Project Street Reaper Gets Its Spark Back With An MSD Ultra 6AL
If you run a built small block 350 on factory ignition, you are leaving performance on the table. Part 4 of Project Street Reaper got the ATM Innovations 750 CFM XRSC on the Edelbrock 7501 RPM Air-Gap, broke in the flat tappet cam, and fired the engine for the first time. The induction side was sorted. The next weak link was staring right at us: a tired factory SBC ignition system that had no business sitting behind an aggressive cam, AFR Enforcer heads, and a .040 over bore.
Installing the MSD 6AL Ultra was one of the biggest single-day upgrades we have made to this 1976 Camaro. The whole SBC ignition system came together faster than expected. We went with the MSD Pro-Billet bundle (P/N 85551K). It includes the MSD Pro-Billet Distributor (P/N 85551), the Ultra 6AL Ignition Control Box (P/N 6423), and the Blaster 2 Ignition Coil (P/N 8202). The bundle saves up to $162 over buying each piece separately. We also picked up a coil mount (P/N 8213) separately, since our previous distributor had the coil built into the cap.
Street Reaper’s 350 runs a Summit Racing cam with .519/.542 lift, AFR Enforcer heads, an ATM Innovations carburetor, and a 4.040 cylinder bore. It responds well to clean ignition, and the factory setup had become the weak link. Before touching a wrench, I read through the 6AL Ultra instruction manual the night before the install. That reading time changes everything.
Why the MSD 6AL Ultra Changes The Game For A Built SBC
The MSD 6AL Ultra (P/N 6423) is a capacitive discharge ignition. That distinction matters on a built engine. Stock inductive systems fully recharge the coil between every firing event. At higher rpm, the coil runs out of time to reach full voltage. The engine shows it with a top-end miss and lost power.
The MSD 6AL Ultra stores energy in a capacitor and delivers a full charge every single time. It produces a consistent 135mJ to 150mJ spark from idle all the way to redline. Secondary voltage reaches 45,000 volts, and the spark series covers 18 degrees of crankshaft rotation. A built SBC ignition system running aggressive cam timing and big lift heads needs exactly that kind of fire.
Modern Fuels Demand A Stronger Spark
There is another reason to care about spark energy beyond just rpm capability. Modern pump gas has changed. Today’s fuels, especially ethanol-blended options like E10 and E15, have a higher octane rating but also require more energy to ignite reliably. A weak spark on a built combination running modern fuel means incomplete combustion. When the fuel charge does not fully burn in the cylinder, you lose power, run hotter, and waste fuel. All three are problems you do not want on a car you are trying to tune.
A strong, consistent spark from the MSD 6AL Ultra lights the entire compressed mixture. That complete burn translates directly into usable cylinder pressure. On a built SBC with aggressive cam timing and big lift heads, the combustion chamber fills hard and fast. You need a spark that can keep up with that. With up to 150mJ of spark energy on every single firing event, the MSD 6AL Ultra does not leave fuel in the cylinder unburned. That matters with pump gas, and it matters even more if you ever run higher ethanol content down the road.
The box connects via Bluetooth to the MSD Ultra 6AL app on iOS and Android. Through the app, you can adjust rev limiters on the fly, set cylinder count, configure step retard values, and monitor the system live. No chips. No laptop. That alone separates the MSD 6AL Ultra from older 6-series boxes.
Page 12 of the 6AL Ultra manual answered the first big question: lock out the mechanical advance or leave it alone? The answer is simple. The advance only needs locking out when the box controls more than 10 degrees of timing. Street Reaper runs the MSD 6AL Ultra as an ignition amplifier. We are not touching timing tables right now. So the centrifugal advance stayed unlocked. That may change down the road, but getting miles on the car comes first.
Timing Curve Setup On The MSD Distributor
This SBC combination likely makes peak torque in the mid-4,000 rpm range. We want to hit max timing right around that point. The MSD distributor ships with multiple springs and stop bushings to tune the advance curve for your engine. The stock spring combination put peak timing right where we needed it.
A common swap is one heavy spring paired with one light spring. The problem is that it pushes peak timing up to around 4,700 rpm, which is slightly late for this combo. Two light springs pull the curve down into the mid-3,000 rpm range. That could be worth testing later. For now, the factory spring kit and stop bushing landed exactly where we wanted, so we left it alone.
