Do not buy a Mallory Unilite Distributor !

[donsrods]

We just had a local race shop build a new 468 Olds engine for my Son Dan's RPU, to replace the one he has been running in it. While we were at it, I ordered a new cap, rotor, wires, and coil from Summit and last night we installed the parts. (A little history, my Sons and I are all running Unilite distributors on our cars and they have been flawless for years)

When I put the new cap on, I went to advance the timing and the new cap seemed loose on the distributor body. It was in a Mallory box and was the right part number, but I could take my hand and move it about 1/16 of an inch in all directions. I put the old cap back on, and it fit nice and tight, like they always did.

I called Summit and their tech guy said Mallory is no more, they have been bought out by MSD, and I would need to call them to see what was up. This morning I called them and they referred me to the Mallory Tech Dept. Nice man there said this is the second call he has gotten on the same issue and he wants my cap sent to him to see what is going on.

He gave me a little history lesson: In March of this year, Mallory was bought out by an investment group and all the parts are now made in Mexico, not the USA as previously done. He sounded very frustrated and said "Mallory does not exist any more". So I guess we have some orphans and will need to look for another brand. On Dans car, the problem is, there is NO room between the engine and firewall for a larger distributor, and the Mallory was very compact.

Just thought I would pass this along in case anyone has, or is thinking of buying, a Mallory distributor.
NAFTA sure has been great, hasn't it ???????????


Don

 

[Country Misfit]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Willowbilly3]

The story of our nation. The only way to get good stuff is to buy old stuff.

 

[Blue Eyed Devil]

Sorry to hear it Don. If you think NAFTA was bad, just wait until the Pandora's Box known as TPP opens upon us all. That's what has REALLY been going on while the government distracted the masses with gay marriage, mass shootings and a 150 year old piece of cloth. Our sovereignty has been sold right down the drain. Welcome to corporate America...

 

[soltz]

Don, is the problem the dist. or the cap? if i find a good used one might not be able to get parts that fit [cl
Thanks for the heads up, i'm about to get one for the sprint's new engine.

 

[Undercover Customs]

I use to love Unilite's when they first came out. Put em' in 3 cars and all was right with the world. Then one day, module went out. Luckily I was only couple blocks from home. Ordered a new module and went on a road trip. Thankfully I put the ole points dizzy in the trunk as the 2nd module went out out on the trip about 300 miles from home. Ended up losing the other 2 modules in the other cars within a few years. While it's great to not have to set points and deal with that crap points will usually always get you home.. I have 3 unilites with bad modules on the donations to the gods of speed shelf. They look great there...

 

[offroadrolls]

Check out Pertronix

It's a good way to turn a points dizzy into electronic. I've used it 3 or 4 times over the years and never had an issue.

 

[jfg455]

to be honest I've never had good luck with Mallory distributors. I've tried 4 different units over the years and always had drivability issues. Everything from misfires, caps that burn the center contact out and premature bushing wear. These were on different motors and cars etc.

 

[donsrods]

A little update: Yesterday morning we went to a local speedshop and found what is apparently one of the 209M caps we needed and it looks like a USA version. The color is solid red instead of a red mixed with some white flecks, like the Mexican one. When I put it on it fit very tight and I couldn't wiggle it around at all. We fired up the car and it has never run better.

The guy at Mallory tells me that the blue marine cap, 209D is the same and is still available in stock that was made in America, so we are going to order a few of those for the future.

Instead of sending the cap to Mallory, I am just returning it, along with the leaking coil, to Summit.

Don

 

[Old Iron]

When I built my son's 70 Camaro in '89, he bought a Mallory Unilite for it. I put it in and absolutely could not get a stable fire out of it to save my sole.
I took it back to the speed shop and traded it for a MSD.
When I built my '33, I bought a Mallory module to eliminate points, it lasted just long enough to break the engine in then quit (37.5 minutes).
I sent it in and they replace it, when I received it, I hung it on the wall as a reminder to never buy another Mallory part.