John :
My suggestion would be to replace the "special resistance wire" entirely
with 12 gauge, and then add a discrete external ballast resistor. The coil
your car should have had needed the external ballast, as do most coils
commonly available today. (Don't know about the Lucas Sports, my
understanding is that they were available in both forms. The one sold by
Moss apparently doesn't need an external ballast.) The Borg-Warner coil
from Pep Boys should work just fine, if you mount it securely. (The one I
got was smaller than the original coil on my TR3, but maybe that isn't a
problem for the later cars. I used a beer can as a spacer.) Pep Boys will
also sell you the ballast resistor. (If the parts droid doesn't know what
to sell you, ask for a ballast resistor for a 63 Dodge Dart with a 225ci
slant six <g>).
The nice thing about using a coil that takes an external ballast is that
second wire to the starter solenoid, that shorts the resistor out while
starting, thereby giving a hotter spark when you need it most.
How long you can drive depends on how much of the resistance wire you
replaced, and how tired your points were to begin with. My experience has
been that running without a ballast (where one is required) will cause the
points to die in 800-1200 miles.
Randall
On Thursday, June 08, 2000 11:20 AM, John Summers
[SMTP:trumpet@bellsouth.net] wrote:
>
> Dave Massey and Glen Rattman have schooled me some on the wires coming
> from the coil. Yes the wire was tan&pink and had woven insulation.
> Glen said it had "special resistance wire". I replaced it with 12 guage
> solid copper wire. Wrong guess, I guess huh. Also, from within the
> wrapping of the tape on the harness there seemed to be a black oily
> substance. Graphite perhaps? Or did this come from within the "special
> resistance wire"?
> Were I to change to a Lucas Sport coil would I even need this wire to go
> to it?
> And, lastly, will any coil do? I would think not since I had gotten one
> two weeks ago from Pep Boys - a Borg-Warner is all I know and it didn't
> seem to have enough kick to really excite the car to start
> enthusiasticly.
> Sooo, where do I go from here? How long can I drive with the weird wire
> I have?
> John Summers
> "74 TR 6
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