Ballast Resistor 1961 270HP

[Ray C.]

I would first like to thank everyone for all the help that you have provided me in the past . I have just completed the restoration on a 1961 270HP. The ballast resistor that came with the car was in very bad condition (cracked porcelain) and I replaced it with a resistor from Paragon. The engine ran very well before body drop (only for a few minutes) and also ran well after body drop with coolant hooked up. We broke the cam in for 20 minutes with no problem. After setting for a few days while completing assembly, I went to start the engine and it would not run. After getting the engine to idle we could not get it to run at higher RPM’s. We removed the distributor cap to find that one set of the points was burnt. We measured the resistor to find a reading of .2 and with the key on and the engine not running we had a voltage drop of 1.5 volts. We measured the voltage into the resistor and found a reading of 11.62 and measured the voltage out at 10.13. We have a reading at the battery of 12.32 not running and a reading of 13.2 at 2500 RPM’s. The resistor that I replaced had an OHM reading of 1.7. Could someone please recommend a quality source and the correct resistor for this engine combination?

Again thanks for all your help!
Ray Carney

[Duke W.]

Re: Ballast Resistor 1961 270HP

There were two ballasts used in production. One measured about 0.3 ohm and the other about 1.8. Their appearance is identical. Service replacements, when they were available were differentiated by a "black dot" for the 0.3 ohm unit and a "blue stripe" for the 1.8. These marks were placed on the steel bracket with what appears to be a marker pen. Some say these marks were also on production resistors, but there is controverys over this.

As a general rule the high output engines used the low ohm unit for more spark energy, but the unfortunate by product was more frequent point burning. Your AIM should show resistor utilization for the base engine and various options.

"Generic" 1.8 ohm ballasts are commonly available, but their appearance including terminal design is not as original.

I don't know if the one you bought is detectable as non-original by it's appearance. If it is a "reproduction" that is meant to appear original, it is probably available in both resistance values, so you should contact Paragon.

The resistor alone may not be the cause of the burned points. To high a dwell angle (too little point gap) is also a common cause of burned points.

Duke

[Ray C.]

Re: Ballast Resistor 1961 270HP

Thanks! Duke

We had the engine running very well last evening and the same problem occurred this morning when I tried to start the engine. I have another question in reference to setting dual points.

We set the dwell on the points at 24 to 25 and when we took a combined reading we were in the range of 33. We set the points one set at a time with a piece of cardboard between the contacts of the points that we were not setting.

Do you have a better way of setting these points? I hope this is one of the last hurdles I have to fix. It is time to drive and enjoy the car.

I called Paragon and need to call the Tech Center; the sales person could not answer the question on Ohms.

You have been a great help on my restoration project!

Thanks, Ray

[terry leeker]

Re: Ballast Resistor 1961 270HP

Ray, you may want to check the circuit wiring from the ballast resistor to the ignition switch. It could be the "run" side of the ballast is hot all the time even when the ignition switch is in the off position. Thought the voltage across a properly functioning resistor is not detrimental to the points, a continuious current flow (engine not running) through points, when closed or just touching, will burn the points and damage the coil (it will get hot enough to blow the oil seal on the can). Maybe something to check?

[John H.]

Re: Ballast Resistor 1961 270HP

A bad or failing condenser will also cause point burning, and it doesn't take very long to fry them.

[Duke W.]

Re: Ballast Resistor 1961 270HP

John is an expert on the dual point distributor. I have never owned/worked on one, but I recall from previous discussions that each set should be set to 29 degrees separately and the total should be about 34.

With no window and screw adjustment, setting the points on this kind of distributor is a PIA, but it sounds like your setting is reasonable and not too narrow.

Hopefully, some of the dual-point experts will chime in.

Duke