Installing The MSD Pro-Billet Distributor
The MSD Pro-Billet Distributor (P/N 85551) is CNC machined from 6061-T6 billet aluminum. MSD builds it by hand in El Paso, Texas. The .500-inch steel shaft carries a QPQ coating for friction reduction and corrosion resistance. A sealed ball bearing and an extra-long sintered bushing keep it stable at high rpm. A precision-machined reluctor triggers the high-output magnetic pickup. No contact points to wear out, no adjustments needed. This MSD distributor runs maintenance-free from day one.
This distributor also eliminates the vacuum advance canister. On Street Reaper, that freed up real estate on the driver’s side of the intake and made coil mounting clean and simple.
For the swap, rotate the engine to top dead center and pull the old cap. Note where the rotor points. I use intake manifold bolts as reference markers. Drop the MSD distributor in with the rotor matched to that same position.
Getting The Oil Pump Engagement Right
Oil pump engagement trips people up. Skip the flathead-screwdriver-in-the-hole method from the forums. Instead, drop the distributor down until it stops with about 1/8 inch of stick-up. Apply light downward pressure and rotate the engine by hand. The distributor will fall fully into place on its own. Then tighten the hold-down clamp just enough to prevent free spinning. You want to still rotate the housing by hand for timing adjustments later.
Mounting The MSD 6AL Ultra And Running Wire
The MSD 6AL Ultra went on the driver’s side fender using the rubber-lined standoffs from the kit. Those standoffs absorb vibration from driving and create an air gap under the box to control operating temperature. Both matter on a streetcar with an older suspension. The fender location also kept the box label readable and aimed the wiring harness in the right direction.
Running wire for a basic amplifier setup on this SBC ignition system takes six wires and one plug-in connector. The MSD distributor ships with its own plug-in harness. One end plugs into the distributor, the other into the ignition box. Orange and black wires connect to the Blaster 2 coil using the included terminals. A slim red wire runs to a 12-volt ignition-on source, the red wire from the old distributor plug in this case. The gray wire handles the tach output and ties into the green wire from the old plug. The heavier red and black wires run straight to the battery terminals.
Wrap anything running near the exhaust in heat-proof insulation. That habit saves real money and real time. A melted wire costs far more to fix than the few minutes it takes to protect it before it becomes a problem.
The MSD 6AL Ultra is also compatible with an MSD Power Grid, which unlocks Step Retard, Burnout Rev Limiter, and Two-Step functionality. Street Reaper is not using those features yet. The related wires got cut long, capped with clear heat shrink tubing, and tucked away for a future episode.
Spark Plug Gap, First Fire, And Setting Timing
A stronger spark from a capacitive discharge SBC ignition system means a wider plug gap is both possible and recommended. The MSD 6AL Ultra instructions call for a gap between .050 and .060 inches on this combination. The plugs were sitting at .040, so they came out regardless. Fresh Autolite Spark Plugs (P/N 3924) went in gapped to .050.
With the key in accessories, the MSD 6AL Ultra showed an orange LED confirming the system was live. I pulled up the app, confirmed V8 mode, and set the rev limiter to 3,000 rpm for the initial start-up as a precaution. The app’s live rpm gauge confirmed the box was reading the trigger signal from a light bump of the starter before the engine fully fired.
After the usual sitting-for-days carburetor routine, Street Reaper came to life. Timing light on, base timing settled right at 12 degrees. That sits cleanly in the 12 to 16 degree sweet spot for an SBC. As rpm climbed, total advance came in at 34 degrees, landing in the 34 to 36 degree target range for this combination. Since the cam has not been degreed, staying at 34 rather than pushing to 36 is the conservative and correct call. If the cam is off even a couple of degrees, bumping timing further could push total advance outside safe territory.
The ear test, something passed down from my dad over the years in the garage, confirmed it. The engine sounded and pulled exactly the way 12 base and 34 total should on a healthy SBC ignition system. MSD stickers went on the quarter panel. Real horsepower confirmed.
The MSD Pro-Billet bundle brings a classic Camaro or any carbureted street car into the modern era with Bluetooth control, a hotter and more consistent spark, and a cleaner install than the old-school component-by-component approach.
MSD has led performance ignition for over 50 years, and the MSD 6AL Ultra shows exactly why that reputation holds. If you want the full step-by-step breakdown straight from MSD, they put together detailed install instructions for this exact bundle on a 1976 Camaro SBC 350. Find it here: MSD Pro-Billet Ignition Bundle Install on a 1976 Camaro SBC 350
