I just ordered the MSD 6AL ignition box and MSD 8572 Vette distributor
with the tack drive, both from JEGS. Where is the best place to locate the
MSD box on my 73?

Thanks,

Blake-73

 

Mine is behind the map pocket in the dash. I have directed cool air from the vents towards the MSD box.

 

I have mine under the hood . Mounted on an aluminum plate which is bolted to the passenger wheel housing towards the fire wall. It is where the factory alarm was mounted and is right near the gill opening. You can just barely see it if you look into the gill at an angle. I have had it there for 2 years with no problems yet.

 

Is it better to have the box mounted underthe hood or in the interior (dash or storage area)

Blake

 

Just relocated my MSD box on my 73,had to take the wiper fluid tank out of the way to have room to work.Put box on fire wall just above the vent in the fender
Then put the fluid tank back.Took longer rewire everthing then to mount the
box....1RED1

 

Same here :)

 

Excellent place for it! Anytime you can keep the ignition box way from heat do it. Also beware of electrical interference. Multi-spark boxes are susceptible to “noise.”

 

Blake,
I mounted my MSD 6T on the back wall, aft of the battery. It's close to the battery, so the power leads are kept short. I also have an Optima battery that has side post terminals & top post terminals. I have the original side terminals hooked up, & I hooked up my MSD to the top posts with it's own dedicated connections.
I'll try to get some photos.

 

Is it better to have this under the hood or inside th4e car somewhere like under the dash?

Blae-73

 

It's best to keep it out of the elements. Think of it as stereo equipment.
Here is mine:

 

Mine is on the passenger side fender well, in front of the gills, I mounted it on rubber pads inside surface and outside surface. I removed the overflow tank and ww fluid bottle and put them back after the install. I asked this same question 2mos. ago. It worked out very well for me(not a difficult installation).
Keep us posted on what you do, Pics if you can:D
Tom

 

I did the same setup as 69classchass, here are some pics of it....

here is where it is mounted


here is a view from the outside in through the gill...that wire right there is the tach wire (now that i see it, its ugly and am gonna move it...LoL


here is a pic of the screws that come through the wheel well....i used a dremel to shave them off after i tightened them up.

 

You trigger wires from the distributor should be run seperate from the other wires. They should also be run near a ground . I ran mine to the front of the engine and then down the intake to the distributor. The rest of the wiring goes the in the other direction.

 

The MSD Box arrived today from JEGS. I am still not sure where to put it. I liked the suggestion about placing it in the rear compartment near the battery, but am worried about having such long wires to the distributor and coil. Any thought?

Blake-73

 

how about mounting it under the pass. seat. or under the console near the radio?

 

Passenger side wheel well. No problems but I did have my 5800 pill go out on me. Just removed it and it's working fine without it. I may or may not put one back in. I'll probally just leave it out and rely on my tach to keep from over reving like the old days.



John


[Modified by theandies, 8:00 AM 12/6/2001]

 

This thread has been around a while, so I don't know if you guys will respond much. However, here it goes since the topic is MSD boxes. My card had a nice MSD set up with the point system. I switched to an Ignitor II and have not re-wired the MSD. The MSD has an adjustable timing controller. I think it is 6AL. I have the wiring instructions from Ignitor for the hookup. However, is the MSD box really worth it? Will it add a "seat of the pants" gain to my performance?

 

MSD, Crane, Jacobs, etc, are all capacitive discharge units. Inside these "boxes" are 1 or more large capacitors. A capacitor steps up voltage.
In an MSD 6 box, it takes the car voltage - about 12.6 volts & steps it up to about 450 volts.
So instead of the usual 12 volts powering up the ignition coil, you have 450 volts. This allows for a stronger discharge from the coil.
CD's have been around for many years & Porsche has had many victories because they had capacitive discharge ignitions.
The benifits are just what they claim - longer plug life, quicker starts, increased mileage, better throttle response. There is no reason not to have one - especially a carburated motor. Just make sure everything else is up to par in the ignition system.

The Ignitor II, Mallory Unilte, and other point conversions are just switching units that turn on & off - nothing more. They do nothing to increase the output of a coil over a good set of points, although they do allow for more dwell time which gives the coil more time to recharge after it fires.



[Modified by 71coupe, 9:17 AM 12/6/2001]

 

Blake-73,
MSD boxes don`t like heat or vibration. As posted above mount it in the passenger dash/footwell area, you might also consider the rubber isolators for vibration. ...redvetracr

 

Had mine behind the passenger dash.It fried.
Don't know if that was the reason.
Called MSD and was told airflow is most important even more than water.
I was told the box can be exposed to some water if mounted flat or on a slight angle not sideways or upside down.
There is a water drain hole or two on the unit.
My box is mounted on the lower valance in front of the radiator.
Ed T told me his was there for years and never had a problem with all weather.
Mine has been there for about two years through an heavy downpour or two and is fine.