What's This Coil Belong To?

[Rick A.]

Folks,

Replaced the coil on my 1963 as the judges at an NCRS said it was incorrect. Well, before I throw it out, thought I would ask what kind of vehicle it belongs on. It still works! The only identification on the body of the coil is the following:

DELCO REMY on the top and on the side 287 B-R

This is all of the identifying marks that are on the coil. Checked my 1953-76 Corvette Parts catalog and didn't see anything listed. So, thoughts........???????

[Mike M.]

Re: What's This Coil Belong To?

definitly not a midyear coil. out of a pass car i believe. save it for you non-vet Gm 12 volt vehicles, or buy a copper sleeve from one of the vet vendors with the part # appropriate for your 63 and slip it on the 287 . however , there should be elevated pads at 180 degrees apart adjacent to the tower to fool the judges( which is always a gratifying aspect of judging) mike

[Chuck G.]

Re: What's This Coil Belong To?

Hi Rick. The 287 BR coil is correct for my 69 BB. I believe it is also the correct coil for all non TI 68-74 BB's, but I don't have my reference material in front of me. Don't throw it away!! I'll "buy" it as a spare.

There is some controversy about this coil, as to whether the factory assembly line coils had the BR or did not. The 1968-69 JG says 287 WITHOUT the BR. I've never seen a 287 without the BR. I've seen this coil on "Survivor"---"Bowtie" cars WITH the BR designation. I "think" that the BR stands for "ballast resistor", meaning that the coil uses a resistor wire, and is not to be used with an external ceramic resistor. Could be wrong about this, however. Chuck

[Jack H.]

Re: What's This Coil Belong To?

The 1115287 coil was used on '68-74 BB engines with standard (non-TI) ignition. You'll find subtile differences in the emboss of the case that I don't believe we really understand....

I've seen these variations:

BR 287
BR-287
B-R 287

which are not talked to in the judging text. These coils are still available in various Corvette catalogs with average price in the $100 area. So, I would NOT toss the part out!

There is general talk about the 'BR' designation meaning ballast resistor, but I question this. Eventhough the ballast resistor disappeared in early Sharkdom, the function of the resistor (give full voltage during start/crank, but drop voltage during run) continued. Instead of a discrete ballast resistor dissipating heat on the firewall, the resistor was 'distributed' and built into the engine wiring harness. This was accomplished in the same way that TI systems did it....

Discrete wiring runs to the coil, controlled by ignition switch position, existed. One run (start/crank) was of low resistance, while the other run was of 'controlled' resistance using different wiring materials and wiring gauge step-up/step-down inside the harness. The net result was the elimination of a discrete component with ballast resistor's functionality built into the wiring harness and a single heat dissipating 'hot' component eliminated....

Having opened and inspected various coils out of curiousity, I suspect the BR emboss was a designation for an improved form of internal transformer construction that dealt with laminated core technology. But, to say more presumes readers have knowledge of electrical transformer design and assy technology. So, I'll drop the thread here....