1974 1.8L Petronix pointless ignition.

Bought a Mallory 4554101 Please dont ask what it cost.

Anyway Review:Mallory Unilite.
1.Car starts easier.
2.very linear power,much more power below 3000 RPM.
3.Drives much nicer.
4.Supper easy install,if I can do it anyone can.(Although I have no idea what I did to get it running right,besides timing 7.5 BTDC.
5.Best bang for the buck bar none.

Question: What are the Grey springs????,

Are they worth trying to install over the stock springs in the Mallory.
Car does not have a lot more power in 5th gear,so wondering what the gray springs might do.
Any information would be appreciated.

I just installed Pertronix kit in my 74 1.8 but was considering the Mallory set up.

I would be interested on hearing more about your experiences as you tune it.

Why did you not go with a vacuum advance unit? I have read true mechanical advance is not good for typical street use, but I have also read that
the 74 914 1.8 did not use vacuum advance only retard. (A Hot topic of debate)

A stock one cleaned up with pertronix should perform the same but that's maybe just me trying to be a tightass,thinking you could spend money elsewhere unless the advance curve is better than the Bosch.

[quote name='porschetub' date='Oct 6 2015, 01:16 AM' post='2248226']
[quote name='pete000' post='2248205' date='Oct 6 2015, 06:26 PM']

A stock one cleaned up with pertronix should perform the same but that's maybe just me trying to be a tightass,thinking you could spend money elsewhere unless the advance curve is better than the Bosch.
[/quote]

I got the same results after installation of the Mallory Unilite. Plus, I no longer get pinging on hills and the engine runs on the cool side.

After the Unilite install, I disconnected my MSD ignition. Still runs great. Be sure to carry a spare optical module.

You got lucky... MSD bought Mallory and killed the 4554101 unit. There are no more being made.

Nothing I have found compares with the Mallory 4554101 for simplicity, tune ability, and effectiveness. The stock distributor does not have tight enough tolerances, and distributor cap terminals are too close together to compare to the Mallory. The Mallory is an exceptional unit to control spark scatter, especially at high RPM. Nothing is better for timing accuracy, than controlling spark scatter.

If you have a Mallory, hold onto it.. If you can still find one today, you better buy it. The MSD unit they have substituted for it does not fit with stock cooling systems, does not have the proper distributor clamp, and uses a hall effect sensor, not an optical sensor. It is no where near as tunable, and is pretty much set up for a drag race style application. I have never favored the MSD units, even in applications where they would fit.

Another good part is gone.

I had run my Petronix for about 1 month now,already changed injectors connectors,plugs,wires coil.

The problem was It felt like I had no advance when running.
Car was just slow very little power off the line or climbing hills.

I have one line from my throttle body to my 1 advance line on my distributor,and it made no difference plugging it in or leaving it unplugged when timing car,or running the car.

So from all the reading I did, it sounded like the Unilite was the way to go.
And it is.
When I say the car has more power,I am guessing the advance is working like its supposed to Now.
What used to take 1/2 throttle to go through the gears now takes 1/4 gas.

I have it timed off the red mark on the fan.
On the 1.8L this is the 7.5 degree mark.

Anyway if you can find one get one.
I tried to buy one from Aircooled but I think they thought they could not get me one.
But they did eventually find me one,but had bought one off ebay by then.
When I bought the car 3 months ago I had no idea it could be so much more fun to drive than when I bought it.

Car is running like a top,besides the oil leaks I could not be more happy.

I take Zero credit for any of it though,I did the labor but everyone hear told me how to do it.
So Thanks .

I did not get lucky LOL.

I saw a new one on Ebay,maybe 30 people looking at it,did not wait just bought it.
Converted to Canadian dollars with duty and shipping it was not a good deal,but glad I bought it just the same.

I know you setup all your Mallory distributors in house,but do you recommend leaving it stock or should I try the gray springs from aircooled.net.??/.any help would be appreciated.

Thanks Grant.

New alternator,new plug wires,new Alternator harness from the guy who makes them here,new motor ground,new alternator ground,,new injectors,new injector connectors,new plugs,new fuel lines,Pertronix.
Car was running pretty good.

Add a Unilite,car runs Really Really good.

Starts and runs,no stumbling trying to find idle at startup,no RPM surges,rock solid idle all the time cold or hot.Can pull from below 2000 without bucking.

The only problem I have is in 5th gear climbing a hill at 70 MPH at about 3100 RPM it does not have a lot of power.
From what I have been reading I probably should be down shifting???.

Since this is now no longer manufactured. I wonder how long before replacement distributor caps are no longer available.

Brett

They still make Unilite distributors, just not the VW model.

The grey springs make a big difference.

