Ballast Resistor, wire, or none on 69 C20 with 307?

[BanjoDude]

Hi guys,

I have a completely stock 69 C20 with a 307. The cap, rotor, plugs, wires and coil are pretty old and showing a lot of wear, so I'm giving it the full treatment. The coil that the local parts store sold me says it requires a ballast resistor. Did the 69 have a resistor or a resistance wire from the factory? Does anyone know?

Thanks for your help - as always!

Wes

[67 twins]

It has a resistance wire from the factory.

[BanjoDude]

Originally Posted by 67 twins

It has a resistance wire from the factory.

Thank you. I’m most familiar with British cars, and the resistance wires on those have a habit of cooking themselves, so the systems are often converted to 12 volt coils. Is that common with these as well, or should I go with it as is? It does run quite well.

[dmjlambert]

It should be fine. You can inspect it. It is a faded white cloth insulated wire in this position (arrow) on the firewall connector. Inside the wrapped wire harness that goes toward the engine it is spliced to a yellow wire and comes out of the harness at the clip on the bell housing (arrow). From there it goes to the coil and also goes to the starter. The white cloth insulated wire is the resistor wire, and the yellow wire is plain copper wire. You can unwrap the wire harness and have a look and re-wrap it. It is non-adhesive vinyl tape just wrapped on there as knotted on the end. I bought some non-adhesive vinyl tape on Amazon.com to re-do any vinyl wrap I manage to mess up or any I want to re-do.

[BanjoDude]

Thank you!

[72SB]

If you are installing a pointless ignition like a Pertronix to eliminate points....you need to replace the resistor wire section with standard 10 gauge stranded copper. For points you keep the resistance wire

[BanjoDude]

Originally Posted by 72SB

If you are installing a pointless ignition like a Pertronix to eliminate points....you need to replace the resistor wire section with standard 10 gauge stranded copper. For points you keep the resistance wire

Thanks! Call me crazy, but I kind of like the points for old times' sake. As a bonus, I get to teach my teenage boys how to work with them also - I'll bet less than one in 1,000 from their age group will even know what points are...

[Sheepdip]

Originally Posted by BanjoDude

Thank you. I’m most familiar with British cars, and the resistance wires on those have a habit of cooking themselves, so the systems are often converted to 12 volt coils. Is that common with these as well, or should I go with it as is? It does run quite well.

Anytime I hear "British" cars this comes to mind:


This is for all those who have dealt with English motorized vehicles of any kind!





ELECTRICAL THEORY BY JOSEPH LUCAS

Positive ground depends on proper circuit functioning, which is the transmission of negative ions by retention of the visible spectral
manifestation known as ""smoke"".

Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work. We know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of an electrical circuit, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing.

For example, if one places a copper bar across the terminals of a battery, prodigious quantities of smoke are liberated and the battery shortly ceases
to function. In addition, if one observes smoke escaping from an electrical component such as a Lucas voltage regulator, it will also be observed that
the component no longer functions. The logic is elementary and inescapable!

The function of the wiring harness is to conduct the smoke from one device to another. When the wiring springs a leak and lets all the smoke out of
the system, nothing works afterward.

Starter motors were considered unsuitable for British motorcycles for some time largely because they consumed large quantities of smoke, requiring
very unsightly large wires.

It has been reported that Lucas electrical components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage than their Bosch, Japanese or American
counterparts. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British, and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, British shock absorbers,
hydraulic forks and disk brake systems leak fluid, British tires leak air and British Intelligence leaks national defense secrets.

Therefore, it follows that British electrical systems must leak smoke. Once again, the logic is clear and inescapable.

In conclusion, the basic concept of transmission of electrical energy in the form of smoke provides a logical explanation of the mysteries of
electrical components especially British units manufactured by Joseph Lucas, Ltd.

And remember: "A gentleman does not motor about after dark"

Joseph Lucas 1842-1903 aka "The Prince of Darkness"

A few Lucas quips:

The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark"
Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.

The three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF. The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.

The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics. If Lucas made guns, wars would not start

Back in the '70s, Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which
did not suck.

Q: Why do the British drink warm beer? A: Because Lucas makes their refrigerators.

This has been referred to as the smoke theory, when the smoke comes out it's finished, cooked or done for.

Yes these are the undeniable truths!

