Mallory Unilite distributor

[fourthgear]

Description: I just put in my Mallory electronic ignition distributor the other day and I can not believe the diff. in starting and running at any speed

I just put in my Mallory electronic ignition distributor the other day and I can not believe the diff. in starting and running at any speed . My cold starts now are , short twist of throttle (CV ) , ign. on , no throttle , kick and she starts first kick every time . My hot starts are , ign. on ,no throttle , kick and starts right up first kick.
I set up the timing as per instructions , (line arrow on rotor with arrow on base and it should be close enough to start ) well @ 2050 rpms (thanks mbskeam for the Tiny Tac info , cool little device) , I turned on the timing light and the timing was dead on !!! I can not believe I could get that lucky ,but I was .
Now I never put a Mallory on with a bugle horn and it did make it more difficult to install. The three allen head screws that hold the cap on are difficult enough to install ( going thru the push rod tubes is bad enough)that horn really screws with ya putting that far right one on. ( note ; remove horn to remove or install Mallory )
I can not relay to all of you the diff. with this dist. on there and it complements the CV for sure . I drove to work today ( about 20 miles on I 95 @ 70-75mph) and all I can say is smooth , she purrs not like a kitten, but like a Tiger!
I know we would all like to keep the Panheads as close to stock configuration as possible, but the performance change from just swapping out the carb. and ign. ( what I believe are minor changes )make me think that some of the problems we have with these machines are with the old technologies that made them great machines. We all know they we not perfect with respect with todays standards , being what they had back then , is what they had . Putting that aside ,I have seen such a performance ( performance does not just mean speed , I mean all around performance , starting , acceleration, idling ,etc. )change with the carb. and now the dist. , words can not describe the difference from just a month ago when I started with the CV change out .
Mayby you can't got to a auto parts store and pick up a new module for the Mallory , but than again maybe you can. I went to the only place that carried Champion J12yc plugs(NAPA) and found that they are obsolete and will no longer be carried and they didn't have a cross over in stock . I had to got three more auto stores to find a cross over ACDelco plugs in stock. I believe we are coming to a cross roads in what we used to easily get and what is going to be able to get and maybe this Mallory module will be easier to find than a set of plugs or points . my two.

[Rammy]

Fourth,
What year is your pan? Can you use this timer with stk coil ext.?I`m sure it`s auto advance....

[fourthgear]

Rammy
The Mallory is a complete unit meaning the whole distributor(circuit breaker ,timer etc. 1936 -69 )and it calls for a 3-4 ohm coil , a stock coil (point type )will not work with electronic ign. , well it will work ,but its been said here and other places that a higher ohm coil ( point type )will eventually fry the electronic ign. module. I'm already running a 12V system and modern coil ( you need to be 12V volt system ) ,I have to look it up , but I think my coil is 4 ohm. I had to get plug wires for electronic ign. systems. Accel 8.8 mm wires( black) and they are resister type. They (Mallory )use an automotive fully adj. mechanical advance unit from Accel's YH automotive distributor. Hope that answers you Q.

[Bill Golightly]

"Mayby you can't got to a auto parts store and pick up a new module for the Mallory , but than again maybe you can."

Summit Racing has them as a stock item for $37.

[fourthgear]

Bill
That is good to know . I have had the Mallory for a while and wanted to get the Pan going as ORG. , I did that and now I'm making her better , some may not agree, but its all about my old ass starting her and the quality of the ride ,performance , fuel mileage and that last one is starting to get real important even for a motorcycle.
I have not even looked around for a spare module yet , but now that you put me in the right direction , I will pick up a spare . Why not I carry(ed) a spare set of plugs , points and condenser and 37 bucks isn't so bad now a days. Thanks.

[57pan]

fourthgear,

Just wondered if you have any numbers comparing the fuel economy since you have installed the CV and the Mallory?

[fourthgear]

I was getting 42mpg (alone ) 36mpg (w/rider ) with Linkert and point ign.,auto adv. , 53 mpg. (alone ) , 44 mpg (w/rider) with CV 40 and Mallory. I put the Mallory on too quick to get a good reading with just the CV.
Rider =Old lady.

[sleeper]

Fourthgear-

Maybe so, but your current MPG readings should still add some 'smile factor' to ya....... Big increase. Cool.. ;D
Another factor is that adding the Mallory & cv are not 1 way streets.. Meaning, if you wanna get stock (again) it's easy enough to do.. So enjoy

[ciciomero]

Hi guy, I am new ;D. I do not speak well English excused :. I have a 54 pan and a 75 shovel. I live in Italy. I have a problem on mine pan. It "beats in head" when the engine is under pressure. The distributor is a aftermarket of bad quality. I have changed the springs and also I have diminished the weight of the centrifugal masses. the motor is fresh, piston displacement 1600cc, head std, carb. s&s, cam I not remember but much push. I do not know what to make. I would want to buy a distributor mallory but I am not sure to resolve the problem :-/. what do You things about?
Pleas you answer easy!

[57pan]

ciciomero, welcome to the forum. What part of Italy do you live in? A couple of years ago my wife and I were on a bicycling tour in northern Italy - Cremona area. Very beautiful country but if you own a pan and a shovel you must own about half the Harleys in Italy ;D I think I only saw about 4 Harleys while we were there. And don't worry about your English - it's a lot better than my Italian. I admire anyone who can communicate in more than one language.
When you say that it "beats in head" do you mean that there is a knocking or pinging sound? And it only does this when you are applying throttle?
I'm sure you will get some better answers but it sounds to me like your timing is advanced too far.
If you are displacing 1600 cc it sounds like you have a seriously modifed motor. What is the compression ratio? It may be that the combination of high compression and the gas you are using is causing pre-detonation.
Just some ideas.

[ciciomero]

Hi 57 Pan, in Italy is much Harley. They are all new :-/. Little Harley is old ;D.
When I understand as to put pictures I put to them on the situated one .
Exact ;D my problem is compression ratio. I must lower the curve of advance of the points. I thought to put Hi 4 crain electronic ignition. Hi 4 has the possibility to lower the curve of the spark. What do you thing about this?

[daveyb]

fourthgear, what kind of coil are you using (ie. brand etc) and where did you get it? thanks, dave

[fourthgear]

daveyb
I still running the one I had on for the points . I know I should know better ,I just haven't got around to replacing it . Its made in USA and its is a 30,000 volt one(no published ohm specs), I think I got it from Jireh Cycles, I was told that to put out that much more that stock that the coil has to have a lower resistance than a stock one, I am going by what my elect. here said and really don't know that much about windings in a coil or what makes a higher or lower resistance , I know its the size and amount of windings with respect to the size of the wire. I will be putting a Crane coil on soon and it has a 3 ohm resistance and should work better than the one I have on there now.

[daveyb]

thank you for the info fourthgear. i read, on another site, a post by the guy who designed the mallory ignition for pans where he says it's ok to run any coil with little problem. i bought a 4 ohm coil for mine and the performance is improved. my old coil reads 5.6.

[fourthgear]

I keep meaning to test mine , even before I put it on, just wasn't a big deal because I was running points . I still think I will get better performance with a lower resistance coil . I don't think it will be noticeable but ya never know.