Curious to get any thoughts…as I have posted here in the past I am using the FBO ignition system in my Hemi Charger, for exactly two years now. No complaints, the car runs well, lots of power, starts easily, all good. But…you can always do better right? I did recently have a rough running episode which after troubleshooting and swapping all is well again. (Maybe more swapping than troubleshooting, the coil seemed to be the culprit with a clear discoloration/distortion at the end cap. I had used an epoxy filled coil and went back to an oil filled unit, for insurance I swapped the voltage regulator and ECU just because I could (I had spares)).

But I started thinking. The other way I could have gone was to try a Pertronix II set up instead of the FBO ECU.

Anyone with real world experience with both and opinions you would be willing to share as to which would give me the best balance of overall performance? I have no problem modifying Mopar distributors, have a Sun machine and lots of spare parts.

So waste of time as they are comparable, or is the Pertronix II an interesting experiment?

Unless you can find an OLD pertronix stay with what you have , new pertronix quality is suspect , guy at work just got his MGB running with one and it lasted about 200 miles.

I've never run Pertronix, but have run MP orange-box system, Rev-N-Nator, MSD 6 boxes, and I'm old enough to have run the '60s OEM Mopar points deal.

Favorite set-up so far - for cars that don't have to look stock - was an FBO distributor w/plate, MSD6, and F-150 epoxy coil.
On a healthy 512" RB, it would light off immediately, ran clean & crisp. Initial IIRC was 18, max mech 36, and I ran vacuum advance.
Ran almost the same deal - without the FBO plate, dist had been curved - on a healthy Street Hemi; it ran crisply as well.

FWIW, I've seen no difference I could detect between the Standard LX101 (if I have the # right) and the Rev-N-Nator in the way a pretty stock 383 ran & drove.
I even called them for an explanation of the wonderfulness of their box, but all I heard was ad-speak.

I actually bench tested this system before installing it. MSD6A old school Accel super coil and slightly modded stock electronic distributor. I could get the spark to jump from the electrode(no wire connected) to the ground terminal on the coil. It ran awesome compared to the stock electronic ignition. You won't be sorry with the performance of the MSD. I would upgrade the coil if you plan on running one.

The old MSD were good but the new stuff is digital and prone to have problems. I’ve used Petronix and had one fail out of the box. I had one on my charger and decided to go with the FBO. it starts better and runs better. I install several on customers cars and they all start easier and run flawlessly. I’ll use them from now on. I’ve great results FBO.

No experience with the FBO. I’ve run petronix for decades without an issue. Latest has made it an about two thousand miles in the past three years. My understanding from a distributor guy is that they either fail out of the box or they are good.

Interesting input. Thanks. I should have added that stock appearing matters to me, that is why I dragged my feet on doing an MSD set up.

Wire the MSD box under dash and use the stock distributor. Leave old Mopar box on firewall. No one will know, If I wasn't using the MSD distributor you'd think I was on the orange box. My box sits on top of a piece of aluminum painted black that hides it under dash by heater box. The HVC coil is well hidden too. The coil wire is hidden and runs with the factory wire harness.

Mike

old chrome boxes are good, as well as the old LX101.
the newer versions seem to have trouble [perhaps chinesium internals ?], which i believe is related to the resistor/diode/gizmo thing on the outside of the box[es].
i remember something about the number stamped on that part that would tell a person if the box [internals] was a good one to try or avoid using.
unfortunately, i can't remember what it was.

I for one feel that an MSD on a street car, even mildly built is a total waste of money. I have removed many with no difference noted. I believe that like Fram, they have an excellent marketing dept.

I have used the Mopar ECU and MSD 6A for pump gas street cars, MSD7,7C and 7AL2 for my drag motors with the proper coils, work good, last a long time
I'm debating on using a MSD7C on my next drag motor that should make around 1000 HP on E85,15.0 to 1 compression maybe hit it with some NOS also
I have two of them on my shelf and I will dyno test that motor to seat the rings and look at the fuel distribution with twin E85 Dominator carb on a sheet metal intake and jet it if needed based on the EGT temps

I never got along with Don dues to seeing him cut a lot of corners on is business dealing and his drag race car

I have run an FBO set up on 2 cars, 70 440 Challenger R/T back in 2008 to 2015 when I sold the car, and have one currently in a 70 Cuda installed in 2017. Both 440 cars. Great results, quick starts ran well, no issues at all. I like the adjustable rev limiter on the control box. Only drawback is the FBO control box is not stock looking at all, but could be hidden easily if an issue in a restored car. I believe they also want you to run their coil for optimum performance if memory serves me correctly.

I had a Pertronix set-up in a 68 Charger R/T (stock restored car) with no issues. It was installed in 2015, sold the car in 2019, and still going strong with the current owner.

I have the old tried and true Mopar orange box set-up in my 70 383 Super Bee, been in the car since 1998 with no issues.

I have a Mopar chrome box set-up in my 68 Hemi GTX (fun fact, your old car ) also with no issues.


If I was to replace the ignition systems in the Bee or GTX I would go FBO. I like the way they want all of the cars information to set up the distributor (cam, gears, auto or stick, etc), I do not have a distributor machine or access to one so it's easier for me when they do the curve.


Hope this helps.