Posted by Todd Wilson on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 at 10:57PM :
In Reply to: 440 ignition options posted by Pieter on Wednesday, March 03, 2004 at 8:18PM :
If its a points ignition setup you can get a electronic ignition conversion kit to convert it. Otherwise you are wasting money buying all you mentioned. If you suspect the distributor is wore or the vacuum advance diaphram is shot then replace the distributor. You can get one at a parts store fairly cheap or order Mopars from Summit which is curved more for racing and or performance. The orange box ecu will give you a bit more spark and is stable at higher RPMS as compared to the factory ecu boxs. 440's dont usually turn more then 5000rpms so the orange box is just fine.
The MSD is a good unit but more money and dependant on MSD parts if something goes bad. Not all parts houses carry MSD.
The DUI HEI setup is only good in certain situations. The muscle car guys are finding problems with clearance issues in the air cleaner and or AC compressor area and alternator brack area on the big blocks. Have heard of valve cover problems also. I would stay away from this also as its not a popular setup and could be hard to get parts for it right now if you happen to have an ignition failure out on the road. The Mopar stuff is fairly common with a lot of years and it a standard part at the parts store.
440's are tempermental on certain weather conditions and it is usually some timing and carb problems.
ECU's either work or dont work.
I have seen a ballast resistor create a miss and/or backfire thru the carb. Always run the highest octane fuel you can get or you will have problems. 38 degree's total advance on the timing.
Todd