I am looking for a good set of wires and coil. What would be the best ones to get Accel or MSD?

 

I would go with the MSD coil, I have personally had a bad experience with an Accel on a '72 Charger I used to have, MSD wires are excellent also, Taylor Thundervolt 8.2's are just as good and about $20 to $30 cheaper depending where you get em, Summit sells them both. Try to stay away from the "universal" wires that you need to assemble yourself.

 

do new wires really help with power gains?

 

In hot climates wires and rubber parts dry rot fairly quickly. I'm replacing ignition wires here in AZ every year.
I would stay away from MSD and Accel as quality control is not good and I've had brand new wires arc like a Xmas tree at night.
There is no substitute for a good tune.

I don't know if a new coil will give much of a power gain. Chrysler has had a powerful electronic ignition since the early 70s. Most modern stock coils/ignitions are good for 300 rwhp stock.

 

I put MSD 8.5mm wires on mine when I changed the cap & rotor and plugs. Hard to say if the wires did it - but I have more power now. I was very careful to remove and reinstall the split loom that protects the wires from rubbing each other close to the dist., and to re route the wires as they were originally. I have not experienced any arcing or misfiring. Don't know if the $90 MSD's are worth it.......but you know....they LOOK pretty!

 

Hey Racinfan83, I am getting ready to tackle that project myself. I have heard that the wire routing is very important and I don't want to mess that up. I also noticed the clips that the wires are in a long the block to the distributor and it looks like its pretty tight back there to change the cap and rotor. Any tricks you noticed while doing that project? Thanks

 

It took me 3 hours to carefully change cap, rotor, wires, and plugs. The first thing I would suggest is to get a diagram of how the wires are routed and the firing order, etc. I found one on a forum somewhere, and like a dummy didn't bookmark it. So all I can tell you is to look on the internet. You can't just switch the wires from the old cap to the new - there isn't room. I pulled all the wires off the cap, put the new cap and rotor on, (make sure u get the rotor pushed all the way down and seated) and then changed and routed 1 wire at a time. The diagram is very useful to ensure the wires get put in the right order on the cap. If u use 8.5mm wires like I did the factory wire clips will need some enlarging with a drill for the wires to fit in them. Or you can get aftermarket clips that fit. I also removed the factory split-loom from the old wires and put it on the new wires. I'm not gonna kid u, this job is not fun, but if u want it done right, do it yourself. I also placed a large piece of folded cardboard across the radiator & front of engine to kinda lay on. If u do 1 at a time u can get the routing right. Be careful not to knock loose any vacuum lines or wires when u do all this. Oh, and remove the air cleaner 1st, put a rag over the TB. This will give u more room.

 

I have never changed plug wires on a truck before but have ordered some MSD plug wires that should be here tomorrow and some Autolite plugs from Autozone and Napa Cap and rotor I plan to install myself unless I get in a pinch and need it done quickly.

 

I finished installing the plugs and wires over the weekend. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be and the best thing to do is take the time to get the area set up. Routing the wires wasn't too bad, I just fished the new ones behind the old ones as I went along. I didn't get to the cap or rotor because it did look intimidating and it was getting to cold outside. The cap looks really old so I do need to get it replaced. If its really to tight to just swap wheile the old and new are back there then I guess I will just label the wires, take a pic, and swap them out. I can tell by doing this though, that if you can, it would be best to do this yourself. Too many people will just take shortcuts and the job won't be done correctly. The hardest part was just removing the old wires. My truck has 95000 miles on it and I dont know if the wires have ever been changed. They were mopar wires and were very dry, dirty, and old. I just used 7mm wires so they fit in the clips without having to drill.

 

I'd go with the MSD 8.5 superconductors... Ive had them on the last 3 vehicles and the only problem I had was when a tech yanked on a plug wire and broke it... serves me right for not fixing it myself... (that was several years back btw).