[moe66]

A few months ago I posted on here asking about installing a monte carlo bar in my 1966 mustang with a Blueprint 347 that came with an HEI distributor. Many of you strongly recommended that I swap out the HEI for something different. I took your advice, though probably went a little overboard.

I installed a MSD direct ignition system. Its a coil near plug system that utilizes MSD's dual synch distributor, LS3 coils and a DIS control box. The equipment is very high quality and the installation was very easy. The engine runs much stronger in the upper RPMs and I can install a monte carlo bar again! There is no vacuum or mechanical advance so all ignition tuning is done through a laptop, which has been fun to mess around with.

It was a fun project, though still on-going since I haven't finished the tune and I haven't seen another install like this before. On the plus side it also cleaned up the engine bay a bit.

Before:

After:

 

[LastDeadLast]

That's really moe66. That looks awesome!

I'm assuming that you're using crank trigger? If so, how did you fab up the wheel/sensor?

-Shannon

 

[Nos681]

Looks great.
Please share more details.

 

[moe66]

That's really moe66. That looks awesome!

I'm assuming that you're using crank trigger? If so, how did you fab up the wheel/sensor?

-Shannon

Thank you! I spent more time trying to clean up the wiring than it took to actually install the kit. No crank trigger required, the dual synch distributor provides both a cam and crank position signal to the DIS controller.

Edit: added a word for clarity.

 

[moe66]

Looks great.
Please share more details.

Thanks!

The coils are mounted to Holley LS3 relocation brackets which are mounted to the valve cover. The wiring harness for the coils connect to the main harness at the firewall, so it should make removing the valve covers and coil pack assembly fairly easy.

Tuning the ignition is simple, just connect a laptop to the DIS via the provided USB cable and you can set the ignition timing curve. You can also modify the timing curve based on the MAP and/or engine temperature. There is also step retard functionality if you're running a power adder, a two step limiter and you can tune the ignition timing per cylinder if you're so inclined. The DIS controller will also collect a limited amount of data for your review to help tune the ignition and you can easily tune the timing real-time / load different configuration files depending on what you're doing (e.g., daily driving vs the strip).

I haven't put the car on a dyno since I installed it, but the engine seems to pull harder through the mid-to high RPMs compared to the HEI distributor, but that could just be me trying to justify the price tag! The engine is still running with a carb, I have been looking to upgrade to EFI in the somewhat near future, but I would like to see if the Holley Sniper / Terminator units can adjust timing or if I need to tune EFI and ignition timing separately.

 

[stroker393]

I love the control you get with timing using the MSD. So easy to modify or run different curves.

 

[drzmat]

The engine is still running with a carb, I have been looking to upgrade to EFI in the somewhat near future, but I would like to see if the Holley Sniper / Terminator units can adjust timing or if I need to tune EFI and ignition timing separately.

The Sniper can adjust timing, however id say if your car runs great with the carb you should keep it that way, or at least go with another EFI unit since my sniper was not a big improvement vs my well tuned carb if you take in consideration all the trouble and money invested in that thing. Mine is now running good, but not great and i would still have to spend hundreds again to have it tuned professionally.

There is a lot of known issues with the sniper and i did experience some of them, its very frustrating since most of us buy these units to save the trouble of messing with a carb...

But, that is my personnal experience and i am sure there is some happy people with the Sniper on this forum as well

 

[gspitale]

Before I went crazy with mine I did a similar upgrade. I used an integrated port EFI and coil near plug / timing unit from Pro M racing. As you said, tuning was a pleasure!

I noticed a huge improvement in everything: idle quality, fuel mileage, mid and top end power were much better! Same as you - the only downside at all was the expense, but we’ll worth it in my book.

There’s a link to the system in the first page of my build if you’re interested in comparing.

1968 Coupe Restomod

1968 Mustang coupe - california car, nothing special or rare about the car. Bought it from a guy who put a ton of time/money into upgrading various things. It came with a well built 351W, Tremec TKO, 9" rear, weld in sub frame connectors, very nice custom Kooks exhaust. For about a year...

www.vintage-mustang.com

 

[blueovalfan68]

Thanks!

The coils are mounted to Holley LS3 relocation brackets which are mounted to the valve cover. The wiring harness for the coils connect to the main harness at the firewall, so it should make removing the valve covers and coil pack assembly fairly easy.

