progression ignition distributor review

Discussion in 'Street/strip 400/430/455' started by qak, Apr 15, 2021.

  1. Mart

    Mart Gold level member

    Any add'l news on this?
     
  2. Mart

    Mart Gold level member

    Pertaining to shortening it up to MSD height?
     
  3. inverse121

    inverse121 Well-Known Member

    I highly doubt there is enough demand for them to cancel their current production. You may try calling Ted or emailing him, he is super nice guy. I asked him about a non-standard or "black box" application and he wasn't interested.

    Just a year ago, there wasn't enough demand for them to make any more Buick distributors at all when I emailed. I'm pretty sure it's this forum and the great people on it that were the demand for what we have now.

    Height isn't an issue on my boat, but I can see where it might be for others. Given a choice I would have purchased the shorter one.

    If you have an old MSD and a drill press, swapping the electronics wouldn't be that difficult.
    I am pretty sure one can take a large cap HEI Chevy style and pull the guts out for a remote mount system ala the old Crane XR700.
     
    patwhac likes this.
  4. Canadian GS 350

    Canadian GS 350 Well-Known Member

    Ted is aware of the height issue. Ive sent him pics and dimensions of his distributor versus a stock distributor. I believe he can have these distributors manufactured in a shorter near stock height version. There is very little demand for Buick distributors, so he would have to go through his current inventory for any chance of a shorter version. Saying that, no one notices the extra height on my install other than the hard core Buick guys....really at the end of the day, who cares - the benefits far outweigh the extra height.
     
    chrisg, RegalBegal86, FLGS400 and 4 others like this.
  5. Mart

    Mart Gold level member

    So he sells the guts separately? I have a Mallory Unilite here that maybe would be a good candidate for the insides swap. Or maybe just send him the Mallory & let him do it up?
     
  6. inverse121

    inverse121 Well-Known Member

    I don't think he sells the guts, but you might try calling him, he is a nice guy.
    You can buy one of his distributors and take it apart which is what I was trying to say.
    I have 3 of them.
    I recently replaced a large cap with a small cap.
    The large cap looks like the module and sensors could be easily removed for a remote module install.
    The module takes input from the magnetic sensor.
    I'll take some pictures for you.
     
  7. Mart

    Mart Gold level member

    Just called Ted. The word is the guts won't fit in an MSD or Unilite because the body base/housing needs to be deeper for his pickup/ module. His are similar to MSD ready to run style distributors. All made in USA, He is now wrapped up in his new launch control feature, which is abt $200 more, but seems he will get to shortening the shaft and shaft housing when he gets time.
    Good news!
    And yes, very nice guy....:)
     
  8. inverse121

    inverse121 Well-Known Member

    That's great that he will shorten it.

    The guts can be run as a remote module. The software allows 4,6,8 cylinder choice, so this could be retrofitted like an old Crane XR700. Here is link to instructions for anyone not familiar. xr700 instructions.pdf (summitracing.com)

    The only problem I see with that is Ted would spend hours every day trying to talk knuckleheads through how to properly phase a distributor rotor for whatever engine they are working on.

    Here are some photos of my large cap and I think it will become clear.

    Look familiar?

    PI1.jpg

    HOT, GROUND, TACH wires

    PI2.jpg

    Standard magnetic pickup and connector
    PI3.jpg

    The MAP sensor is on the board. The black "hose" you see above is the vacuum/boost reference port that exits at the nipple below

    PI4.jpg
     
    FLGS400 and patwhac like this.
  9. 1968_GS400

    1968_GS400 Founders Club Member

    Did anyone switch from a points distributor when switching to this?

    If so, what coil, spark plugs, and spark plug wires did you go with?

    It says you have to bypass the ballast resistor and resistor wire and can’t use non-resistor plugs or solid core wires.

    Are the NGK UR4 6630 and AC Delco R44TS plugs non-resistor plugs?


    IMG_0840.jpeg
     
  10. john.schaefer77

    john.schaefer77 Well-Known Member

    Those are both resistor plugs.
     
    1968_GS400 likes this.
  11. Canadian GS 350

    Canadian GS 350 Well-Known Member

    Yes - went from points to Progression ignition. 72117170789__0956C899-77D5-40DA-81E2-9B2F6323E6C7.jpeg Run full 12 volts to the coil, recommended to use a blaster 2 coil. I just used regular resistor style NGK plugs, msd street fire 8 mm wires.
     
    patwhac, 1968_GS400 and Mark Demko like this.
  12. 1968_GS400

    1968_GS400 Founders Club Member

    Thanks. I went ahead and ordered one with black female cap. I was thinking of servicing and recurving the stock points distributor, but I thought this was better option and will allow me to test out different max and vacuum advance settings.
     
  13. 1968_GS400

    1968_GS400 Founders Club Member

    To run full 12 V to coil, do you have to run a new wire past the firewall inside the cabin or did you just splice it in somewhere? Do you have to remove your ignition switch to install the wire? Is it different on earlier cars vs later cars?

    I
    was trying to follow this thread to understand how you could keep the resistance wire in case I wanted to go back to points later.

    https://v8buick.com/index.php?threa...ystem-function-tests-and-modification.248990/
     
  14. 1968_GS400

    1968_GS400 Founders Club Member

    Looks like Larry gave good instructions here and said you can plug into firewall connector box and buy this wire. Then just have to change coil end likely.

    https://www.yearone.com/Product/1964-72-skylark-gs/l00510
     
  15. kingdaddycreel

    kingdaddycreel Well-Known Member

    I have had mine for sometime in my 38 coupe and it works good . Very convenient to mess with and get your set up . And the safety security lock works good . Don't ask me how I know lol
     
    1968_GS400 likes this.
  16. Canadian GS 350

    Canadian GS 350 Well-Known Member

    I pulled the engine wiring harness bulkhead off the firewall, found the connection and wire that goes to the coil - factory manual wiring diagram was a big help. Pull the resistance wire connector out of the bulkhead, ran a new wire and connector from the bulkhead to the coil. It provides full 12 volts even when cranking the engine. I added the blue wire You can see the braided cover on the resistance wire that i folded over and taped to the harness. So easy to go back to points system if ever needed. IMG_0149.jpeg
     
    1968_GS400, FLGS400 and DaWildcat like this.
  17. FLGS400

    FLGS400 Gold Level Contributor

    I did the same to my GS400, for power to the MSD 6AL. Was pretty easy and didn't take too long. This is what I used (though I don't think I got it from OPG):

    https://www.opgi.com/ignition-elect...1KMoN8lu2kzNLyo4UG-2mgAvJbRikPLRwXsgp_UhYfwXI
     
    1968_GS400 likes this.
  18. 1968_GS400

    1968_GS400 Founders Club Member

    Review on that one says it wasn’t long enough for 72 Skylark, but who knows where guy was trying to reach. Looks like same one YearOne is selling which says it’s 4 foot long.
     
    FLGS400 likes this.
  19. Canadian GS 350

    Canadian GS 350 Well-Known Member

    Make your own. Buy a gm style connector and run it to the coil following the stock harness.
     
  20. FLGS400

    FLGS400 Gold Level Contributor

    That's the one I bought...

    Knowing what I do now, I probably should have and saved a few bucks!
     

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