Msd strret fire ignition help

[project g-force]

I just picked up a msd street fire ignition and a msd blaster coil from a friend and i was wondering if i could use it with a hei distributor for my chevy 350, because i dont have any instructions with it and because my distributor doesnt have a plug for the coil. could i just replace the cap

[H2Ogbodies]

You won't need th ecoil but honestly i would stay away from Mediocre Spasmatic Discharge ignitions altogether. Go with Mallory unless you like replacing ignition stuff once a year. Why'd your friend 'give you" the MSD stuff anyway.....?

[kryptik]

I have to disagree...

First of all most issues with the MSD are due to improper installation (particularly poor grounding resulting in overheated components, as well as mounting locations close to heat sources).

Had a full MSD setup in my 68 before I totaled it, and let me tell you was it a strong ignition for the two years it was in use. Started properly every day in the cold, never had heat soak problems, ran extremely efficiently with good economy/power, and fairly easy to work with.

On the other hand I must say that their "techs" are absolutely subpar...and dealing with them is nothing but frustrating due to their lack of knowledge of their own components.

About the grounding issue...I did burn out an MSD pro-billet but this is only because the ground was an extremely poor distributor-frame ground to a trunk mounted battery...end result was heat buildup in the distributor pickup itself causing it to burn out. I finally ran a 2/0 high quality ground cable from the trunk to a common point on the frame, and ran a direct from the dizzy to that common point. Never had trouble again.

Don't blame MSD until you carefully go over your installation...electrical work is a lot more delicate and detail-oriented than most want to believe.

[Randy67]

I've had good luck with a Streetfire box. You should be able to get the instructions from the website. Look here:
http://www.msdignition.com/instructiondownload.aspx