Being drag racers we used what the MSD reps at the races suggested, the one that died was new back then and easier to mount than the Mallory types were.
I hadn't heard of or knew of the any other brand or part number that would work well with those drag race type #7 boxes back then
I have one of the 8201 coils hooked to a MSD7AL2 on my S/P E 85 car with 15.0 to1 comp. ratio, it has worked very well since 2013 when I got the car and put it together. I do carry a spare box and coil but haven't needed either one yet so far
I have tried swapping the box on the car but not the coil, maybe that will be done next year at the races on the same day back-to-back instead of running one for the day and swapping them over that night and testing it the next day