Tuning the ignition is simple, just connect a laptop to the DIS via the provided USB cable and you can set the ignition timing curve. You can also modify the timing curve based on the MAP and/or engine temperature. There is also step retard functionality if you're running a power adder, a two step limiter and you can tune the ignition timing per cylinder if you're so inclined. The DIS controller will also collect a limited amount of data for your review to help tune the ignition and you can easily tune the timing real-time / load different configuration files depending on what you're doing (e.g., daily driving vs the strip).

I haven't put the car on a dyno since I installed it, but the engine seems to pull harder through the mid-to high RPMs compared to the HEI distributor, but that could just be me trying to justify the price tag! The engine is still running with a carb, I have been looking to upgrade to EFI in the somewhat near future, but I would like to see if the Holley Sniper / Terminator units can adjust timing or if I need to tune EFI and ignition timing separately.

Appreciate your review on this. Your engine bay looks great!

If/when you switch to EFI, definitely interested in your experience with that, especially with this DIS setup you have.

Thanks again!


Sent from the interwebs... where else?

 

[kenash]

Can you share a link for this system. Would like to see the specs. Thanks!

 

[moe66]

Can you share a link for this system. Would like to see the specs. Thanks!

Here’s the link to the system I installed, it also comes in red but the black looked better with the blue paint on my car.
MSD 601523 MSD DIS Direct Ignition System Kit - Black

 

[moe66]

Before I went crazy with mine I did a similar upgrade. I used an integrated port EFI and coil near plug / timing unit from Pro M racing. As you said, tuning was a pleasure!

I noticed a huge improvement in everything: idle quality, fuel mileage, mid and top end power were much better! Same as you - the only downside at all was the expense, but we’ll worth it in my book.

There’s a link to the system in the first page of my build if you’re interested in comparing.

1968 Coupe Restomod

1968 Mustang coupe - california car, nothing special or rare about the car. Bought it from a guy who put a ton of time/money into upgrading various things. It came with a well built 351W, Tremec TKO, 9" rear, weld in sub frame connectors, very nice custom Kooks exhaust. For about a year...

www.vintage-mustang.com

I toyed with the idea of going MPFI, but the Holley solution is pretty expensive so I’m not ready to take the plunge yet. How did you like the pro M kit?

By the way, I went down the rabbit hole of reading through your thread. Your car is beautiful. I’m curious to know how you like the coyote once your car is on the road.

 

[gspitale]

That's a great looking system!

 

[gspitale]

I toyed with the idea of going MPFI, but the Holley solution is pretty expensive so I’m not ready to take the plunge yet. How did you like the pro M kit?

By the way, I went down the rabbit hole of reading through your thread. Your car is beautiful. I’m curious to know how you like the coyote once your car is on the road.

The Pro M was very nice. Easy to install - instructions were awesome. Great quality wiring harness. Tuning software was very easy to understand. I really liked that you had everything (timing and fuel) in one package. If I ever do another pushrod engine build I will definitely use it or something similar.

Honestly, I don't know if the MPFI is any better than a good TB based system, but I thought it looked cool. I put the whole kit on all at once, so can't tell whether the idle quality and mid/top end power improvements were from the ignition or the EFI, but the combo made a big difference.

 

[gspitale]

I toyed with the idea of going MPFI, but the Holley solution is pretty expensive so I’m not ready to take the plunge yet. How did you like the pro M kit?

By the way, I went down the rabbit hole of reading through your thread. Your car is beautiful. I’m curious to know how you like the coyote once your car is on the road.

Thanks for the kind words on my 68. The builder has logged about 100 miles on it now with test drives and engine tuning data logs. All feedback on the engine/trans/suspension combo is really good. The great thing about the Coyote platform (and some may consider this a negative) is that you get very smooth idle quality and high revving top end together.

 

[wicked93gs]

Nice setup. LS coils are some of the best OEM coils you can buy, I have a similar setup on my Folvo engine. They take up a bit of space but you can't argue with the results.

 

[602Raptor]

Your engine bay looks great!

I know MSD makes the Atomic EFI. Maybe look into seeing if that system will work with your new ignition. I'd think you'd want them to work together.

Atomic EFI - Holley