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Are you wanting to lower your ET or to get more consistency (or both)
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vac adv? (I'm assuming not) #1 is if the bushing play is good which it generally is. #2 got an adv curve or locked out? If no vac adv could drill a vertical hole thru both plates and lock them solid (use a spacer on your mini bolt between the 2 plates) so it is not tilted as you tighten it, You're goal is to elim all play/keep everything stable. As you know check reluctor gap & want .006-8 on the tightest tooth (they can vary slightly) & better yet mill it so each one is the same. Get the rotor phasing dead on. try extending the rotor outer tip w solder as a large gap is wasted spark enrgy. 2 functions: trigger the current/proper adv curve & want no slop anywhere
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I would unhook the vac adv & shorten the slots for 35 total. Not sure what you would want the initial set at and what springs you would want as a full time 1/4 miler is out of my experience (a streeter you'd use the vac gauge method for the initial then the total to 35 (no vac adv hooked up or if used you unplug it & get 35 then replug it in) and springs that would keep you just under the pinging point @WOT on your hottest/driest day up thru the gears) and the initial would be finalized then the total then the springs. drill a 1/2" hole in the flat top of your dist cap about halfway between the center terminal and #1 terminal and in your driveway shine your timing light straight down on it to freeze it like what a strobe light does on a dance floor w the eng speed high enough to where the springs are all the way advanced & see if the rotor tip is dead on or near dead on to the underside of the #1 cap terminal (phasing). 1st narrow the tip to about 1/16" & extend the tip w solder to ~.030" or so & if (at speed) it is too far clockwise then w a vacuum pump crank in vac until the rotor shifts CCW enough till it is lined up & note the amt of vac needed on the gauge then shut it down/dissassemble the dist & vertically drill/pin the 2 plates w that amt of vac applied 1st to lock the phasing in that position. You want a dist w minimal play/check & correct phasing/disable/plug vac adv/finalize initial/shorten for 35 total/springs/equalize reluctor teeth/set gap at .008/extend and narrow rotor tip/toss the thick spring w the long loop/may need to add a spring to replace the heavy one you tossed. If the phasing needs to b shifted CW might exp w going to the other roll pin hole,
Quote:You'd see an improvement from the stock curve if you maxed out the initial/total/springs/elim the vac adv (strip only) but not alot of consistency improv unless the side play is way out of whack which on an elec dist usually it is OK. The pickup/reluctor is just an on//off device that triggers the ECU and alot of play will adversely affect it from triggering the ECU at the exact same point for each cyl as it wobbles. Not sure if MP or MSD would be the best way to go.
Just not sure if I should go with the MSD or the Mopar one & would I actually see any performance improvement.
Quote:Quote:You'd see an improvement from the stock curve if you maxed out the initial/total/springs/elim the vac adv (strip only) but not alot of consistency improv unless the side play is way out of whack which on an elec dist usually it is OK. The pickup/reluctor is just an on//off device that triggers the ECU and alot of play will adversely affect it from triggering the ECU at the exact same point for each cyl as it wobbles. Not sure if MP or MSD would be the best way to go.
Just not sure if I should go with the MSD or the Mopar one & would I actually see any performance improvement.
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I know you are leaning toward new but w money tight I'd sure consider another JY one that's low(er) mileage w tight bushings/shaft. You'll get the hang of undoing the center clip & since you are not running vac adv you can adj phasing & pin everything solid for cheap
Quote:Correct, I dont think you'll get near your moneys' worth that it would be better spent elsewhere. The torx screws on the MSD give much easier adjustability but once you get the hang of getting the clip in/out on the OE unit it's not bad. Almost forgot, on the reworking drive the roll pin out on the bottom shaft/remove collar/shim & add 1/2" ID shims till you get ~.010" end play
So it sounds like you dont think buying the MSD or any other new one would benefit me much. That reworking a stock one would require a little labor, but would work just as well. I just assumed the MSD would still outperform any stock unit.
Quote:Quote:Correct, I dont think you'll get near your moneys' worth that it would be better spent elsewhere. The torx screws on the MSD give much easier adjustability but once you get the hang of getting the clip in/out on the OE unit it's not bad. Almost forgot, on the reworking drive the roll pin out on the bottom shaft/remove collar/shim & add 1/2" ID shims till you get ~.010" end play
So it sounds like you dont think buying the MSD or any other new one would benefit me much. That reworking a stock one would require a little labor, but would work just as well. I just assumed the MSD would still outperform any stock unit.
Quote:(1)yes, get your phasing dead on then pin the 2 plates solid (2) w a dragger vac adv function gets confused w the vac changes. 35 total is a tried & true amt for a SB, unless it's a stroker or other special app which MAY vary which is not the case here.
