. The only shop I could find open did not have the MSD coil and sold me the wrong style coil. After a few hours of driving, the MSD box started howling! I had no idea what the problem was for a hundred miles or more, thinking that something massive had gone wrong in the engine.

I drove from Phoenix to Sedona to Tucson with the wrong coil, and bought a new MSD coil and MSD6 box and swapped them in the parking lot. When I got home I called MSD and shipped them the old unit. They returned it repaired at no charge. I have planned to put it into the Chevelle, but have not done it after about six or seven years just because I don't "need" it.

You may also need new wires depending on the present distributor you have, or if you want to make sure that there is no problem with old wires. MSD (or other high end wires) will have very low resistance and also minimize RF interference in case you want to listed to your radio.

You can see the coil in this picture, and the box is not too far away, but not visible:

 

I use a 6AL box and mounted it on the back side of the left front fender. I have a MSD blaster coil and stock distributor with points and condensor. I used "push on" connectors on the coil connections and mounted the MSD ballast resisor in the stock location. I have read many posts regarding MSD failures and I wanted a back up system. If the MSD box fails I can swap a couple connections back to the ballast resistor and I am back to stock ignition and going again.

Tom

 

My 6AL is mounted on drivers fenderwell per Sky65's. Blaster II coil is on passenger side firewall aligned above the valve cover. using MSD tach drive billet distributor. No MSD problems on my 5.0 Liter Capri, '67 390 GT Mustang or '66 vette with the zz383. steve