Waldo 53...I have a Mallory small cap HEI on my 250ci. The instructions do call for a ballast resistor. My old OEM HEI did not have a ballast resistor or resistance wire that I can remember. So I would think it best to say some HEI's require a resistor, others not. And yes 'Big Chevy 3600', the resistor drops the voltage during engine run. It is bypassed at start up.
