[DeTomaso] MSD 6AL failure modes

[JDeRyke at aol.com]

Total failure with both MSD and nost other electronic ignitions, although 
it may take a minute or two if you persist in running the engine after it 
starts running oddly. The only known electronic ignition that can PARTIALLY 
fail is the Pertronix drop-in, which seems to have a built-in limp-home mode. 
One Nor-Cal owner drove his car for a year after his Pertronix started 
running sick. There are other Pertronix models besides the drop in conversion but 
I have no info on them- they may fail differently.

Bottom line- If you run a Mallory, a Duraspark or a MSD, carry a spare 
control box because it's almost never the distributor pickup module that fails. 
NASCAR racers permanently mount TWO control boxes in their cars and MSD 
sells a special switch to go from one box to the other for zero delay during an 
event. This might work best for you, given where you live and service 
available. High heat and vibration can kill any control box as well as voltage 
spikes, so those might be something to look at if you or someone in your areas 
is into chasing electrons.   FWIW- J DeRyke