MSD Pro-Billet ready to run distributor

[ottawamerc]

Hi guys
I'm getting a few kilometers on the new motor and so far its running well, I even tried the 6 pack "a little " and yeppers its there My question of the day is: has any one else ever run one of these MSD ready to run distributors? I have done nothing to it so far to set it up from the factory settings that it came with. It has 13* to 14* initial timing and seems like it could take more, the advance seems to be starting around 1700 RPM which seems high and my total is 28* at 3200 RPM. What I have noticed is at cruise (around) 80 KMH there seems to be a small pinging not really sure if its preignition or just header noise? At slower KMH its not there and if I goose it and go at a faster cruise it seems to dissipate  What I'm guessing is it may be the vacuum advance and its causing abit too much advance? Oh yeah I also notice that the tach in the car, an auto meter, differs from the reading on my timing light an Innova digital one to the tune of the timing light says its idling at 780 RPM and the one in the car is saying 1250 RPM. Quite a large variance ?

So any ideas or anyone else who has one and has set one up I would as usual really appreciate it.

[firefighter3931]

Try disconnecting the vac advance and see if it still pre-ignites. The timing seems conservative and you are certainly leaving power on the table with only 28* total timing. 

Most open chamber iron head builds want 36-38* for best power results.

The Firecore ready-to-run distributor is way more adjustable than the MSD pro-billet and quite a bit cheaper. Denis has one on his 66 Charger and Marc just installed one on his 68 R/T.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o9gP42OEGU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5id7-mP7Wxg



Ron

[ottawamerc]

Try disconnecting the vac advance and see if it still pre-ignites. The timing seems conservative and you are certainly leaving power on the table with only 28* total timing.  

Most open chamber iron head builds want 36-38* for best power results.

The Firecore ready-to-run distributor is way more adjustable than the MSD pro-billet and quite a bit cheaper. Denis has one on his 66 Charger and Marc just installed one on his 68 R/T.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o9gP42OEGU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5id7-mP7Wxg


Ron

Great now you tell me Ron Ok so I will re curve it some, it also has the Eddy E-Street aluminum heads 84CC chambers if I remember right.

Thanks Ron


Scott

[Al]

Try disconnecting the vac advance and see if it still pre-ignites. The timing seems conservative and you are certainly leaving power on the table with only 28* total timing. 

Most open chamber iron head builds want 36-38* for best power results.

The Firecore ready-to-run distributor is way more adjustable than the MSD pro-billet and quite a bit cheaper. Denis has one on his 66 Charger and Marc just installed one on his 68 R/T.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o9gP42OEGU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5id7-mP7Wxg



Ron

Hello Ron

Could you post a link where I can get more information about the firecore distributor for my 383 ?

greets
Al

[1974dodgecharger]

same here I was curious about them also vs the MSD.  Are they compatabile with the ignitions box of MSD?

[66chargertoy]

Hello Scott, and welcome to the site   . Has Ron mentioned, I went ahead and installed the Firecore unit and matching coil in the Charger. Great set up from the get go. If you would like, give me a call and come on over and check it out yourself. I'm sure if Ron is available, he would come over also so we can compare notes. Also, if you do decide to go the Firecore route, I would suggest to also get the same plug wires.
Denis

[firefighter3931]

Hello Ron

Could you post a link where I can get more information about the firecore distributor for my 383 ?

greets
Al

Hi Al  

There are several options available for your car ;

(1) Billet mechanical advance distributor (No vacuum advance) : for use with an external box like MSD/Mallory/Crane etc...
(2) Ready to Run Billet with vacuum advance : No external box required and eliminates the ballist resistor & has the ECU built inside the distributor
(3) Plug & Play Billet with vacuum advance : For use with a Mopar style ECU (Orange/Chrome/Rev-a-nator)

*all 3 distributors have an easy to adjust mechanical advance mechanism which uses adjustable stops to limit mechanical advance. Same mechanism that has been in use by MP for several years in their distributors and made by Mallory.

(1) pic of the plug & play billet aluminum distributor  
(2) pic of mechanical advance mechanism with adjustable stops


Ron

[firefighter3931]

same here I was curious about them also vs the MSD.  Are they compatabile with the ignitions box of MSD?

There would be two options for a Firecore distributor using a MSD box ;

(1) Billet Mechanical which has no vacuum advance
(2) Billet plug & play which does have vacuum advance (pictured above)

**The Ready to Run distributor will not work with an external box nor would you want it because it has a built in ECU.


Ron

[firefighter3931]

Here are a few pics courtesy of Marc (Ridelikehell) of the Ready-to-Run Billet unit with the matching 12V coil.


All Firecore distributors will work with a stock replacement distributor cap available at any parts store.  

When ordering you can specify stock or request a male post HEI terminal cap.

*Marc had a set of MSD wires that he wanted to use that are HEI terminal so I got him the proper cap for his application which is what is pictured below  


Ron

[RIDELIKEHELL]

Very nice product   another angle 

[lexxman]

hey guys. How are ya? I'm going to be updating my stock distributor. How would be a good price to buy for one?

