kalli

I believe if you have the total timing correct (and the same between those distributors) then theoretically the peak HP should be the same. peak torque as well, assuming thats somewhere above 4000 when both are running on full advance anyway.

I instantly liked the pertronix module/distributor. I found the car ran overall a lot better.
the 289 I had was very healthy and with the weiand intake and that distributor and carb I believe it was the quickest stock 289 in the country. and on a 60mph run on motorway for 100 miles I got that thing to run close to 20mpg. eventually I added a crane box which in my buttfeeling helped starting and helped overall at lower rpms. I started opening the gaps a bit so I could run a bit leaner. but I never figured if that actually helped gas mileage.

well i then bought the 302 and with it came a mallory distributor and after half year the box died. so back in went the pertronix.
I was always one for playing around with the timing curve, so I kept changing springs and stops and tried and tried. All the time I was eyeballing the crane distributor just so I could play around with the curve by the flick of a dial. with it I bought a MSD 6AL box, which I believe is worth it's money just for the revlimiter. I once bent a hardened pushrod which I can only explain with over-revving. I was probably at 7000 or more in an instant. I can control it now, but that was a warning. repair was cheap and I don't want that ever to happen again

Is the crane distributor needed? no. but I'm well known to butcher when I repair and replace parts with overkill parts just because I hope to never replace them anymore. Just to make sure it's understood, you can't run the crane distries without a box like the MSD 6AL as they are magentic triggered.

So I still tinker with it. like it a lot. I sold the pertronix locally to a 65 mustang with a 289 who is very happy with it.

on a note: DO NOT buy one of those pertronix distributors with built in coil on top. I have yet to see one that clears any kind of stock or aftermarket aircleaner. Usually people have to go for those ugly triangle edelbrock cleaners that look like the eye of a fly ...

what I hate about the MSD box is the moneymaking scheme with their revlimiting modules. the crane boxes have a dial. they sell the modules for dear money and they're just a jumper with a different resistor each time ...

jspagna1

I used a Mallory Unilite Distributor in my 5.0. Haqs nver given me any issues 13 years now.

http://www.summitracing.com/parts/MAA-3770401/?rtype=10

jgemperline

Kalli,

Is this the one you like? I like the blue top along with adjustable advance. Thanks.
http://m.summitracing.com/parts/CRN-1000-1601

mr_velocity

I'm running this one, notice anything special about it?


You're not going to find much of a performance difference between distributors provided you can adjust the curve. Even as far as the box goes, the ONLY thing I've seen after using MSD for 20 years is better idle when cold. I've been able to run all my performance motors sans choke by running the msd boxes. Granted a few pumps of the throttle and a dominator will dump a gallon of gas down the intake but other than that I put the cold start/idle squarely on running MSD.

kalli

jgemperline:
the one I use is the one with the wide cap
http://m.summitracing.com/parts/CRN-1000-1600 (but that's for early model engine)
but then again, thats an awful lot of money for a distributor that needs a box to run with.

jspagna1
ya, all the mallory lads seem to stick with their products (like JMD). I just didn't get to use mine long enough to comment on them.

mr_velocity
I thiought I was overkill. 2 boxes with one distributor sounds like you were one of those people that wouldn't drive a mustang without dual points in the 70s :-)
very true with the better idle when cold. I have a choke problematic dfemon carb and I figured I have the least problems if I just disable it completely

mr_velocity

Old habits are tough to break. In my race days we ran 2 boxes so when one failed you'd flip a switch and keep going. Guess is doesn't say much for MSD reliability that they plan for failures by allowing for these setups. I do like their boxes and I've only had one failure which I attribute to the battery wire coming loose.

kalli

ah ... failover system. I was thinking it would work like one box for 4 cylinders, the other box for the other ...

tcrote5516

Im running one with the coil on top with no clearence issues. I had a 14" round that needed a half inch spacer. The billet oval I have now has no clearence issues without a spacer.

scootchu

I have decided on the Pertronix

This Canton Oil Pan

This Re-Ring Kit

The one concern I have is that the rings are Moly. I am going to hone the bores with a 240 grit Flex Hone.
Should I be alright using these rings?

mr_velocity

I've only ever used moly rings, never had a problem. Looks like a felpro kit, never had an issue with anything from them either. Boo on the aluminum pan, I'd rather have something that bends instead of cracks.

Overall nice package but I still think you should come up and take this 351 off my hands