So just to be clear. If I rework a stock distributor I can leave the vac. canister off? And I will pick up a noticable et improvement?
deffanately got my gears turning. Smoke comming out of my ears 
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I think Robert has really answered your questions here. Let me second that there is very little if anything to be gained in the ignition system, especially the distributor.
1. You already have a multispark CD which which covers misfires etc that come with a racy cam.
2. Locking down the vacuum advance plate and phasing may help consistancy - depends on how accurate the repeatable the current dizzy is.
3. Advance curve may or may not be close to ideal for your setup. Changing the total mechanical may help your quarter mile MPH and ET. You don't need a fancy distributor for that. Removing the vacuum advance on a fairly stock engine will almost definately hurt mpg. It also will likley hurt part throttle response unless a lighter primary spring is used.
The newer MP distributors are based on a Mallory design. (You can do a search and see the tech archoves for details). They are slightly easier to take apart and modify but parts are not interchangable with older MP/DC or stock distributors. Again I agree with Robert. For your money, stay with a stock distributor, JY or parts store.
Save the old one. You may find inside your 'new' distributor a different set of springs, or advance plate or vacuum canister. These may or may not work better than your current one. Obviously if there is side play in the current shaft - the new one will better in that respect. So you may end up one or more of those components to the new distributor. Like Robert posted, most of the time a hopped up small block will like the advance shortened. It depends on the idle characteristics of the cam with the CR etc of the engine. Long duration, high overlap cams like 16-18 degrees initial. Your cam may not be that bad, but it still may want more than stock.
The scientific way will be to find the least total advance that gives the best HP on dyno or best MPH at the 1/4 mile. Then if timing at idle rpm is too low, shorten the slots (or find a shorter advance plate).
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I just reread some of your post 'cause I had missed where you mentioned a spare dizzy.
First check for side play in the dizzy. As long as you have one that is OK, next start testing.
Do the easy stuff first. Taking the guts out is time consuming so go collect data first - it'll be more fun too.
Check to see if that 6 BTDC was with the vacuum advance hose plugged or not. Good chance if you were real new to things then, it might not have been. In that case the engine was seeing 6 plus the vac advance unless you have the vacuum advance hooked to the carb's 'ported vacuum' or if there is little engine vac at idle.
In your notebook, record the rpm and the timing. Do this with vac advance hooked up, and with the vacuum hose plugged.
Second, with the vacuum hose plugged, measure the full timing advance. You can either do this by taking it to the rpm it stops advancing, or use 2500 - 3000 rpm. The former is more complete info (but scarier to do) and the latter is what the Mopar Performance and many others use as a reference point. Most small block distributors will be fully in somewheres in this rpm range anyway.
You will need either timing tape on the damper (cheap!) or a timing light that can be adjusted (called dial back). With a stock damper, I like the MP timing tape 'cause it has white marks on black background. For timing lights, I've been most happy with the digital one (arcus brand?) I bought through Northern tool. It has dial back and rpm readout. Makes it easy to measure a whole bunch of points so I can draw a plot of the whole timing curve.
When you take the distributor apart, the advance slots are stamped with the number of degrees. So until you mess with it, that (divided by 2) will be the degrees of mechanical advance. Your advance plus initial should equal the max measured.
Tune on the track or the dyno for max mph, then you'll know if any changes need to be made in the amount of advance (slots). Once you have the amount of advance done, and therefore idle and total, then play with springs and vac canisters as you like.
Oh, Whats this about and Orange Box AND and MSD6? With any MSD 6, the Chrysler ECU should be strictly for back up.
Wires. Since you're using the stock style high voltage wires, when these get to the end of their life, get the best you can afford. I've found the Taylor-Vortex caps are really heavy and well made, and their wires are pretty good but not so heavy. MSD's wires are also pretty good and seem to be slightly more heat resistant.
So will you pick up a 1/10? I think it depends a lot on the current condition of your ignition and most of all the maximum advance. On my current motor, we found 2-4 degrees less than 32 really hurt horsepower from 3500-6000. In fact it was putting the peak hp down at 5200 instead of over 5600. Remember HP gains are more visible in the mph than the et so for testing, you want to record both.
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cool. Have fun.
Here's a good a guide for estimating initial timing requirements on modified engines.
http://www.barrygrant.com/demon/default.aspx?page=5
If it ends up being happy at 6 or 8, then thats that. More advance is not better, its just that its usually needed. You can see on the chart how increased duration (and therefore overlap) relates to initial timing.
Sounds like something with the start wire and the ballast resister layout. Yea, if works, I agree just leave for another day or never.