I did a tune up on my car, it still won't start, then i remembered the big hold in punched in the pickup coil riveted onto the distributor. Long story short i always wanted to put a full MSD ignition system on my car especially since it's nitrous ready and i want to add nitrous also.
the problem is i can't find any information about how this whole system works, i know i need the distrubtor and the blaster coil? i don't understand whats involved. i see alot of the 6AL abreviation, im trying to get the parts of e-bay and calssified adds and such. Can someone describe to me what is involved in a MSD ingnition upgrade? does the 6AL fit on any year v8? what other components are involved? and what is interchangeable? is all that electronic controled timing adjustment stuff easy to use? Basicly i need the basics or specifics or EVERYTHING about it. HELP! i can't find anything! just PARTS! i don't know what to get.

 

I should probobly also mention that the car is an 87 firebird formula with an 88 350 in it. Im not sure exactly which 350 besides it's a tpi if somone knows what that means as far as L69 or whatever i would be gratefull

 

If you are running nitrous or a supercharger you at least need an MSD Digital-6 plus ignition. You can also buy a harness for hooking up to your distributor and easier install. Everything is easily explained in the MSD info packet and they also have tech number to call. You can get the harness and the digital 6plus igniton from Summit Racing.
You dont necessarily need a new coil etc. but if you are using NOS you probably should get the coil and coil blaster. The dials on the ignition box are easy to use. Mine works great. You will need to use regular basic spark plugs. DO NOT use anything else! I had Bosch platinum +2"s and there was no change in performance. The tech guy said I had the wrong plugs. Now it works fine. You must be able to gap the plugs based on your compression ratio. The normal gap on my #24 Autolite is 45 thousandths, but with my 9to1 comp I had to open the gap to 55. Hope this helps.

 

A little more info. If you are not installing NOS for awhile you wont need new coil and blaster or distributor. I have a GM 7-pin distributor. All you will need to do is make sure you install a new cap and rotor (recommended by MSD). If you have a GM HEI distributor with a 7pin module like mine then you would purchase harness number 8875. I am swapping out my 400sb for a 454 w/supercharger sometime in the future so got the digital 6 unit in anticipation of that mod. That way I dont have to buy another unit when I swap out. The digital 6 plus unit will work with large GM HEI caps with either 4,5 or 7 pin modules. Five pin modules may experience some hesitation or stall on decceleration. If it does you will need to install a required bolt-in diode. MSD Tech line can help. Call MSD for a catalog and research for yourself. Number is 915-857-5200. The ignition box works with carbs or tpi and also will work for ignitions with ford, chrysler, honda and most imports.

 

Thanks, the car has trickflow aluminum heads. and i have no idea which spark plugs to use except for the acdelco rapidfires that were on the car when i got it. would msd be able to help me?

 

They should be able to help you. I had ac rapidfires before the bosch and I believe they are ok because you can gap them.

 

Since you guys are talking about MSD I have a question. I have a 89 TA 305 TPI 5 speed. I put a MSD 6AL on it and had problems. The tach was getting screwed up. When you would rev it then rev it again while its not at idle the tach will nose dive to 0 for a second then go up and if I floored it in any gear going down the street the tach would start bouncing at about 3 really bad. I had the MSD positive wire the back of the old altinator and the ground on a fender bolt (non sanded). My volts were sucking pretty bad too. Then I put the positive on the battery and I sanded the ground. When I was putting the battery connector my friend was putting on the altinator wire for me and he didnt tightn it down and it fried the altinator so I repalced the altinator. After that the tach will still dip a little when you rev it then rev it again before it comes down to idle by about 500-1000 rpms and it doesnt bounce when I floor it down the street unless its up around 5 and it only does it once in a great while. I used the MSD harness for the dual connector coil so I know I didnt wire it wrong and another guy that put MSD on his third gen had the same problem as I did origanally then his stopped working completely. What the hell do you think is going on.

