Hello....i currently am running a dual point dist. in my 66 428 ford (fe) engine and want to upgrade to electronic......i have looked at what is available and im think i want either a mallory unilite or an msd pro-billet....from what i understand the msd work on a magnetic pickup and the mallory on an led.....is there any advantages/disadvantages with these two styles......also....the mallory calls for the use of a ballast resistor...why is this?? i thought they were used only for points systems......and why doesnt msd recommend the use of this.....any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Well this is strictly a matter of opinion but I would definately recommend going with Mallory. When I decided to convert my Mustang over to electronic ignition I originally went with a MSD distributor because I had thought they were the best. Summit Racing sent me two MSD Pro Billit distributors, neither of which I even installed in my engine. I was totally disappointed in the machining quality of their rather expensive distributors. Somewhere in the archives of this forum are the threads I started that discussed the MSD problems. In the interest of customer satifaction Summit sent me a Mallory Unlite distributor, along with a Mallory Coil and Mallory Power Filter to complete the package (and credit to my credit card since the Mallory parts were less than the MSD stuff I originally ordered). I had run Mallory Dual-point distributors for years with good results so it was no surprise when I dropped that Unilite in and fired my baby right up. She's been running trouble free since. I highly recommend using their power filter since the Unilite modules are sensitive. The filter supresses any voltage spikes in the system to protect the module. If you look in my gallery one of the pictures shows the harness from the coil to the distributor with a little black plastic box in it, that's the filter. The entire conversion can be wired in a matter of minutes. If I remember correctly I called Mallory's tech line to make sure that I could run the system on my cars factory wiring since it has a resistance wire to the factory coil from the O.E. points system. Most manufacture tech lines are very helpful. I would scrap that dual-point and go electronic, you wont be sorry. As far as why Mallory didn't use a module and coil to run on full ignition voltage, no clue. I have also had the oportunity to talk to other guys running Unilites as well and most were happy. Either way, good luck.

Unilites are great distributors. I ran one in my pro-street car for 6 years with no problems. The only thing to consider with any aftermarket distributor is spare parts. If you have a problem on the road not every Napa parts store is going to have what you need. I always carried a spare module with me just in case. Never had to use it, but it gave me piece of mind anyway.

When it comes to the ballast resistor, some electronic units still use them at least up through the 70's or so. Chryslers high performance electronic ignitions used them for quite a while. It might be a carry over since way back Mallory distributors were OEM on Chrysler engines.

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thanks for all the help.....im going to be ordering a mallory later today!