well, i am in the west coast of canada so its not exactly close for some of you. but i just picked up a new MSD opti II from our local parts distributor, Mopac auto supply for $400.00 cdn +tax, they are pretty huge in these parts, and distribute all over canada and the united states. if anyone is willing to order these the deal is there. i bought it because summit wanted $515.00 usd and this was an unbelievable deal. so just giving anyone a heads up that wants one.

http://www.mopacautosupply.com/main.html

even if you add shipping etc, you still come out way ahead. they have their main warehouse in Langley B.C. and 2 stores in alberta.

 

I paid about the same for my MSD from Lordco (West coast Canadians Unite!!!) -- I've found Lordco to have pretty competitive pricing. Might have to check out Mopac for the online ordering tho.

 

I've always ordered GM optis from cromer - I think it was around 315 or so for the 95 vented opti. I have it shipped to Pt Roberts then just pick it up and pay taxes across the border.

Aside from the short trip it works out a fair bit cheaper

 

They are talking about the vastly less reliable and more expensive MSD opti, not the better stock replacement.

 

well having taken apart my oem opti, it had corroded from a fluid being in it, the optical wheel was warped and doing a dance, and the bearing was gone in the back. instead of replacing it with a stock one, the msd is warrantied, billet, and sealed better. optics aside. you get a msd rotor and cap, which is a 150 dollar mod to a stock one from the get go. the only negative is the timing adjuster, but if you set the timing on a pointer, it can be zeroed any time

 

well you forgot that the GM OEM opti is also warrantied it has either a year or 12000 mile whatever come s first! now BLUE79 i want to ask you how long was your opti on when you took it apart? i personally have had problems with MSD and will only stick with stock AC DELCO!!

 

i dunno, i bought the engine from a car that was rearended, i ran it before removal and it was running rough and missing. it had 105k kms which is about 65k miles. most of the problems with the MSD is the rotor screws backing out and then self destructing the unit, taking off the cover and making sure the screws are loctited and tight before install. ive heard of a few having optic problems, but so does the oems, not really a plus or minus, msd warranties it. they do claim the optical is a higher end unit, and it does have a billet case and a beefy bearing good till 10k they claim. either way i paid 400 for mine new, not 515, so its not much over oem and it does have a better cap and rotor if nothing else. to each his own i guess

if my bearing wasnt blown out on my opti i might have tried to restore it, but i dont like the design at all. im used to gen 1's with distrubutors and i run all msd on my race car, and everyone else i know does too (mustangs and gm), and its all been flawless, so i stuck with them.

 

Been thru 4 opti's. With MSD ignition parts, the stock type opti rotors have not lasted long. One failed in 2 weeks. Summit gave me a replacement which I promply voided warantee and inproved the deficient rotor design. But, I still have problems with carbon tracks and opti spark distribution performance with MSD high voltage. I only like to replace opti one time. Especially with an ATI blower in the way. I'm glad I moved the radiator.