Datsun Roadster Forum-311s.org

Anyone on the forum run msd on a stock dizzy? Anyone know if there is improvement with msd than without? If there is a performance increase, such as the car running better with MSD installed? Just curious.....

Yes, I would like to know too. I am still debating if I should go with MSD or with stock coil. and does it increase much in term of horse power if I'm using stock distributor with MSD.

Hi Joaquin, In my 68 spl with the U20 I am running a MSD 6al and Blaster 2 coil with the stock points distributor. So far the points are holding out. I feel that installing the MSD did wonders to my performance. The fuel is being burned alot better than the stock ignition setup, I also installed the Red MSD wires. I installed the wires first and the car ran alot better, then the hooked up the MSD box and coil. Once I got the MSD parts installed I put RA needles in the S/U's and this made everything worth while. It's about being able to burn the fuel instead of overloading with carbon and fouling out...I went from a flat 6K rpm to strong 7k rpm, the power was always there but needed unleashed.
I installed the MSD box to a plate then mounted or hid it up under the dash where the speaker mount was. I used the original holes so no drilling involved. The Blaster coil is mounted in the stock coil position. I had to do some custom wiring to hook the box up. There are also wiring diagrams online for the MSD products.
My next instalation will be my own EI Dizzy that I made from a 78 Datsun pickup with the EI remote ignition box. It's the one that Nissan made before the Gary Boone Matchbox type, I'll just use the converted dizzy to activate the MSD box, then no more points.
Hope this helps.. Bill

FYI I've done some looking in recent days and the best prices I found for both the 6AL and the Blaster 2 coil were at Summit Racing (http://www.summitracing.com). They were cheaper than even the ebay sellers selling them new. You could get a used one cheaper on ebay, though.
I'm planning to go with the MSD ignition and coil when I put my car back together, and I think I'm going to go with the box with the rev limiter. It is more expensive, but I'd hate to blow my engine getting a throttle cable stuck or something stupid like that--that would cost a LOT of money.

Hi Andy, The 6al is the one your talking about. I have a 6k chip installed and also have a 7k one to install when needed. The cheaper 6a model can do the same with a MSD Soft Touch Revlimiter attached to the unit. The 6al just has it installed in the box.
I went the Ebay route and actually paid more for my 6a than I did for the 6al unit. The 6al was an untested used unit for $45 dollars buy it now, so I went for it and it works great... I felt that if needed I could have got it factory rebuilt for less than a new one from a vendor. Bill

I'm hoping to intall the Boone dizzy, MSD blaster 2 coil and red wires this weekend.

What does the 6a/6al box do? Is it CD ignition?

MSD provides multiple sparks to the plug and runs very high primary voltage through the coil. They work great in general.

I used a Crane XR700 electronic conversion. This is an optical pickup that replaces the points and then triggers a standard coil with resistor, about 8 volts primary. The high performance model is the XR3000 which can handle 12 volts to the coil. Either one can be used to trigger an MSD or a Crane HI-6 multispark box. The Crane unit is almost identical to the MSD and $50.00-$70.00 less.
The Boone distributor will also trigger either unit.
When used with points, the MSD or Crane reduces the amperage across the points to almost nothing, so there is very little arcing and pitting and they last a very long time.

If you also buy an MSD superconductor make it yourself wire set, you can do 2 or three cars easily with the amount of wire you get, just buy extra boots. Most speed shops will crimp them for you free if you do all the cutting and stripping

Unless you screw something up on the install, the car will always run better with an MSD, no matter what triggers it..

I'm running a Crane HI-6 CDI box, with a MSD Blaster 2 coil going through one of Gary Boone's Dizzy's. Its a longer hotter spark than factory. There isn't a HP gain using a CDI system, but a performance increase is gained by better combustion with a hotter longer spark duration when using Mikuni's. If you are just running SU's on a 1.6 or 2.0L you may not see a large improvemnet unless you are already running too rich for the stock system. GB Dizzy is worth every penny. It doesn't matter which CDI system you run, just match the coil and dizzy with the system. You can run a stock Dizzy with most CDI systems.

Crank trigger........Whoa !

JC

Joaquin,

Hi, I met you at the 510 swap meet a couple months ago. I am also running a MSD6 with a Blaster 2 and there is no turning back. To me it's worth every buck, there is no negative side to it. Easier starts and cleaner idle when all is in tune. When I used to struggle to hit 6,000 rpms now it's effortless and smooth. The three best investments I've made on this car are 2inch exhaust, Boone dizzy, and RA needles. Just puttin the word out.

Tom, 69/2.0 lady-n-red

Thanks for all the feedback. Sounds like MSD is a good add on.

Thanks

Just got back from a test drive in Zippy with the new Boone dizzy, MSD blaster 2 coil and red wires, new NGK plugs. No multi spark box... yet.

NICE! Smooth acceleration and lots of power! It really comes to life around 3500.

My distributor gear was a tooth off and that took a lot of time on Sunday, and I think it is still running rich, but I can't wait to really give it a full testing.

Butt dyno says thumbs up! (or something to that effect)

It's not cheap but I got one off ebay and it is superb! I can adjust the timing while i'm driving and it has a variable rev limiter and the advance curve has three adjustable set points. I tinkered with it until I found the best curve for my mods. Super accurate because it uses a crank sensor.

http://www.directignition.com/pdf_files/hpv1.pdf

The HPV-1 is a lot like the one Daryl Smith installed in his 1600. Daryl submitted a write-up to me on his experience. Daryl uses the EDIS system common in many Ford's. It is pretty good reading and looks like a pretty good mod if you are into that sort of thing. Any way, you can view the write-up here at http://www.311s.org/tech/ignition/edis.html Enjoy!


Steve