I was wondering, would an MSD ignition box and coil yield any noticeable results, like more hp or better throttle response, and if so would I have to upgrade my points distributor to an electronic setup, like the ones Pertonix has, or would that just be a recommendation? Thanks
The only time a high energy ignition system is required is if you raise the compression ratio substantually. Because when you do this the higher compression along with the air/fuel mixture can quench the spark at the sparkplugs. So, unless you plan on doing this, you’ll get no benefit from a high energy ignition system.
Tester
You don’t get more power from ignition system changes. As the previous poster said and I will now misquote; “It isn’t happening with that engine.”
If one of your goals is to get away from breaker point maintiance electronic is the way to go,you dont need hotter spark,I wonder if GM ever made HEI for 6cyl,probably.
The best thing to do with these engines is to grab an HEI setup from a later engine. I think, though I’m not quite sure, that all you need is the distributor and the coil. I know they had them standard at least by '76 and it may have been an option earlier. The GM HEI ignition system is really reliable and barring massive internal engine upgrades, will perform just as well as an aftermarket unit.
Keep in mind that spark either happens or it doesn’t and so unless you’ve otherwise upgraded the engine in such a way that the stock ignition system is no longer adequate, eliminating the hassle of dealing with the points is the only real reason to upgrade it. The pertronix setups are pretty nice, but depending on what your local junkyard situation is, doing an HEI swap might be cheaper and would have the same result.
As for me, I find adjusting points to be oddly satisfying so I’ve always left them in.
The only advantage to running an electronic ignition, other than elimination of the contact points, is that it may help a bit at very high RPMs by eliminating “points bounce” which COULD cause a slight misfire.
Ask yourself just how often do you go around revving the engine to 6-8000 RPM.
It won’t make any noticeable difference and none of the things you mention, in this post or the others, will make a noticeable difference in performance.
It you want some noticeable performance then it’s going to take money - pure and simple. Camshaft, cylinder head work, intake/exhaust work, etc. or a V-8 swap with the latter being the easiest.
thanks for the information, because i read some article claiming that after installing the ignition box and coil the guy said he experienced better throttle response and small boost in hp.