----- Original Message -----
From: Larry Colen <lrcar@red4est.com>
To: <mgs@autox.team.net>
Sent: Wednesday, December 27, 2000 9:10 PM
Subject: Coil ballast wiring
> I've got a Mallory coil which needs a ballast resistor. How does the
> resistor get wired in relation to the coil and distributor? Does it
> make any difference whether it is an electronic or conventional points
> distributor?
Dunno if the Mallory is any different but the factory coils have the loom
ballast (about 1.5 ohms) in the white wire feeding the coil (also about 1.5
ohms) from the ignition switch/relay.
> Also, I found a centrifugal advance distributor in the box. Is there
> any advantage to running centrifugal advance on the street?
Definitely! It is vacuum advance performance distributors sometimes do
without, not centrifugal. Centrifugal advance is essential to meet the
different requirements of the engine at different rpms, without it you will
get hard starting, poor performance, poor economy and overheating or
combinations of all four.
> Is there an "ideal" amount of advance for the distributor? I noticed
> that they were labeled anything from 10 to 18 degrees.
The ideal is based on the particular spec of the engine, there were many
specs over the years and hence many distributors (20 listed on my web site).
This can be as low as 15 max at 2000 rpm, or 41 max at 4800 rpm. 6 - 10 is
a typical static setting, 10 - 20 a typical Strobe setting (at a particular
rpm).
IMHO 'surging' is more indicative of a fault than an incorrect coil and/or
distributor.
Good luck,
PaulH.
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