I am about to finally put headers and good exhaust on my Camaro and would like to upgrade the ignition as well. Right now I just have a stock HEI with unknown miles on it. I don't want to go way overboard and buy a whole bunch of stuff that really isn't needed for a mild streetcar that may see the track once or twice a year. I do know that I want a rev limiter because I have been known to miss a gear now and then and zing the engine pretty high. Not a daily driver if that matters. Here is my setup that will soon be completed.

350
Pro Topline 200 cc heads
XE274 cam with 1:6 roller tips
RPM Air-Gap intake
650 Speed Demon mech secondarys
Headers and good 3" exhaust

Think that I will need to shift at 6000 - 6200 rpms

RB, 5-7, and some of the other resident old timers please chime in.

 

Well, I am neither RB nor five7. Nor am I old. But i will offer my limited knowledge advice anyways.

What are you looking to upgrade? The entire thing? Or just a method of rev control? If you are upgrading the entire thing, I would suggest the 6AL ignition box. The 6AL uses the rev pills to control RPMs. The 6Al uses the 2 stage rev control for both launching and over revving. The nice thing about the MSD rev conrol is instead of just "stopping" it, it drops the spark on a cycle and then picks it up again on the next cycle.

If all you want is rev control, MSD offers a soft touch rev control add on to the OEM system. It limits the RPMs in the same way that the 6AL does. The circuitry drops the spark for certain cyl's and picks it up again next cycle.

Again, either of these would depend on what you planning on upgrading.

Sorry I'm not RB or five7 or any other "old guys."

 

crane fire ball come's with a coil and you can get a plug in harness thats what i did

 

Thats what I'm not sure of, do I need to change everything or just add something? If I recurve the advance on the stock HEI is it just as good as a distributor from MSD? Will a whole MSD ignition pick up 20 hp? This is what I'm not sure of. I don't want to blow a couple hundred bucks on something that I won't benefit from in my application.

I wasn't trying to discourage anybody from replying, just I like to here from the ones who have done this stuff for a while. RB kinda walked me through installing my 4.10's a couple months ago and I like his advise.

 

A curve is a curve is a curve. Don't try to replicate an MSD curve. Make a curve that fits your engine. I would say the same for whatever distributor gets purchased. Setting a timing curve is a tuning process, not a match this or that product. Will you pick up 20 hp? No. Will it provide a more complete spark due to a more intense spark? Yes. Depending on what coil you are using now, this could be a vast difference in spark energy/intensity. Another thing is quality or parts. MSD is MSD. Enough said. High quality parts. While there is nothing WRONG with GM components, they can be "lacking" compared to the MSD designs.

Remember, you don't have to replace the entire unit. MSD also offers a full line of accessories to give your distributor a "face lift." This could range from a simple cap and rotor to a full Ultimate HEI kit. If you are content with your distributor, you could buy an advance kit and a few other innards to it and just make the guts better.

Need to ask yourself: do you need the 2 stage rev control and all the other features of the 6AL? You could get a Ultimate HEI kit and that little soft touch rev control for OEM aplications. That would give you a hotter-than-stock spark and the protection of rev control. However, i have used the 6AL and would highly recommend it as an ignition box, if that is the route you plan on taking.

What is the budget on ignition components?

 

Thanks, recurving the HEI, adding a better coil, and that 6AL box sounds like a good route. $250 - $300 should cover everthing and that is probably OK.