We have gone to a crank trigger now that all these Mallory units are gone for good.

In what condition was your original unit? Had you ever tried to clean and lube it?

i needed a dizzy so i reached into my stash. i had 10+ or so. it took 4 to make one good one. all the shims and washers and advance plates and...are broken or worn or...

has anyone tried that cb performance programmable thing?

http://www.cbperformance.com/SearchResults.asp?Cat=218

Figures by the time I figure out what works they are NLA

there is always Crankfire!
Ford EDIS with Megajolt controller.
I use it on everything, flawless spark control.

We're getting ready to test a MSD distributor on a customer engine.
Here are my observations so far:
They seem made to better QA standards than Mallory.
Spark plug wires need to be changed since the MSD cap uses HEI style contacts.
Only a very minor tin adjustment is required for the cap to fit, no different than for a Mallory.
Total advance and curve are user adjustable just like Mallory.
Only a minor change is required for the distributor to clamp down to the engine case correctly.
A MSD CD box is required, making the installed product more expensive than the Mallory, but you get a rev limiter as an added bonus.

Make sure that the coil you use is a 1.5 ohm coil. Bosch Blue coils and others generally used for other distributors are 3 ohm coils and will fry your Mallory on a stormy March afternoon during rush hour.

Our experience has been that Bosch blue coils are the best choice with a Mallory Distr.

I evaluated the MSD distributor replacement last week. Wasn't pleased with the results at all. They swore to us that the unit was different than the standard old T1 unit they had been supplying for fitment to the T4. This was;t the case, it compared perfectly to a T1 unit that I have had since 2007 in the dyno cell.

Some people may like them, because they can make more profit selling them.

You said you only sell crankfire? And there's less profit in that?

I run a 3-ohm Petronix.

That way I dont need a ballist resister in line.
At least that what I have read is the proper way to do it.??
Hope thats correct.

My ignition module is #605. Must be different from the one you use.

Here's the bit from the installation instructions.

Replacement UNILITE module. For all MALLORY UNILITE distributors, and Conversion Kits. Requires a 1.4ohms Ballast resistor, Loom resistor, or internally resisted coil. Also can replace the ACCEL Point Eliminator kit module.
Replacement UNILITE module. For all MALLORY UNILITE distributors, and Conversion Kits. Requires a 1.4ohms Ballast resistor, Loom resistor, or internally resisted coil.

I haven't sold a single part in almost 3 years. LN Engineering has owned the Type 4 Store since 2013....

We use crank triggered arrangements on turnkey engines.

Wow and you sell what again for huge profits?

So I am kind of lost now.

My coil has 3 ohm resistance.

Do I still need another resistor in line on top of the 3ohm from my coil.Thanks
Sorry for not understanding correctly.

Hmmmm....I'm using the MSD Blaster 2 coil with my Mallory Unilite. It's 0.7 ohms. But I've also got an MSD 6AL ignition module. I still haven't quite figured out what the PO was up to adding the 6AL I don't think it's really needed, is it?
At any rate, I've had no problems so far with it.

http://vwparts.aircooled.net/Mallory-Distr...e-p/4554101.htm.
This says it can be used with any coil with a resister of 1.5 ohm or more.
If you have a coil with 1.5 ohm or more itcan be run as a stand alone.

Ill order a spare optical and a surge protection,but last I heard from air cool was 5 weeks out for a surge protector from Mallory.
Anyway hope it works okay,so far so good.
If I am wrong Ill sure make sure to let yo guys know.
Thanks for all your help.

PO may have installed the MSD prior to the Mallory; I had done the same. When I disconnected the MSD the motor ran just fine. Always keep a 605 module on hand. Two things I learned about the module: 1) Working in the engine compartment and causing a short around ignition components can blow the 605. 2) There is a situation where the module only partially fails-the engine cuts out, but seems to start again after a short wait. This is rare, but nice to know, and it has been documented.

Lastly, the Mallory requires special spark plug wires. Great unit, best upgrade I ever added and well worth the money spent.

I just happen to have:
Malloy unilite with optical module (from Tangerine racing)
MSD 6AL digital (with rev limiter)
Bosch Blue coil
MSD Tach adapt.

It runs very well
And I log RPMs in my datalogger since the output of the Optical module is a nice clean 12VDC squarewave instead of a 400V noisy POS from a regular set of points.

It's possible, but the Mallory Unilite is on the engine build sheet from Original Customs, which was done right after he bought the car. The only thing I can guess is that he wanted the rev limiter that's on the MSD so he wouldn't damage his new engine.

What's a 605 module?

Does the MSD tach adapter keep the tach from being bouncy? My tach is fine while accelerating and upshifting. But a quick double clutch downshift will send it bouncing back and forth for a few seconds.