 

This tach problem is an easy fix. If it is nose diving you probably need a tach adapter. First tho try connecting your tachometer trigger wire to the tach output terminal on the side of the MSD. If it still does it you will need a tach adapter. There are two adapters. If you are using the magnetic pickup connector (green and violet wires) to trigger the MSD you will need PN 8920. If your tachometer was triggered from the coil negative terminal (voltage trigger)and you are using the white wire to trigger the MSD you will need the PN 8910. Call MSd for these parts. Also, they will tell you to connect your battery wires straight to the battery. Do not ground the negative wire to the body. Hook to the battery along with the positive wire. You can also bypass your in-line filter. MSd says if your GM vehicle has an online filter it may cause the tach to drop to zero during acceleration. Get the adapter. Call MSD and or read your manual. Hope this helps.

 

PS:

My understanding is that both power and ground wires from the MSD must be connected to your battery. NOTHING ELSE. Red wire to positive and black wire to negative.

 

Thanks for the help guys. What exactly does the 6al do? what is the new 7A? do i need some type of control module or can i just bolt this stuff on without tuning and stuff. i would love if i can just hook this stuff up and go. Also, which Distributor should i get? theres quite a few to choose from, i just need a little guidence as far as which parts are required for a full MSD ignition system

 

Also i forgot, my rapid fires are platinum tipped and i heard that platinum tips plugs are bad for upgraded ignitions because they stay hot and can cause detonation and i have a service manual that tells me what to gap my plugs to but i don't think the manual was made after 84 they just assumed all would still apply. also i have different heads on my car, i really don't know what to gap the spark plugs to, and ONE MORE THING lol sorry, but the old plugs look like nomal plugs but the new ones have some kind of little nipple type thing on the electrode thats in the ceramic, (not the electrode the you bend to gap the plug) why is that? they are the same plug number and same company. ACdelco Rapidfire.
it sucks sometimes when you buy a car who someone already went to town with upgrades on, and you don't know what the hell they did sometimes.

 

I have my MSD 6al ground wire on a strut mount bolt and have no problems at all for about the past 6 months.

 

(Thanks for the help guys. What exactly does the 6al do? what is the new 7A? do i need some type of control module or can i just bolt this stuff on without tuning and stuff. i would love if i can just hook this stuff up and go. Also, which Distributor should i get? theres quite a few to choose from, i just need a little guidence as far as which parts are required for a full MSD ignition system)

(Also i forgot, my rapid fires are platinum tipped and i heard that platinum tips plugs are bad for upgraded ignitions because they stay hot and can cause detonation and i have a service manual that tells me what to gap my plugs to but i don't think the manual was made after 84 they just assumed all would still apply. also i have different heads on my car, i really don't know what to gap the spark plugs to, and ONE MORE THING lol sorry, but the old plugs look like nomal plugs but the new ones have some kind of little nipple type thing on the electrode thats in the ceramic, (not the electrode the you bend to gap the plug) why is that? they are the same plug number and same company. ACdelco Rapidfire.
it sucks sometimes when you buy a car who someone already went to town with upgrades on, and you don't know what the hell they did sometimes.)

A regular GM HEI distributor will be fine. As far as plugs go, as I said, rapidfires may work fine. The gap for your plugs is .045 but you will need to open the gap depending on what your compression ratio is. UP to 10.5 the gap is .055. Use regular number one AC delco plugs or get some autolites. You can hook up your MSD and the only thing that may happen is your idle will go up. Just readjust it. MSD has all this information available to you either before or after you but the box. If you want a complete MSD ignition call MSD directly and they will guide you as to what you need based on your vehicle specs. I believe their web site is msdignition.com. Hope this helps.

 

forgot to show my sig! Sry!

 

So what would be the correct filter for a 89 Formula 350 using MSD 6AL and MSD Blaster coil with stock distributor, 8910 or 8920????? Thanks

 

Did you find it out? My tach is also going down during accelerating and i need the tach adapter, don`t know wich one 90 t/a 305

thanks

 

MSD 8910 worked for me