Dave

[firefighter3931]

hey guys. How are ya? I'm going to be updating my stock distributor. How would be a good price to buy for one?

Dave

Dave, i'm a firecore dealer. 

What are you looking for ; a ready to run with built-in ecu or a plug and play to use with a orange or chrome box ?


Ron

[lexxman]

I don't know . Whats the differance? And what do you mean  orange box or chrome?I haven't worked with this stuff alot before,so I'm afraid I don't know a lot about it.

[firefighter3931]

I don't know . Whats the differance? And what do you mean  orange box or chrome?I haven't worked with this stuff alot before,so I'm afraid I don't know a lot about it.

Dave, many older cars were converted to electronic ignition years ago using the Mopar performance conversion kit. It consisted of an electronic distributor, a wiring harness and external box (ECU) to replace the points ignition. Those ECU boxes came in several flavors depending on the performance level ; orange/chrome/gold as well as stock replacement. These conversion kits also require a ballist resistor to step down the coil voltage. Many don't like the ballist resistors because when they blow it will leave you stranded on the side of the road.    For the last several years the quality of the replacement boxes has been suspect as well....numerous reports of defective orange box failures due to QC controls with whoever was building them for Mopar Performance. 

The ready to run Firecore distributor has a built in ECU so there is no external box or wiring to mount under the hood. The ballist resistor is also not required eliminating another potential source of failure. The wiring harness is also not required because the RTR distributor uses just a 12v source of power to run the entire ignition system. This really cleans up the engine bay and simplifies the ignition sytem.




Ron

[ottawamerc]

Ya I still wished I knew about this before I dropped $400 on the MSD unit, which is working well too but has some draw backs

[lexxman]

So the big question how much is the firecore system?  I'm not going all pro stock.I want to keep a stock look.

[lexxman]

Ya I still wished I knew about this before I dropped $400 on the MSD unit, which is working well too but has some draw backs

What kind of draw backs? Big ones or just little pain in the ass ones?

[firefighter3931]

So the big question how much is the firecore system?  I'm not going all pro stock.I want to keep a stock look.

Sending you a PM Dave 


Ron

[firefighter3931]

Ya I still wished I knew about this before I dropped $400 on the MSD unit, which is working well too but has some draw backs

What kind of draw backs? Big ones or just little pain in the ass ones?

The MSD unit works good but has it's limitations and drawbacks ;

(1) Cost : the MSD ready to run distributor is over $100 more than the Firecore RTR
(2) Tunability : The MSD comes with 4 bushings to limit mechanical advance so limited adjustment while the Firecore has unlimited mechanical advance adjustments
(3) Convenience : The Firecore distributor can use either a stock cap commonly available anywhere or a male post HEI style cap which some prefer. MSD is only available with a male post HEI cap so you can't get a stock look if that's what you're hoping to do.
(4) Installation : The MSD unit has a larger diameter which can in some instances require grinding on the Cylinder Heads and/or Valvecovers while the Firecore unit clears everything.


Ron

[sunroofgtx]

Great thread, guys. Killer-looking car. Thanks for the kind words. We think the Ready to Run Distributor will fill a lot of opportunities and needs that were not an option before. Thank you Ron. Threads like these are one of the many reasons that you are a very popular and very trusted official Firecore Performance Products dealer. Carry on !

[Al]

Ya I still wished I knew about this before I dropped $400 on the MSD unit, which is working well too but has some draw backs

What kind of draw backs? Big ones or just little pain in the ass ones?

The MSD unit works good but has it's limitations and drawbacks ;

(1) Cost : the MSD ready to run distributor is over $100 more than the Firecore RTR
(2) Tunability : The MSD comes with 4 bushings to limit mechanical advance so limited adjustment while the Firecore has unlimited mechanical advance adjustments
(3) Convenience : The Firecore distributor can use either a stock cap commonly available anywhere or a male post HEI style cap which some prefer. MSD is only available with a male post HEI cap so you can't get a stock look if that's what you're hoping to do.
(4) Installation : The MSD unit has a larger diameter which can in some instances require grinding on the Cylinder Heads and/or Valvecovers while the Firecore unit clears everything.


Ron

Thank you for the precisions 

greets
Al

[six-tee-nine]

Interesting stuff here.

Question : are there any rev limiting options on the firecore units. Not that I would need one, but more for some built in safety system. For instance on a 4 speed application, if you miss a shift you can easily pegg the tach needle.
A rev limiting ignition system can help a bit in this case....

[firefighter3931]

No rev limiter in the ready to run....only so much room inside the distributor for electronics. 

You can allways add an external rpm limiter or use and external box with a rev limiter built in. From what i'm hearing : Firecore will have a box similar to the 6AL which uses a dial instead of pills and it's quite a bit cheaper than the MSD box 


Ron

[Al]

No rev limiter in the ready to run....only so much room inside the distributor for electronics. 

You can allways add an external rpm limiter or use and external box with a rev limiter built in. From what i'm hearing : Firecore will have a box similar to the 6AL which uses a dial instead of pills and it's quite a bit cheaper than the MSD box 


Ron

sent you a PM Ron