[HWYSTR455]

I bet everyone on this thread has a daily driver with electronics in it.

The goal for the recommended box was for being able to program the curve, not to make up for any lack of carb tuning.

You grab a 50+ yo points dizzy from eGay, you're going to have to check everything. Shaft for wear and straightness, ensure the proper parts are being used and are all there, ensure the body & bushings aren't worn out, and you still have to dial it in with weights & springs.

Sure everybody at one point or another have found you can't just throw any 'ol weights & springs in there and expect it to run properly. Plate/weight mismatch, springs w poor tolerances, RPM creep/drift of timing, plate stops, vacuum can issues/adj/limits, and you still have to find a good set of points or HEI module.

If you want to trust 15+ yo used electronics over a new MSD unit, then more power to you. But to comment, that's a considerable higher risk for failure than a new MSD box.

I guess it would be 'ok' for a weekend cruiser with an occasional WOT blast w max 5500 RPM, but it's not going to cut it for something you want to drive a lot and long distances. And I'm not talking about that one summer event you want to cruise to 2 hours each way to, I mean potentially 1000s of miles within a week or two.

Try a Power Tour. That will shake out a car. I know it flushes out all the people that are still fine with driving on 10 yo tires.

Like I said, so many are reluctant. At least some are switching over the EFi...



.

[P@blo]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

I bet everyone on this thread has a daily driver with electronics in it.

The goal for the recommended box was for being able to program the curve, not to make up for any lack of carb tuning.

You grab a 50+ yo points dizzy from eGay, you're going to have to check everything. Shaft for wear and straightness, ensure the proper parts are being used and are all there, ensure the body & bushings aren't worn out, and you still have to dial it in with weights & springs.

Sure everybody at one point or another have found you can't just throw any 'ol weights & springs in there and expect it to run properly. Plate/weight mismatch, springs w poor tolerances, RPM creep/drift of timing, plate stops, vacuum can issues/adj/limits, and you still have to find a good set of points or HEI module.

If you want to trust 15+ yo used electronics over a new MSD unit, then more power to you. But to comment, that's a considerable higher risk for failure than a new MSD box.

I guess it would be 'ok' for a weekend cruiser with an occasional WOT blast w max 5500 RPM, but it's not going to cut it for something you want to drive a lot and long distances. And I'm not talking about that one summer event you want to cruise to 2 hours each way to, I mean potentially 1000s of miles within a week or two.

Try a Power Tour. That will shake out a car. I know it flushes out all the people that are still fine with driving on 10 yo tires.

Like I said, so many are reluctant. At least some are switching over the EFi...



.

Yup I agree 100%. Advance pins never wear on a cast iron points distributors? Mo money mo time. Not going to sink $500 into an old points distributor when I can go with a new RTR MSD with modern parts, melonized gear, and built in rev limiter.

[Kenth]

I and many others like the old cars with the technology that was used.
If I want modern stuff, I buy a modern car.
I have a hard time imagining the owner of a Model T Ford putting an HEI, MSD or EFI on his engine. It just doesn't look right.
Getting an original ignition system to work as intended is really no big deal.
And by the way, why stop at MSD or EFI?
Put the powertrain from a Tesla in a classic GTO, NOW you're modern!

JMHO

[JLMounce]

Originally Posted by Kenth

I and many others like the old cars with the technology that was used.
If I want modern stuff, I buy a modern car.
I have a hard time imagining the owner of a Model T Ford putting an HEI, MSD or EFI on his engine. It just doesn't look right.
Getting an original ignition system to work as intended is really no big deal.
And by the way, why stop at MSD or EFI?
Put the powertrain from a Tesla in a classic GTO, NOW you're modern!

JMHO

Certainly nothing wrong with that.

Anecdotally, I can tell you that the cars that I see around my town that are being driven. Meaning I'm seeing them out an about. They are showing up to cars and coffee events, being taken up the canyons etc. Most of them have been modernized.

When I see lots of originality, it's only ever at a car show. Those cars seem to come out sparingly, and there's typically a sea of trailers just outside the show.

I'm not saying that's always the case, but it's just an observation that I see in my local area.

[HWYSTR455]

I respect everyone's opinion and experience, not trying to offend anyone, just sharing my opinion.

Late 70s thru the 80s and into the 90s, I ran many types of boxes, Crane, MSD, Mallory, Accel, Jacob, Pertronix, and ones I can't remember.

I've run just about every type of distributor too, AND, my fallback was always points. Without a box to be clear. But my fallback dizzy took considerable time to setup properly, and it did have parts from multiple donor cores.

