[moneypit]

Is there any advantage to keeping my MSD 6200 6A box in play? The 8528 says you can use it but don't need it. Anything I can remove from under the dash would be helpful, getting kind of crowded under there.

Thanks,
Colt.

[Schurkey]

Advantage to keeping the 6A (naturally-aspirated/no nitrous)? Multi-spark. If the carb tuning is poor, the 6A is a good crutch. If the carb tuning is good, not much advantage for the 6A.

[moneypit]

467, Butler rotating assembly.
87cc 310 CFM E-heads 1.5 Scorpion rockers
230/236 .510/.520 112 LS
Port matched Warrior with 2 Edelbrock 750's.
No carb issues, runs great, idles fine.
Mostly street driven with occasional 2000 mile road trips.
Making the change to help with engine temps at low speed and traffic.

[25stevem]

I am failing to see how removing the 6A from under your dash will help with engine cooling at low air flow rates like you posted?

[Cliff R]

Just a guess but he's probably going from a distributor w/o vacuum advance to one that has it.

The MSD box hurts nothing. About all they do is help at idle and start-up being just a tad better at burning a lean mixture at really low RPM.

I've backed to back dyno tested MSD distributors with the 6AL box and they don't make any more power than a plain old HEI set up with the same advance curve. Matter of fact I saw a very slight edge with the HEI. I would imagine that comes from being more precise with the very well made knife-edge points on the pick-up assembly vs those big fat ones on the MSD that often look like they spent a few years at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean once placed in service..........

[Formulajones]

If that is the reason for the swap, those older MSD housings will accept a vacuum advance.
I added one to my father's ols MSD distributor years ago. Never understood why the Pontiac housings never used to come with vacuum advance from MSD when they did on other engine brands.
That issue has changed now, but it's still easier and cheaper to add the vacuum advance to the older models if that's what you're running.

[moneypit]

Thanks for the replies! Changing to a vacuum advance distributor to increase efficiency and possibly lower engine temps at low speeds and in traffic. I have a distributor already. The 8528 distributor has a built in module and doesn't need a separate box. I'm going to go ahead and remove the 6A box and just use the module in the distributor.
Thanks!
Colt.

[Formulajones]

Too bad you didn't ask that sooner before the purchase, I could have saved you almost $600.

[moneypit]

Originally Posted by Formulajones

Too bad you didn't ask that sooner before the purchase, I could have saved you almost $600.

Had the distributor on the shelf, sent it back to MSD last year and had it refurbished. I appreciate the info though, I'll file it away for future reference!

[Formulajones]

Freebies certainly make it more appealing

[Formulajones]

I had to go back and look. Forgot that MSD has changed these numbers around and how they are sold now.

The 8528 used to be the old distrubutor that needed a box, it was not a ready to run, and it was supplied without a vacuum advance. That was 20 years ago.

Now the 8528 is a ready to run piece, with a vacuum advance, and runs without a box. So they now sell this distributor with a module included to be self sufficient.

They have switched the 8563 to the piece without the vacuum advance and needing a box to run it.

They made this change back when they started offering Pontiacs a vacuum advance on their billet distributors, but I don't know why they couldn't leave the part numbers alone and just added a simple vacuum advance.

For the record to help anyone that might search this. You need the points style vacuum advance to adapt to these distributors. They will not accept the HEI vacuum cannister.