[Joes57]

I just got my big block installed last week. I previously had a smallblock with an HEI distributor. I was running it with the tan wire that comes off of the ignition switch and hooking it straight to the HEI. The ballast resistor was long gone.

When I put in the big block I went back with the points distributor for more clearance. To get it running I wired it up straight just like the HEI. I knew it would burn up the points eventually.

Last night I picked up a ballast resistor from Autozone. I hooked the tan wire to one side of the ballast resistor and the other side I ran to the + side of the coil. The engine started but then I noticed a small amount of smoke coming from the resistor.

I hadn't wired one up in a long time so I dug out my 57 shop manual to see what was wrong. After looking it seems the wire doesn't go straight to the coil, but down to the starter and then back up to the coil. I totally eliminated that when I wired it up. I also have a mini starter and I'm not sure where I would run this extra wire to. It only has two threaded studs to attach the wires to. If I remember correctly some older starters have three.

Would not having this wire running to the starter cause the resistor to get hot?

Thanks for your time and help,

Joe

 

[shoeboxlen]

ditch the points and go to a mini hei
i run this one http://www.summitracing.com/parts/PNX-D100700/

others use these
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Chevy-small-cap-HEI-distibutor-sbc-bbc-Ready-Run-350-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem2309ae460dQQitemZ150486271501QQptZRaceQ5fCarQ5fParts

 

[mickeywestsr RIP 2/3/2022]

I'm with shoebox

 

[Joes57]

That would be nice, but I'm trying to finish out the cruise in season with what I have. Maybe this winter I'll upgrade.
Thanks

 

[mitch hennings]

The resistor will get very hot that's norm.That wire that came from the starter
was used for starting only it bypassed the resistor to give you a hotter spark
while starting . the resistor should not smoke it may be dirty or poorly made

 

[Rick_L]

Echo what Mitch said.

See if the resistor settles down, it may just have a piece of the packaging on it.

Your starter probably does not have the required "R" terminal. You could rig up a relay to do the same thing, but if the engine is running well it may not need the extra voltage when starting.

 

[Joes57]

Thanks for the replies and help.

The car has no problem starting. It fires right up when I hit the key.

I was wondering, does it matter which way you hook up the wires to the resistor? I didn't know if there is a "in" and "out".

I was also wondering if maybe the resistor had something on it. I will clean it and try it again.

Thanks again for your help everyone.

 

[mitch hennings]

it doesn't matter on the resistor it does the same job either way

 

[larry48]

RESISTOR

Help, when I put the 350/330 HP in the 57 because of clearance issues I put A Mallory distributor (MAA-4248201) a friend of mine said someday it is known that the module will fail so get an extra. I put an extra in the trunk (6100M) and sure enough the module failed and the extra was wrong one I needed #609 which was double the cost and nobody local had it in stock so I had to order two of them (one spare for trunk). This module failed with only 25,000 miles of useage! Seems like it did not last very long. Is there a reason one might only last this long? When I replaced the module I went ahead and replaced the ballister resistor with a Mallory #700 to be on the safe side.

 

[larry48]

RESISTOR

Should I have used something besides the Mallory distributor that doesn't have a history of the module going bad or is there something in my system bad that could make a module not last long?

 

[fiddlerpin]

Put a Skip White Top Steet Performance HEI in for about 45 bucks plus shipping. You could even buy a spare for that price. I have one on my 283 since January with no problems. You can get rid of the ballast resister. Jim

 

[jlow1979]

i had a 50 ford show box a while back i converted everything to 12 volt on the flat head motor i added a msd 12 volt coil so i had to add a BALAST resistor to lower the voltage going to the ignition button well for some reason everytime i would shut the car down after running the ballest resistor would smoke and then burn out the points couldnt figure it out ...the problem was the points werent adjusted enough to stop the current from kicking back i used a feller gauge and set them at the correct gap solved the problem ..the gap on the points may not be adjusted correctly ...check them out ..

 

[fiddlerpin]

New points .019 . Don't try to adjust old points with a feeler gauge. Won't be accurate due to uneven surfices. Jim