What kind of ignition does the merc 454 mag carb use (1997)? I don't know if it's electronic or points. I'm wondering if there's anything to be gained with an MSD billet marine distributor and MSD spark box, or just leave it alone.

It's a thunderbolt, electronic. Leave it.
One of my previous quotes regarding MSD:

"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."

See this thread:
http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/s...d.php?t=107197

Thanks for the info. What's the best rev-limiter to get? My 22 classic gets air'd out quite often and I'm still learning to manage the throttle.

whats your address ?

I'll ship my wife to ya ......

Now that's funny!

LMAO!!

a 1997 with thunderbolt 5 should already have a rev. limiter.
5200rpm I believe...
You guys are funny...

I see I'm not alone on that one !!!

Wow! I love this forum. Just saved myself a few hundred bucks right there. I guess I'll just go with some pretty red spark plug wires and call it a day.

If you want to overall that ignition, buy new wires, cap, and trigger plate / rotor. That's it - it's pretty much bulletproof. Not sure what Merc is using for wires, but I didn't like them the last time I saw them, so just go to your local auto / speed shop. Actually when I had a 454 mag, I just bought all the stuff at Napa (they sell the marine caps and rotors) and a good set of 8mm wires. Cost me half what Merc wanted and worked flawlessly.

If you want to go the extra mile, buy the updated trigger sensor located in the distributor that is encoated in plastic if yours doesn't have that. When they get old and rusty, the magnet inside can fly off, killing the ignition. Happened to me twice. Costs about $80 from your friendly Merc dealer.