304/T19/D30 swap update

["Jeff Tarquinio" <tark_terra@domain.elided>]

I pulled the engine and tranny back out to replace the truck throw out arm with the Scout throw out arm from the Deisel bell housing.  I've go it all in and bolted up.  Last big problem to overcome is drive shaft lengths.  They are way off.  The front needs to be 3" shorter and the rear needs to be 4" longer.
  I tried to run the 304 yestarday.  I turned it over with the high voltage wire off the coil.  I wanted to try to build OP before I fired it.  I should have disconnected the (+) off the coil instead, because I think/know I fried the ballast resistor.  Here is why.  With the Accel super coil the destructions said to add their ballast resistor to the (+) circuit even if there is an oem one in line.  I am wondering if they meant to replace the oem ballast with the Accel version.  I took the (+) wire off the old coil, put it to the Accel res. and the a wire to the coil.  Only problem is the starter bypass wire is on the same connector as the IH ballast resistive wire.  So the bypass was not bypassing the Accel res.  I burnt it out running full voltage through it.  I think I also smoked the resitive wire for the oem setup.  It would start, but not stay running when I let off the key.  I tried to hot wire it but the wire was arcing at the (+) on the batt.  I think that was only due to the points being closed, but I was afraid I would burn something else out.  I think Maybe the resistive wire is shorting out somewhere in the circuit, there is smoke coming from the harness and heat generated in the wire.  I think I will bypass it and run just the Accel res (I had a spare, the '77 doesn't need it with the Electrnic ignition).

  Also, I am getting the Pertronix today, so that will sort of solve some of my minor ignition issues.  With the pertronix, I assume you no longer need the resistive wire or any sort of ballast resistor, is this true?  I assmue you would have to cut out the ballast from the fire wall and splice in a new wire to go to the positive coil. Which wire is it?  I can look it up but I suspect that its the one in the three prong connector that says "do not cut or splice" near the engine bulkhead connector.  Do you disicard the starter bypass too?  I would assume so, as long as the coil gets 12V in START through what used to be the ballast also.

  But, I have fuel and oil pressure, so it should run, once all the little bugs are out.

  About my 345, the two week old plugs Dan Nees helped me change were junk, most likely the main reason it was running like such shit.  The question is, why did they get like that.  I am wondering now that if having both resitors in series was too much and it caused the spark to deteriorate at high speed due to dwell, not enough time/current to build a good charge.  The plugs loaded up with carbon and even bridged the gap on a couple.  I tried to pick the bridge out on couple of them and the electrode broke out.  The plugs were ACs.  Are ACs crap?
  I guess the question is what value is the ballast in an oem app and could too much resistance cause  carbon briding on my plugs and my near catastrophic failure with the 345?  I would guess about 1ohm @ 50w would do it, but its only a guess.
  My inexperince/ineptness with points igntions is showing.;)
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Layda,
Tark
'77 Terra 345/T19/D20
   Survivor of '98 Scout Nationals
'80 Scout II 345/TF727/single speed tc
   Clean machine




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