[72SB]

OP, show your kids that a matchbook cover is what people would use to gap points :-)

[BanjoDude]

Originally Posted by 72SB

OP, show your kids that a matchbook cover is what people would use to gap points :-)

And you can even use the striker strip as a file!

[yuccales]

Originally Posted by BanjoDude

And you can even use the striker strip as a file!

Originally Posted by 72SB

OP, show your kids that a matchbook cover is what people would use to gap points :-)

Originally Posted by BanjoDude

Thanks! Call me crazy, but I kind of like the points for old times' sake. As a bonus, I get to teach my teenage boys how to work with them also - I'll bet less than one in 1,000 from their age group will even know what points are...

Don't forget to teach those rascals what a dwell meter is. "Points Forever" club member here also.

['68OrangeSunshine]

Originally Posted by Sheepdip

Anytime I hear "British" cars this comes to mind:


This is for all those who have dealt with English motorized vehicles of any kind!





ELECTRICAL THEORY BY JOSEPH LUCAS

Positive ground depends on proper circuit functioning, which is the transmission of negative ions by retention of the visible spectral
manifestation known as ""smoke"".

Smoke is the thing that makes electrical circuits work. We know this to be true because every time one lets the smoke out of an electrical circuit, it stops working. This can be verified repeatedly through empirical testing.

For example, if one places a copper bar across the terminals of a battery, prodigious quantities of smoke are liberated and the battery shortly ceases
to function. In addition, if one observes smoke escaping from an electrical component such as a Lucas voltage regulator, it will also be observed that
the component no longer functions. The logic is elementary and inescapable!

The function of the wiring harness is to conduct the smoke from one device to another. When the wiring springs a leak and lets all the smoke out of
the system, nothing works afterward.

Starter motors were considered unsuitable for British motorcycles for some time largely because they consumed large quantities of smoke, requiring
very unsightly large wires.

It has been reported that Lucas electrical components are possibly more prone to electrical leakage than their Bosch, Japanese or American
counterparts. Experts point out that this is because Lucas is British, and all things British leak. British engines leak oil, British shock absorbers,
hydraulic forks and disk brake systems leak fluid, British tires leak air and British Intelligence leaks national defense secrets.

Therefore, it follows that British electrical systems must leak smoke. Once again, the logic is clear and inescapable.

In conclusion, the basic concept of transmission of electrical energy in the form of smoke provides a logical explanation of the mysteries of
electrical components especially British units manufactured by Joseph Lucas, Ltd.

And remember: "A gentleman does not motor about after dark"

Joseph Lucas 1842-1903 aka "The Prince of Darkness"

A few Lucas quips:

The Lucas motto: "Get home before dark"
Lucas is the patent holder for the short circuit.
Lucas - Inventor of the first intermittent wiper.
Lucas - Inventor of the self-dimming headlamp.

The three-position Lucas switch--DIM, FLICKER and OFF. The other three switch settings--SMOKE, SMOLDER and IGNITE.

The Original Anti-Theft Device - Lucas Electrics. If Lucas made guns, wars would not start

Back in the '70s, Lucas decided to diversify its product line and began manufacturing vacuum cleaners. It was the only product they offered which
did not suck.

Q: Why do the British drink warm beer? A: Because Lucas makes their refrigerators.

This has been referred to as the smoke theory, when the smoke comes out it's finished, cooked or done for.

Yes these are the undeniable truths!

Brilliant!
I was a Harrier Handler on the old AV8A aircraft. They were made in England by Hawker Siddeley. It had Lucas components.
I can personally attest to the veracity of the above statements.

['68OrangeSunshine]

BanjoDude-- If it has 12 to 9 volts DC, you can keep the original 20 Orange/white/purple [iconel] resistance wire from the Bulkhead Connector to the [+] coil terminal. It is one strand, and as current goes thru it it heats up and its resistance increases, dropping the violtage from 12 vdc to 9 vdc. That way, the points do not burn up.
I kept running points on the 292 L6 in my '68 C/10 Stepside right up to 2016.
New points are gapped at .019, used points to .016-.017. Plugs should be gapped to .035 when using points. Change out the Capacitor along with the Points at every major tune up. Keep a spare set of points and capacitor in your glovebox, always.
Get a dwell meter and dialing in your timing is easy.

72SB-- When did you last see free matchbooks at a retail outlet or cafe? They used to be everywhere. People collected 'em. Now they're as rare as phonebooths.