Thanks Carl - I've been driving the truck for about 10 years (to shows only because I had that kind of insurance) and have not had a points problem so I assume there is a resistor in the coil (?) or alternator(?) or somewhere(?) but good advice anyway. I just opened up the distributor cap and things look clean in there an not burned so not sure if that's a useful data point. I had a bad overheating problem for the first few months and lifted the water pump/fan, adjusted the timing, and got a new radiator to fix it - perhaps that was the heat that split the coil top.
In your experience is there a specific type or brand of coil that is a good fit for this type of vehicle?
Thanks again - D
