As long as the rotor is pointing to #1 and the crank/cam is in position it doesn't matter.

Original ballast resistor is a pink wire under the dash connected to the ignition switch. If power is coming from a solenoid it won't have a resistor.

I think it actually does. I ran my wires just like this once many years ago thinking it would look better, and it ran like crap. It should need resistor with the Mallory distributor?

I checked Mallorys website for technical issues/ troubleshooting, it says nothing about a ballast for the points system.

http://store.prestoliteperformance.com/ ... e_0008.pdf

I checked too. There are 27 series installation instructions and it doesn't mention the resistor either. It just says to remove the old distributor and install the new one.

Airbur, didn't you have some issues with this distributor previously?

I need to measure a distributor cap and see if all of the terminals are the exact same distance from each other because if you look at one from above, it doesnt actually look like they are the exact same distance which would explain why number 1 is on the terminal to the right of the retainer clip.

I ran my single points without a ballast for a long time. My points would burn out about every 6 months, but it was a hot spark. Varying the points gap and plug gap can change how fast they burn out. One day I got tired of replacing points and broke down and installed a ballast on the firewall with a new set of points so I only had to change them every 2 years.

"A dwell meter would be the best thing for you in this case just to verify the dwell is correct. I wonder if you can disable the secondary points, make sure the primary set is in correct dwell/timing and see how it runs.

Contact point (also known as breaker point) ignitions have been around almost forever, and are fairly simple. As the engine spins the distributor shaft (by a gear or drive dog), there is a cam wheel mounted to the distributor shaft. Just off of the cam is the a single set (or two point sets with dual point distributors) of breaker points that are opened and closed by the distributor cam's contact with the point set(s). When the points open and close, they allow the coil to energize and then release the built up energy through the cap, rotor, into the spark plug wires to the spark plugs. How long the points stay closed is the DWELL.

The dwell is controlled by the design of the distributor (distributor point cam, point design, and adjustment). The point adjustment is simply how close each point set is to the point cam. The closer the points are to the point cam, the larger the point gap (dwell), thus the further away you will have less gap and lower dwell (less time the points are closed).

Too much dwell can cause a late spark, rough running, lack of RPM potential, early point and condenser failures. Too little dwell causes a weak spark, overheated points, "stuck" points, poor engine performance, and more. As you can see, correctly setting the optimum point gap is mandatory if you want reliability and good performance. But, as the points wear, the dwell time will increase, therefore requiring periodic adjustments of the dwell settings so as to maintain maximum reliability and performance of the system.."

http://www.centuryperformance.com/setti ... pg-90.html

"With the dual points distributor, the first points set to close "makes" the circuit and will incur any ravages caused by a small amount of arcing when closing. The last points set to open "breaks" the circuit and will incur any ravages caused by a small amount of arcing when opening. Since the make and break functions are done by different contact sets, the two sets of points share the wear and each will therefore wear less with time, causing less variation of dwell and timing, and it can run longer between required adjustment or points replacement. Also the two contact sets can share the electrical current load most of the time, so there can be less heating of the contacts and/or rubbing foot. This reduction of running heat leads to less wear on the rubbing foot as well as the contacts. This may be even more important if you also install a high output ignition coil which draws more current, which may noticeably shorten the life of single points. If the points may last roughly twice as long in service (and they do), it may not be such an increased expense to replace two sets of points instead of one. The reduced labor or inconvenience may save considerably on cost and/or tinkering time...

There is one more notable feature of the Mallory Dual Points distributor. It has an adjustment for mechanical adance upper limit (maximum advance stop). If you set idle timing to 10 degrees BTDC, and there is no vacuum unit, and you want 36 degrees total spark timing at road speed, you can set the mechanical advence limit to 26 degrees. If you have a vacuum unit that can produce 7 degrees advance, and you want to set idle timing at 15 degrees BTDC and limit maximum total advance to 36 degrees at speed, you can set the Mallory max mechanical advance to 14 degrees. This is a handy feature if you do any special tuning (and don't we all?) so you don't have to buy new or modify the mechanical limit stops or advance weights. "

http://mgaguru.com/mgtech/ignition/ig200.htm

Here is something else to read (I havent myself yet)

http://www.gofastforless.com/ignition/points.htm


I would also check the points contacts and see if they have a lot of pitting or burn marks.

Setup a troubleshooting day and time. I was over at BOB's this morning. Trying to get his Bronco going. Unfortunately he's in need of parts.

Are you sure you adjusted your valves properly? A friends new engine acted just like yours. Took forever to find that the valves were too tight causing all the problems.

Monday or tuesday works.

Course....now I realize Tuesday is Valentines Day so that won't work. How about we plan for sat or sun? Whichever works for you.

It'll have to be Sunday. Planning to go to BWB on Sat.

Sunday works fine. What flavor chocolates do you like? ;)

Wish ya luck Sunday...too hard sometimes trying to diagnose a problem with so many potential variables in it...

Can't rule anything out... carb was rebuilt but when you set it down did crap move in the float bowl and partially cover a main jet...

Distributor...how did you set the dwell? Feeler gauge only? How many thousands of an inch? Did you verify it with a dwell meter? (still got mine from all those GM car days at the dealership...)

100% on cap/wires?

At what rpm does the rough running start? 1K? 1500? 3K?

Did you rotate the distributor while at the faster speed where it's running rough to see if it's an ignition advance problem?

Seems like lot's of good helpful ideas posted earlier...I'm thinking you missed something simple...happens all the time!

Good luck, glad somebody can make it over... I'm about 2 1/2 days away! HA

I'm usually up and caffeinated by the crack of 9:00. How about 10:00 or 11:00?

10AM works for me. You have my address from the member's section?

Got it.

We're still on.

Sounds good....see you then.

Anyone else is welcome to stop by at 10 also. Probably won't take us long I'm thinking.

I would like to but I have something else going on today.

So I'm all fixed. Viper corrected the gap on both sets of points, then we found a loose rocker...my fault....after a few test drives it was running much better but still bogging down. We opened up the carb but everything looked fine.

After Phil left I swapped back in the condenser and coil I had in previously....coil fixed it:)

Head gasket project DONE! Thanks Phil.