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Mallory Distributor

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M

Money_Pit

Jedi Hopeful
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Thinking of changing to Mallory distribtor. Can anyone advise me as to which model would be best suited for my BJ7 and perhaps a source in Canada. Thanks!

DT
 
C

Coastalman

Jedi Warrior
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I have the dual point mechanical advance Mallory on my 1966 BJ8 and it works very well. No complaints! I would recommend it.
Charlie
 
GregW

GregW

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Hi DT,
It looks like one size fits all British cars for each Mallory (Unilite, dual point) as far as Moss is concerned. Do a cross reference on their site for part number 543-040 or 543-045. I’ve never heard of a 6 cylinder MGA (though I’ve seen a V-12). Two things to note: you have to use your old drive dog and drill a hole in the Mallory, instructions are included. Second is apparently the Mallory doesn’t work with a mechanical tach. Other than that, I've had a couple of them over the years including the Healey and can't find any faults with them. My '67 Mustang had huge gains from one. Hard to say with the Healey though since I did a package deal upgrade.
 
GregW

GregW

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Sure, I have a Pertronix in my Mallory, but working only as a trigger for a multi spark ignition system.
 
GregW

GregW

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I guess it depends on your driving tastes. If you like to cruise around and enjoy the great outdoors, go with the vacuum advance for better gas economy. If you crave the canyons at WOT, the mechanical advance (only) will do the same thing, but for less money.
 
Dave Russell

Dave Russell

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Right Greg,
The vacuum advance only improves fuel economy & possibly gives a little better part throttle response. It's out of the picture at higher throttle openings.

On the other hand, The very adjustable centrifugal advance in the Mallory "can" give a performance advantage if properly set up. But so can the Lucas if the centrifugal advance is properly set up. The Lucas just "may" be harder to get set to match the engine.

I have a couple of MSD6AL's that could be set up with points or the Pertronix. I consider the MSD to be gross overkill & it draws something like 20 plus amps at high rpm. It was necessary when running nitrous oxide due to the obvious consequences of a full power mis-fire which can blow the stuffing out of the air cleaners & even remove part of the intake system.
D
 
GregW

GregW

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Good Morning Dave,
I had looked at a bunch of ignition boxes before Pertronix came out with their Second Strike box and decided to go with the Jacobs ProStreet system. It has multi-spark up to 10,000 RPM and draws about 11 amps at that RPM. My alternator should handle the higher demands. Though I doubt I’ll ever be driving on a cold rainy night listening to music at redline, you never know. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif Overkill? Sure ‘nuf. But I considered it a fun challenge to see if I could make it work. Most people would say why bother? Guess it helps me fight boredom.
 
Michael Oritt

Michael Oritt

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I've had a Mallory Unilite on my 100 for about six years--no problems whatever except for a ground wire once going open. BTW I use the non-vacuum advance configuration. You can also go to the MagLite--the techs at Mr. Gasket (owner of Mallory) said that the Unilite has proven a bit more reliable but IMHO either is preferrable to points, condenser, etc. Do get the ballast resistor.

Go to the Century auto site and find the Mallory matrix--Century's prices are a fraction of that asked by Moss--Jeff seemed very knowledgeable. Obviusly you need the 4-cylinder version for 100's (spec'd for Triumph, Hillman, etc. I believe) and the same one as for Jag's for all other Healeys--LH rotation obviously.
 
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M

Money_Pit

Jedi Hopeful
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M

Money_Pit

Jedi Hopeful
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What will I do with all my spare time not having to worry about finding a good quality replacement rotor or cap????
The last replacement cap I was quoted on was $70. which was really what got me thinkin about the whole dizzy switch!

DT
 
GregW

GregW

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Money_Pit said:
What will I do with all my spare time not having to worry about finding a good quality replacement rotor or cap????DT
Click to expand...
It's an old British car. It will find other things to occupy your time for you.
 
Dave Russell

Dave Russell

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Strange how peoples experiences are so different on distributors. I had my old DM2 distributor's centrifugal advance mechanism replaced with the still old but improved 25D assembly & custom advance curve. Have had a Pertronix module & coil installed for years. The rotor is a 40 year old Echlin brand, the cap is about the same age. Even the wires are pretty old but still in good condition. Engine runs smoothly & strongly to 6,000 rpm, 9.8 to 1 compression ratio, nary a problem.

I have a spare Lucas rotor with rivet removed & set in JB Weld, it's tested & kept as a spare, but I doubt it will be needed. I suspect part of the success is in keeping the plug gaps to no more than .030" which reduces insulation stresses on all related parts.
D
 
Randy Forbes

Randy Forbes

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Michael Oritt said:
I've had a Mallory Unilite on my 100 for about six years--no problems whatever except for a ground wire once going open. BTW I use the non-vacuum advance configuration. You can also go to the MagLite--the techs at Mr. Gasket (owner of Mallory) said that the Unilite has proven a bit more reliable but IMHO either is preferrable to points, condenser, etc. Do get the ballast resistor.

Go to the Century auto site and find the Mallory matrix--Century's prices are a fraction of that asked by Moss--Jeff seemed very knowledgeable. Obviusly you need the 4-cylinder version for 100's (spec'd for Triumph, Hillman, etc. I believe) and the same one as for Jag's for all other Healeys--LH rotation obviously.
Click to expand...
Michael, can you provide a little more information about Century Auto? My usual search tactics have come up short.

Thanks!
 
Randy Forbes

Randy Forbes

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Randy Forbes said:
Michael Oritt said:
I've had a Mallory Unilite on my 100 for about six years--no problems whatever except for a ground wire once going open. BTW I use the non-vacuum advance configuration. You can also go to the MagLite--the techs at Mr. Gasket (owner of Mallory) said that the Unilite has proven a bit more reliable but IMHO either is preferrable to points, condenser, etc. Do get the ballast resistor.

Go to the Century auto site and find the Mallory matrix--Century's prices are a fraction of that asked by Moss--Jeff seemed very knowledgeable. Obviusly you need the 4-cylinder version for 100's (spec'd for Triumph, Hillman, etc. I believe) and the same one as for Jag's for all other Healeys--LH rotation obviously.
Click to expand...
Michael, can you provide a little more information about Century Auto? My usual search tactics have come up short.

Thanks!
Click to expand...
Does anyone know the website for Century Auto? I'm really liking the sound of that "fraction of Moss' price" thing.

Thanks!
 
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