It sounds like you have either a Ford or Chrysler/Electric Autolite ignition ballast resistor. You should be able to measure resistance with your ohmmeter on the X1 scale- the same range you used to measure the coil primary resistance. The resistor should read about 1.5 ohms, about like the coil primary. A little more or less is alright.
The winding you see inside the case is the resistor element. It is nichrome wire wound usually around a fiber glass core.
Harvester
