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Ignition Boxes
Pontiac V8 Ignition Boxes
Full Power Every Fire — Ignition Boxes for Pontiac V8s
An ignition box stores voltage in a capacitor and dumps it into the coil on command, so the spark is at full power at idle and still at full power at high rpm. On a Pontiac V8 that means cleaner starts, a steadier idle and a rev limiter standing between you and a missed shift.
Butler carries capacitive discharge boxes across the whole range: the MSD 6AL in digital and analog form, the extreme duty 6ALN, the 7AL-2 Plus and 7AL-3 drag race controllers, MSD Street Fire, the Pertronix 510, Speedmaster CD units and the Sniper HyperSpark box.
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More About Ignition Boxes
1. Do You Actually Need One
Before you buy a box, check what your distributor already does.
| You need one | With a Pro Billet style distributor. The MSD 8563 must be used with an MSD ignition control, and the TSP Pro Series requires an ignition control system and an external coil. |
| You do not | With an HEI or a ready-to-run distributor, because the module is already inside. The MSD 8528 works with or without a box. |
| You might want one anyway | A box adds multiple sparks at low rpm and a rev limiter, both of which are worth having on a street car even when the distributor does not require it. |
2. Street and Street/Strip
These are the boxes that suit a car that gets driven, and they differ mostly in energy and in how the rev limit is set.
| MSD Digital 6AL | 135 to 145 millijoules per spark, 520 to 540 volts primary, 45,000 volts secondary, and an rpm range of 15,000 at 14.4 volts. The rev limiter sits on top of the housing on two rotary dials in 100 rpm increments, and the wiring exits one end through a sealed, locking connector. Black or red. |
| MSD Street Fire | The budget CD box, at 95 millijoules per spark, 435 volts primary and 43,000 volts secondary, with an adjustable rev limiter on rotary dials. It carries a CARB E.O. number. |
| Pertronix 510 | 172 millijoules of spark energy with an integrated three-step digital rev limiter, an rpm triggered output, adjustable start retard, a tach output lead and onboard error logging, in a very small housing. |
| Speedmaster CD | A 6AL-style analog capacitive discharge box at 500 volts output and 115 millijoules, with a rotary switch rev limiter. |
3. Race Boxes
These add control over when the spark happens, not just how hard.
| MSD 7AL-2 Plus | 160 millijoules per spark, 570 volts primary and 47,000 volts secondary to 14,000 rpm, with a built-in two-step rev control, terminal strips for easier wiring and a diagnostic LED that flashes only when the coil fires. |
| MSD 7AL-3 | Three rev limits, a four-stage multi-step retard for nitrous, an rpm activated switch and an adjustable start retard, all set with plug-in modules. |
| MSD 6ALN | The extreme duty analog 6AL, built for circle track with the NASCAR mandated six-pin weathertight connector, the circuit board encased in silicone elastomer for vibration protection, 110 millijoules to 15,000 rpm and a rev control set by plug-in modules. |
4. EFI Boxes
A fuel injected Pontiac wants a box designed to live alongside an ECU.
| Sniper HyperSpark 2 | Half the size and 30 percent of the weight of the previous box, with 135 to 150 millijoules from idle to redline depending on components, filtered circuits against magnetic interference, built-in protection against open and shorted coil conditions, and a 12 pin connector. It is a direct replacement for the earlier HyperSpark box and uses the same harness. |
| Standalone use | A HyperSpark CD box and coil can be run with a conventional advance distributor, but the complete HyperSpark ignition package is built around a Holley EFI ECU. |
5. Wiring and Trigger
The box has to be told when to fire and the coil has to suit it.
| Trigger inputs | The 6AL family accepts trigger inputs from breaker points, amplifiers and magnetic pickups, so the same box will follow you from a stock distributor to a Pro Billet to a crank trigger. |
| Coil | Buy the coil in the same family as the box. The MSD Blaster SS, HVC and HVC-2 coils are each listed against specific MSD series. |
| Tach | If you are triggering off a magnetic pickup, a voltage or current triggered tachometer may need the MSD tach adapter stocked in the accessories section. |
Mount the box away from heat and where you can actually reach the rev limit dials. You will change that number more often than you expect.
Not sure what your Pontiac needs?
Email our tech team at tech@butlerperformance.com. Tell us your engine, heads, car, and power goal, and we will put the parts together as one combination that works.