Ignition Lesson please

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rod7515

rod7515

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I am working on a small block 408 in a 66 single ballast system. During some of my purchases for parts for this car I acquired some procomp ignition parts that were combined in a deal with an intake and carbs. Now since I hadnt been involved in muscle cars for about 25 years while raising a family I lost track of terms and what the improvements are. I am not sure I understand the term "dizzy or 6AL". Back in my day there were coils, points, ignition box or modules and pickups inside distributor. Now I know there are big debates concerning the value of the procomp line but since I have it I am going to give it a try, so please dont bash these products. If I need to change directions later I will. They were free as part of a deal. I was hoping someoone would be able to explain the new terms and the difference with them compared to the 80's. lol The part number on these boxes are: box PC-2015, dist- PN8006D and coil PC2041D.

Problem with this setup is there are no instructions other then the diagram on the back of the ignition box. First question about this setup, am I going to have to connect my wires from the ballast together? Now for the wiring from the box, I understand the 2 large wires (red&black) for the battery positive and ground. Then the 2 wires for the coil (orange and black). Single red wire to a hot 12v ignition. Now as for the green wire it is saying tach and I havent purchased that yet. Can I start the car without this hooked up? also when I do get my tach which lead will this be? Lastly is the white which is for the points or amplified outlet, which wire on this distributor would that be? The black with brown tracer or the plain black and what would the other wire go to left from the distributor? Here are some pics of the actual parts:

View attachment DSCN3984.jpg

View attachment DSCN3985.jpg

View attachment DSCN3986.jpg

View attachment DSCN3987.jpg

Lastly how does the dial which I am assuming is some type of rev limiter work? Is it something that you use? or just a gimmick?
Thanks in advance for any help you can give
Rod
 
rod7515 said:
I am working on a small block 408 in a 66 single ballast system. During some of my purchases for parts for this car I acquired some procomp ignition parts that were combined in a deal with an intake and carbs. Now since I hadnt been involved in muscle cars for about 25 years while raising a family I lost track of terms and what the improvements are. I am not sure I understand the term "dizzy or 6AL".(distributor and MSD 6AL ignition box) Back in my day there were coils, points, ignition box or modules and pickups inside distributor. Now I know there are big debates concerning the value of the procomp line but since I have it I am going to give it a try, so please dont bash these products. If I need to change directions later I will. They were free as part of a deal. I was hoping someoone would be able to explain the new terms and the difference with them compared to the 80's. lol The part number on these boxes are: box PC-2015, dist- PN8006D and coil PC2041D.

Problem with this setup is there are no instructions other then the diagram on the back of the ignition box. First question about this setup, am I going to have to connect my wires from the ballast together?(This is best) Now for the wiring from the box, I understand the 2 large wires (red&black) for the battery positive and ground. Then the 2 wires for the coil (orange and black). Single red wire to a hot 12v ignition. Now as for the green wire it is saying tach and I havent purchased that yet. Can I start the car without this hooked up? Yes also when I do get my tach which lead will this be? (the one that would normally go to the coil negative) Lastly is the white which is for the points or amplified outlet, which wire on this distributor would that be? The black with brown tracer or the plain black and what would the other wire go to left from the distributor?
Click to expand...

Procomp sucks about directions, but you might try a Google search for a better diagram.
Also I sure there is someone around here that knows these parts better than I do.
 
After doing some research I think I was incorrect in saying that the second set of wires from the box are not used. It appears that the double wires are the wires that go to the distributor. I still am not sure how to tell on the distributor which one of the 2 are the negative and positive. Still many questions that I am hoping someone here on the forum can help with.
Thanks
Rod
 
rod7515 said:
After doing some research I think I was incorrect in saying that the second set of wires from the box are not used. It appears that the double wires are the wires that go to the distributor. I still am not sure how to tell on the distributor which one of the 2 are the negative and positive. Still many questions that I am hoping someone here on the forum can help with.
Thanks
Rod
Click to expand...

Everything I have seen on the Procomp distribs says the black wire is ground and the (other, whatever it was) is positive.
That being said, I didn't see any others with a black and a brown wire.
(But they ALL said black was ground)
Personally I'd go with that, but you still may want to call them.
 
a quick google..and found this
 

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"dizzy" is slang for "distributor". "6AL" is a PN for a common MSD ignition box.

Don't connect the thick 12 V lead directly to your battery or it will always be on and run down your battery overnight. Best to use a relay, actuated by your key switch. For that, remove the ballast, connect IGN1 and IGN2 wires together (blu & brn most years, I recall) and run that to the relay coil. You could use that directly without a relay, but then might get drops or erratic connections thru the key switch and bulkhead connector.
 
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