> - the archives back a few years frequently mention the Lucas
> Sport coil. Is
> this still a good unit to purchase?
Ken Gillanders at British Frame and Engine once told me that out of a box of
12 new Lucas Sports coils, 9 of them showed up as defective on a coil
tester. But only 4 of the 9 were completely dead, the others were just
sub-standard. With odds like that, I don't plan to try one ...
> - Alternative coil recommendations? Why can't one just use a
> NAPA american car coil?
No reason whatsoever, except it may not fit the original bracket. Mine has
a shim made from an old beer can between the coil & bracket.
> - If I run a Crane 700 do I need to retain the ballast resistor?
Yes, if you're using a coil that requires an external ballast. I _think_
that was original on a 74 TR6, but I'm not certain. Earlier TR6 (and all
previous TRs) did not have an external ballast, later ones did. Sorry, I
don't know the change point (and your coil may well have been replaced with
the wrong one anyway).
> What about the 3000?
Nope, with the 3000 you must use a coil that takes an external ballast when
used with points (aka a "6 volt" coil), but use it without a ballast. I
believe the later TR6 had the ballast built into the wiring harness, so the
easiest way to install a 3000 would be to add a relay to supply a full 12v
to the module/coil.
> - if so, doesen't retaining the ballast resistor defeat the advantages of
> the high output coil
No.
> - therefore doesen't that leave the Crane 3000 (which I think is
> needed if
> the external ballast is to be bypassed - see question above) and the sport
> coil (or equivalent) clearly the best combination for both accurate timing
> and strong spark?
The Lucas Sports coil comes in both configurations, but the "12 volt"
configuration (with an internal ballast resistor) is by far the most common,
and should not be used with the XR3000.
> Any accompanying observations are also appreciated.
I have a Crane XR3000 on my 59 TR3A daily driver, and I'm not very happy
with it. Took a long time to get it sorted (turned out the old rotor was
whacking the optical pickup), and the performance has just never been what I
think it should be. I've tried both a cheapie coil from K-mart, and an
Accel replacement coil, no real difference. It's very marginally better
than points, but can't hold a candle to my previous setup, a MSD 6A. The
timing is much more stable when viewed with a timing light, but it's not
reflected in the performance.
Randall
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