FE Power Forums
FE Power Forums => FE Technical Forum => Topic started by: amdscooter on November 11, 2014, 10:17:18 PM
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So I finally broke down and got the 6AL (6425) box to mate up to my MSD 8595 Dizzy and Blaster3 coil in my 67 Fairlane 390. Most Mustangs and Fairlanes I have seen these installed in seem to be putting the box on the drivers side tacked to the front face of the shock tower, or in that area. Plenty of space there for sure, any downside such as cable length issues? I'm not planning on moving the coil from the top of the intake manifold at this time.
Thx in advance
-scoot
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That's a good place to mount it, for sure, but on my Mustang I wanted a cleaner factory type look. So I mounted mine inside the car, directly to the bottom of the heater core box, upside down. It doesn't intrude on passenger leg room, I can run the wires out the AC/heater firewall grommet so I didn't have to drill any holes, and the stock MSD wires were just long enough to reach the coil and distributor. Worked out pretty well for me, looks clean and no issues with it getting hot since it's cooler inside than the engine compartment. Plus the fresh air vent is right there to blow cooler air over it on hotter days.
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Some may frown upon this but I mounted mine behind the air cleaner on the firewall. Been there 10 years now no issues. This is a 62 galaxie.
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Mine is on the passenger side inner fender where my battery used to be. It's worked fine there for the last 10 years or so.
paulie
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Passenger side inner fender near the top for me, '64 Galaxie. Plenty of wire to get everything hooked up with clean routing. I'd think you'd be able to mount yours almost anywhere on the 'Lane without running into wire length issues.
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MSD claims the 6AL is designed to tolerate under hood temps. And I know a lot of guys that have had no longevity issues with theirs under the hood. But my way of thinking was to keep it cool and really safe. So I put mine in the cab on the firewall. Close to the shifter. It looks good there. And makes people ask
"what's that whirring sound". ::)
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One problem with mounting an MSD under the hood is that they are susceptible to failure when exposed to too much water. I lost one once at the car wash; sprayed the water through grille to try to clean all the bugs off, hit the MSD (mounted on the inner fenderwell of my Mach 1), and got nothing when I tried to start the car. Sent it back to MSD and they fixed it for a small charge, but I've been mounting them inside the car ever since.
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Mine is on the firewall behind the air cleaner ok for last 10 years
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One problem with mounting an MSD under the hood is that they are susceptible to failure when exposed to too much water. I lost one once at the car wash; sprayed the water through grille to try to clean all the bugs off, hit the MSD (mounted on the inner fenderwell of my Mach 1), and got nothing when I tried to start the car. Sent it back to MSD and they fixed it for a small charge, but I've been mounting them inside the car ever since.
That's useful information right there. I never would have considered water sprayed in the general direction of the box as being a threat. Looking at it now I can see where a person could become very unlucky that way.....
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Thank you for all the feedback. I don't think I need it in the passenger compartment at this point. I'm thinking that spot on the shock tower by the washer bag is looking pretty good at this point. Did you guys with fender mounted boxes run the wiring harness to the dizzy and coil around the engine bay and come in from the firewall like the rest of the OEM harness? Or did you just jump it across from the fender?
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I have mine mounted inside the fender right behind the driver side headlights. Ran the wires directly to the distributor and coil. But I'm about to relocate it to the trunk, near the battery.
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Thank you for all the feedback. I don't think I need it in the passenger compartment at this point. I'm thinking that spot on the shock tower by the washer bag is looking pretty good at this point. Did you guys with fender mounted boxes run the wiring harness to the dizzy and coil around the engine bay and come in from the firewall like the rest of the OEM harness? Or did you just jump it across from the fender?
MSD 6 here in a '70 Stang. With my battery in the trunk, the spot where the OEM battery sat is where the box is. Its mounted to a plate and the plate is drilled to bolt to the OEM battery tray holes. The wires run across the shock-tower-to-shock tower brace directly to the coil and ditzy. Works for me!
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I have mine mounted on the drivers side inner fender in front of the shock tower , with the coil underneath the box . But i will keep the water info in mind for sure .. Bud
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Dizzy wires run to the firewall and back up in the factory location with the temp sender wire. Ran the coil wires along side alternator wiring and then over in a loom along with the ground lead. Now that I think about it, the ground was way too short to go back toward the firewall and I wanted a solid hook at the block, so the jump with the alternator wiring made sense.
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^^^ Thanks! I ended up mounting the box on the inner driver side fender right next to the washer bag instead of the shock tower. The wires for the dizzy and coil look long enough to go around the engine compartment and follow the OEM harness. The two battery leads are a bit short to go across the front clip in front of the radiator and will need to be lengthened. I wanted to get it wrapped up today as I am home sick, but the cold kicked my arse and afer I got the box mounted I wrapped it up. The rest of the week is booked with work catch up stuff. Hopefully I'll get it wrapped up this weekend. I'l post up a few photos when it's complete. thanks for all your input!
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Mine's under the front seat, drivers side. Had to splice wires, etc. but no issues in about 10 years.
I just didn't want to see it in the engine compartment.
Bruce
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My theory on electronics is always a cool dry place, plus with heat comes resistance. Resistance reduces voltage output so I mount mine on the interior firewall somewhere it can get air flow or in the trunk works too if you size up the wires to 10 gauge. A little electrical grease helps on the connectors also to keep the nasty stuff out.
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Allrighty, got under the hood yesterday and the box is up and running. Thanks again for the advise guys! Quick follow up question regarding spark plug gaps. The MSD guide recommends wider gaps starting with 10.5:1 compression motors .050~.060. Seeing as my 390 is a run of the mill 9.5:1 with a mild 268H cam, any need to increase the gap from the stock spec?
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Quick follow up question regarding spark plug gaps. The MSD guide recommends wider gaps starting with 10.5:1 compression motors .050~.060. Seeing as my 390 is a run of the mill 9.5:1 with a mild 268H cam, any need to increase the gap from the stock spec?
I've experimented with wider plug gaps on my 10.5:1 428. Tried 0.040" - 0.50". I've never found any gains. I have an MSD 6AL and Blaster 2 coil. No gains and sometimes it's more finicky with big gaps. After experimenting, I always go back to somewhere around a 0.035" gap and it runs great again. It's one of those "if it ain't broke" type scenarios.
I've also experimented with rounded off electrodes and always end up going back to the as delivered square cut deal. What I'm saying is there is no need to reinvent the wheel here.
JMO,
paulie
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I agree with Paulie. Really nothing to gain by opening up the gap, especially on a mild or even an average performance engine. If it ignites the mixture, that's all it can do. With the MSD and Blaster coil you'd be fine going up to .040 if you wanted, but it won't change anything except for working your coil a bit harder.
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^^^ Thanks for the confirmation guys! I'm going to toss a set of Autolite platinum's in (.035) and call the ignition system done.
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MSD ignitions do NOT like platinum plugs.
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I could not find any suggestions for plugs from MSD except use the recommend plug for the application, I thought a resistor plug may be an issue but even those got a nod of approval when I called. The guy I talked to said use whatever plug you like basically, as long as the proper reach was used.
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I have personal experience that the platinum will fail.
A copper core plug is what you need.
Last time I called MSD they said "use only copper core plug".
What happens is the high intensity of the multiple spark blows the platinum coating off
and then you get misfires.
Autolite 124's will work great.
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+1 on what Howie said. Autolite 124's work well with a 6AL and iron heads.
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Been down there for 4 years since I bought the car and who knows how many years before that. I put it back there after restoring the engine bay since it has not given me any trouble.
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Then 124's it is. Thanks all!