Boy I have been away for a few days.... never expected this much action....
Summary of what I learn and will apply.....
Make darn sure I have the proper Pertronix for the Chev application. Talking here of a 1959 261 Chev truck in a 40 chev, a Canadian Pontiac 261 with Pertronix in a 43 and a Chev car 235 on points in a 1945. The engines are all installed in Canadian army trucks... plus a couple of old AC tractors on points.
Make sure the engine runs well on regular point system before experimenting with Pertronix.
Ballast resistor may not be needed with Pertronix as no points are invloved.
Next time I purchase a coil I will verify that it has a "built in " resistor......for simplicity.
Said ballast resistor is by-passed during the period the starter is energized at start up.....ballast comes in to play during running cycle to insure life of points system.
Our practical conclusion.... because of the design of the engine compartment...if you think modern designs are bad.... you ain't seen the engine compartment of our trucks..... we fully intend to make sure the engines run well on points.... then migrate to Pertronix before we install the sheet metal......
Once the cab is installed, for emergency situation should the Pertronix fail...... we will carry a fully loaded dizzy in the spare box..... pull out... push in... fiddle with timing and get back home...... any and I mean any kind of routine maintenance would require the whole nose sheet metal to be removed on my truck...... not a side of the road job.
Interesting about the 9 volts design of the coil/ignition system. Those of us working on Ford flat heads V8 army trucks of the same vintage usually run with an 8 volt battery for greater punch on startups...... and although the design is basically a 6 volts system the original generators puts out about 9 volts and manages to keep the 8 volts battery fully charged.
Thank you all very much for your help.
Bob
