Mallory Dissy

xrwagon

xrwagon

Well-known member
Are these things any good, back in my day everyone had a Mallory dual point, i see they are available to suit the 200 so at around 400 bucks US i had to ask, saw another brand on the Summit site as well with the coil on top. Bit of coin. Compared to the Classic ones is there any benefit?
 
Yes, because its easily re-curvable and able to be electronically ignited. Once its in the racers hands, knowledge is total. The factory US Duraspark is as good, but if its been in service it will be old and nerked.

When you are starting with something which won't need total reconditioning, its easier.

The DUI isn't immune to problems right off the shelf, common problems which even GM Hei's no longer have, and so buying the right stuff is just a simple process of asking those that use them.

If I was running a supercharged engine like you may be planning, where the setup must be simple and easily dialed in so its fit and forget, I'd use a Vertex or Scintilla Bendix Magneto. If you run an AM/FM stereo, it needs suppression, but a magneto really makes a nice fat spark, and is reliable and very much the option for something that needs a fat spark.
 
8) i have always found the mallory distributors to be rather bulletproof. the unilite triggering system on the other hand tends to be rather dodgy.
 
If price wasn’t an option i would go the magneto, forgoing this any opinions on the best dizzy you can buy, or modify, i have 2 ways i am possibly going as i can fund one now but cant fund the other, both builds involve doing the bottom end so its only a comp ratio that will differ and maybe pistons, the blown rout will be expensive but doable if i leave it a couple of months, the other build is the big solid cam, full head work on either a log or 2V and triple carbs, either way i would like a spark system that i buy once. ICE do kits in Australia, but i had a mate that told me that his own ignition boxes out perform the ICE one’s, the dizzy he uses is a factory XF falcon one that has been regraphed, ICE supply this in there kit for 1100 bucks, you get the dizzy, box, coil and leads. My big solid cam if i go that way is ground on a 109 lobe centre so vacuum is out.
 
EDIT: I've been a big proponent of the Mallory Distributors...top quality bushed, billeted, and component construction...heck you'd be hard pressed to find another make with the quality of caps & rotors (e.g. copper terminals) in the $500 market. Now that Prestolite took them over a couple years ago, I'm hoping they don't cheap out the brand, and so far it hasn't hurt quality.

I put 100k on my Mallory YL/Dual Point with this 200, and you could find nary any wear in the shaft play when I switched over to the Mallory Unilite.

As Rich alluded to the Unilites can be considered finicky, but there is generally one main issue that causes this IMO...improper installation. The Unilite is old technology and was designed to run in a resisted points ignition system at the time it was developed, so the optical trigger cannot be allowed to see a full 12v. Mallory's instructions have always been clear on this issue. Mallory and others sell external ballast resistors if using the Unilite as a stand alone distributor in a full 12v ignition system, but for early generation muscle cars it was intended to be a plug & play substitute for the common resisted points style dizzy, and folks over look that. You'll read over and over in posts in hot rod forums where people make the mistake of installing these in full 12v ignition systems and kill the optical module then maintain the product is substandard (but often the module doesn't die right off, and thus adds to the confusion)..anyway, sorry to belabor the Unilite story :deadhorse:

As far as the YL or the Unilite, if coupled with a CDI unit like Hyfire or MSD then the points or optical module see such nominal voltage as a pure 'trigger' they'll last practically forever.

I've run both the YL and Unilite on this 200 with great success...straight mechanical advance (the efficiency gain for maintaining optimal vacuum assist with differing carbs, etc. isn't worth the price of admission to me), and they're easily curved. I'd say that combo holds it own with any of the best aftermarket systems out there, again IMO.
Good luck (y)
 
thanks for info mate, thats what i was looking for, yes many folks don’t install items properly. I have seen first hand a bloke that cooked a clevo stroker on start up, to impatient to check things, firstly the dizzy was 180 out, was turning over but not starting so he put fuel down the carby and nothing, i turned up and spotted it and spun it around for him, next it fired, but seeing he had put fuel down the throat boom, singed eyebrows, i got him a baseline to run the cam in and the thing starts running hot, he forgot to rehook up his big twin thermos, by then the lump of iron was boiling and we had to shut it off 5 minutes into the cam break in, 680 though cam and he didn’t even remove the inner springs, the end result was wiped lobes, dissy gear was shot, we never spoke after that as none of this was his fault, i have also seen a remote oil system that flowed the wrong way, dats not good either, and another guy with a high revving holden motor, these things have bad harmonics and can loosed the fly wheel bolts, well even quicker if you have them FINGER tight. Electronics can easily be wired wrong, so with advice and double and triple checking when i do the igniton system on the built motor it will be right to go, my other option is to do my electric's now and make it all plug and play and dont have these issues while trying to run huge cams in and unknown carbs, might even keep my stock head and carby to bed the cam in, then change to the other head and carbs.
 
8) good information on the unilte robert. its been so long since i have dealt with one though o dont remember if we used a ballast resistor or not in that system. unfortunately the car owner was the one that dealt with the ignition system. he replaced the unilite with a mallory mini mag and we had no ignition issues after that.
 
A Factory / Rebuilt and RECURVED Ford Dist will do all you would ever need for Ign , for under 200.00 , If you already have a Mallory , they are a Good unit , but to buy new IMHO there are better bangs for the buck
 
do we repeat: go recurved DSII?
/OR/
DS I, for the racers?

All ears, here...
Thnx!
(a non-racer)
 
The Diff between a Duraspark and a Duraspark II Dist is just one uses the Big cap ,Also a 68-73 Points Dist ( recurved ) add a Pertronix style kit and its as much as 99% of Falcon 6cyls need , or use a Duraspark ( recurved ) and a GM 4pin Module , a better Coil and Wires are a nice Addition , BUT NOT really needed if the Stock stuff is ok , 99% of builds rarely see above 5000 rpm usage
 
Ok let me clarify , a VERY built Falcon six might run 13's , I have customers that use My recurved Dist's that turn 7000 Plus RPM's and run in the 8 second range , Spend more money than you need on the " Trick of the week " been in the Hi Performance Aftermarket since the Late 70's , I was trying to save you money and time so just disregard my advice
 
I wont go above 3000, I hope (70 - 80% off rd/30% on)
8^ )
But - hey, FSD, don't the DSI have a fatter spark?
I thought it ran thru a different system (still got "a box" tho)?
 
we seem to have some very good contributors on the forum here, so i will pose the question, lets get the ball rolling by telling us your best ignition system, dizzy, spark box, coil and leads, my intended use is street and race, my rev limit will be 6500-7000 and not over.
 
8) so far the best system i have used is;

DSll distributor
chrysler "orange" ignition box
msd blaster lll coil

i used that in my old 66 falcon. it would light off nicely even in 30 degree weather with no choke.
 
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