I have a 1988 Formula 242LS and am wanting to replace the Thunderbolt Distributor with a MSD. First of all is this advisable. And secondly what mods have to be done to remove the Thunderbolt IV ignition.. I have a pretty stock 454MAg. I have rebuilt it and installed a roller cam setup. But pretty stock other thatn that.

Jimmy

I'm almost sure MSD has a box that works with the TB 4 Crane also has one. A friend of mine put the MSD on his a couple of years ago just a few wires to hook up. Hang on there should be a slew of pros and cons coming. I have the FULL MSD (MARINE) package on mine and "0" problems so far.

I would like to rmove the Thunderbolt ign module and just use the MSD dist with mech advance. There may be many things I don't know and or understand about boat ignition. so please help.
Jimmy

I have a 540 that is making 600hp. The only change that I have made to my TBIV is the addition of a rev limiter. I'd save your money for a change that will actually increase the performance of your boat.

Ditto.

Unless you're having problems with the TBIV then I would keep it. If you wnt to upgrade, I would just add a crane box to the TB IV.

I just had Central Power & Rigging put on a full set of marine MSD on the Sutphen... distributors, coils, rev limiters... I will say one thing.. it will fire on the touch of the key now...

However I got the parts from a vendor at work who owed me a big favor... don't know if I would have done it if it weren't for that..

If you have the V8-20 or V6-16 module you can trigger the marine MSD ignition box from your T-Bolt system. These two modules have a very nice advance curve. If you have the V8-24 module I'd suggest either finding one of the other modules or going with the MSD package.
If you opt for the MSD package be sure to tailor the distributor advance curve to your boat instead of dropping the distributor into the motor with the factory-installed springs and bushing.
The Crane Hi6M box is also an excellent choice as it has built-in advance settings and can be triggered from your T-bolt distributor.

Without a supercharged or big cam engine, you'll see as much performance increase using a lunchbox, duct taped to the engine, with MSD written on it with a Sharpie.

Seriously, your options are:
1) stick with the Tbolt setup. Good choice if it works. They dont fail often.
2) Fire an MSD box with a Tbolt IV module on the existing distributor. Very popular on supercharged engines with the V6 module. I've found that the MSD module is just 1 extra thing to fail if you dont need it.
3) Replace the distributor with a MARINE mechanical advance (pionts, sensor, etc) type and add MSD box. That's a lot of expense for very little performance increase on a stock engine.

My distributor is bent (twisted) at the bottom where it connects the oil pump shaft. So I have to buy another. Do you recommend MSD or just replace the stock Thunderbolt distributor. And if I go MSD do I have to go with the Marine Distributor or can I get by with the standard dist.
Thanks

If you need to replace the distributor, check out DUI from Performance Distributors. Do a search here in the tech section. That should make your mind up.
http://www.performancedistributors.com/
Gary