Packard Forum Index » V-8 (1955-56)

if one were to use an internally resisted coil, would the external stock resistor even been necessary? would one just connect all the wires that normally would have gone to the resistor?

i'm weighing my options for coil/distributer performance.

i can go with the ignitor coil and pertronix modification to the distributer

or the factory coil and dual points setup

or the factory coil and single point setup

also how would i check the coil. i have two of the factory coils...the one that was on the car was all dented up but it worked when i started the car the first time. the second coil i have i found in the trunk of the car and it is only just surface rust no dents, but i don't know if it works.

i know the resistance of the delco resistor is 1.40-1.65 ohm and the internally resisted ingnitor series coil can be had in 1.5 ohm. but for externally resisted coils, like stock....how does one check if it would work or not?

thanks

Hank

To be blunt, IMHO I would just replace the coil and not use either of them. They may be fine but if originals they are also pushing 60 years and old unknown condition coils are a notorious cause of intermittent failures. For the relatively low cost of a coil, if you are going with Pertronix I would get what they suggest.

I agree with HH; even though there were coil testers in the era, they were never considered to be good indicators of a coil's condition as they didn't evaluate a coil under load and when heated to operating temperatures.

The classic 12-volt system with ballast resistor allows you to get 12-volts to the coil for starting and a lesser voltage for running (to give extended point life). I don't really know how an internal resistor coil is wired but if it doesn't allow for that situation, I'd avoid it until I knew more about it.

Were it me, I'd go for a new coil with ballast resistor as original, and if you want a bit more performance, go for a dual point conversion. I did that in a number of my cars, noteably my 54 Hudson Hornet, and you do get a bit of a bump in power.

i plan on calling petronix and asking about how to wire the internally resisted coil and i will report back.

if it is not a good solution i will go with new aftermarket coil and the dual points, as i have a breaker plate for dual points already. (bought moons ago for options)

Hank

i just went to the support section of the website.

here is how to install it without resistor positive ground

and with or without if you have neg ground.

on the postive ground, which i will be doing, the light green and the pink wire hook onto the black/white wire from the ignitor in the distributer and the Yellow wire to the ignition switch goes to the black wire from the ignitor. is that correct to everyone else?? or maybe all three wires connect to the black wire from the ignitor.

they didn't have instructions for pos ground with ballist resistor, but i'm assuming you could do it like the neg ground but flipped and keep the resistor on the firewall like stock. that would mean the yellow ignition wire and the black ignitor wire would go on the right side of the resistor and then the black/white wire from the ignitor and the pink and light green wire would hook to the left side.

i'm confused.

i didn't look at the negative ground much, but attached it for those interested.

Hank

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My only experience with dual points is on a 1963 Avanti R2. Personally I don't think they are worth the extra hassle of touchy and frequent adjustment as the only advantage I know of is to reduce "float" of the sprung breaker point arm at high RPM.

IMHO, a Petronix or similar setup with a brand new coil would be the way to go.

BTW, if you have info on prices and sources for a Petronix conversion for the 1955-6 Autolite dizzy I would appreciate it. I'm thinking of going that route on the boat motor.

Cheers,

John

would this work...only autolite i see
http://www.shopatron.com/products/productdetail/part_number=1564P12/591.0.1.1

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Thanks, I'll call them to confirm the application.

here are the instructions for the 12v + ground setup. NO resister used. internal resistor used only for 8 cylinder applications.

also no condenser either.

Hank

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Don't know how i missed this topic, as we had a lively one related to pertronix/coils last year or so.

1) use the OHM coil they recommend (1.5 for 8 cylinders)(the flamethrower is a decent coil, use it if you can spend the $) Some say ohm doesn't matter, but pertronix seems to think it does.

2) wire as they say, no resistors, no resistor wires. If it's a 6v setup they want it to get 6v, if it's a 12v setup they want it to get 12v. The coil is much less picky about voltage than the unit is.

3) do NOT use solid core wires. They say not to, and they're right. My pertronix was awesome until i put solid wires on...it was ok for a bit then i got weak starting spark and rough idle and then i swapped wires and it was a little better, but was already messed up. I wanted the look of the solid wires, so i just switched back to points.

Good luck and i hope it's an improvement for you!