Mallory Double Life distributor
 

Anyone know how they work? They have a 4 lobe cam and dual points. Does one set of points fire 4 cylinders and the other set fire the rest?

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

You are correct in assuming that one set of points fires 4 cylinders and the other set fires the other four in an alternative manner. It is further complicated by the fact that there are two types. Does the distributor have one or two coil terminals?

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

Mallorys with dual coils? I've never seen those.

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

Only 1 coil terminal. It has worked flawlessly for 10 years. Didn't want to start after sitting for about a year. I started checking and only getting spark to 4 plugs. I'll clean and gap the points. I had never tried to trouble shoot a 4 lobe V8 dual point dizzy before.

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

They're not exactly dual coils, but require a special coil (made by Mallory) with two primary and one secondary winding. Each set of points activates one of the primary windings which generates the spark in the secondary winding. essentially, you have the benefits of a dual coil, but don't need a special distributor cap and rotor. I am a real fan of Mallory "flattop" distributors and have acquired two of these, one for an Olds Rocket and one for an early hemi.

Here's a picture of a 6 volt version (black) of this coil; notice it has three primary terminals instead of just two. 12 volt versions are red, a Mallory convention. Also, here is a picture of my '51 Olds with one of these distributors. Notice the dual terminals and condensers. People who run across one of these that aren't aware of how they work can be very confused.

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

if THE CONTACTS ARE TIED TOGETHER , SET THEM BOTH AT .018 AND THEY WORK JUST LIKE A REGULAR DUAR POINT ........................HOWEVER IF POINTS ARE SPLIT IT TAKES A SPECIAL MALLORY COIL TO FITE IN A OVERLAP , COIL HAS TWIN PRIMARYS

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

Here's a pics of another example of a Magspark coil where you would wire the points seperatly.

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

Here's the set up I presently use with a four lope cam. It's a Chevy distributor turned down to fit an 8BA wired with a conventional coil. Originally I ran points wired in series with a condenser as Bubba mentioned. I have since converted over to electronic ignition. The cam is covered up by the magnet and the rotor is removed for the picture.
So you can use ether coil, it just maters which way you wire the points.

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

Thanks for all of the input. Anyone have an idea what the dwell should read?

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

I have it running now but tach is reading 500 rpm too low.

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

raybee remember that most electric tachos count the primary coil pulses this style uses 2 primary coils in turn about turn so if your tacho has a selector switch [4/6/8] select the 4 position this should correct the reading to eng revs

Re: Mallory Double Life distributor
 

You probably need a four cylinder tach, I had to for a Grant Spalding dual coil.
Worked great.
Martin.