I drove my cars as primary transportation from late-70s thru the 20-0hs, and probably have more street miles on my cars than just about anyone here. I did 90%+ of the work on those cars too. I've tried just about every aftermarket part for a pontiac that's available.

What is the most reliable pickup? Take your time, let me know. But I can tell you, the mag pickups are probably one of the top 3, easy. Look how many OEs have used it over the years.

I went multi-point SEFi in the mid-90s, which basically forced me into using a specific kind of ignition, hence, CD box. So since then, I've revisited CD boxes, and in my experience, across the board, the most reliable boxes were/are MSD. (and yes I've had MSD failures).

Let's revisit the OP's opening statement:

"I am trying to tap the forum knowledge to find a new distributor for my 455 engine. I am quite fed up with failing distributors by now."

So what's the recommendation? Are you going to tell this person to use an old points distributor from eGay? And go thru it and curve it?

Let's look at this from a risk management perspective. Although some system components have desirable features, and even though others have had success with it, new parts and new companies need to stand the test of time. It's a simple fact. Nothing worse than getting part X all dialed in and the company goes under or changes hands.

For many, dialing in a distributor curve takes time and knowledge, not all have the experience/knowledge as many here. Do a search here on how many made comments about 'sending a distributor out for a custom curve' ? This is where being able to program it is very useful, people can just program it. How many still have a graveyard of shafts, weights, & springs?

OP Comment: "Instead of further troubleshooting on the dizzy and throwing more parts at it, I am thinking of installing a new, good quality unit." (2nd Pertronix)

Selection Criteria: Reliability, NEW, quality unit.

Anything beyond that is a bonus or not needed.

My recommendation: MSD RTR or knock-off Cost: MSD = $575, Knock-Off = $375

Bonus: Programmable timing control for about the cost of an MSD RTR.

My recommendation: MSD Pro Billet knock-off with a programmable CD box +MAP.

Cost: $190 + $400 + $30 = $620

So for the basic cost of an MSD RTR, you can get programmable timing control. How does that not make sense?


.

[Dragncar]

Originally Posted by HWYSTR455

I bet everyone on this thread has a daily driver with electronics in it.

The goal for the recommended box was for being able to program the curve, not to make up for any lack of carb tuning.

You grab a 50+ yo points dizzy from eGay, you're going to have to check everything. Shaft for wear and straightness, ensure the proper parts are being used and are all there, ensure the body & bushings aren't worn out, and you still have to dial it in with weights & springs.

Sure everybody at one point or another have found you can't just throw any 'ol weights & springs in there and expect it to run properly. Plate/weight mismatch, springs w poor tolerances, RPM creep/drift of timing, plate stops, vacuum can issues/adj/limits, and you still have to find a good set of points or HEI module.

If you want to trust 15+ yo used electronics over a new MSD unit, then more power to you. But to comment, that's a considerable higher risk for failure than a new MSD box.

I guess it would be 'ok' for a weekend cruiser with an occasional WOT blast w max 5500 RPM, but it's not going to cut it for something you want to drive a lot and long distances. And I'm not talking about that one summer event you want to cruise to 2 hours each way to, I mean potentially 1000s of miles within a week or two.

Try a Power Tour. That will shake out a car. I know it flushes out all the people that are still fine with driving on 10 yo tires.

Like I said, so many are reluctant. At least some are switching over the EFi...



.

So the guy who knows more about distributors than anyone called a iron points distributor the "gold standard" for reliability and you come along and try and make it sound like a points distributor and a USA made CD box "might not make it" on a long drive ?
Rubbish.
The old USA made CD boxes from Crane, MSD and Mallory are BETTER than the new "Made in CHINA" stuff you can buy now.
I have had a MSD box from the 80s on my car and a distributor from 1962 and it has never gave me trouble.
(I did have a rotor screw loosen once, my fault)
All the guys at the track have had ignition trouble in my 35 years of racing while I just went up and down the track and the same set of points for most of it. I changed them a couple years ago, just because.
You can find nice iron points distributors if you look. I bought this one from Paul Carter for 125$ just to keep around. It is ready to go, looks and feels like a new.

This is the most reliable ignition system, period. And a electronic ignition will not get you one more horsepower with a CD box. I have spun my distributor all the way to the max on a Sun machine, never a hick up. With a good set of Accel/ Napa points, points bounce is a non issue.
You can even have a new condenser sitting under the cap unused just in case the CD box fails and you need to switch some wires around and drive home.
I would get a brass Mallory one. I have had the same Mallory condenser on my setup working the whole time since the 80s.

To the OP. If you do get a iron distributor they have a smaller pin for the gear. I drilled mine out to the size the aluminum units have.
https://www.summitracing.com/parts/maa-401