just picked up a 72 camaro, engine was put in but no distributor. i bought a mallory 9000 breakerless distributor but i only see 1 red wire comming out of the firewall what i need to know is how to wire this thing. i need an external coil and a ballast resistor but do i need a wire from the starter, and where does the ballast resistor go before or after the coil. i know where the distributor wires go .. if someone could explain everything it would greatly help me thanks jim

 

Stock GM HEI distributors run off of full 12 volts, but Mallory recommends running resistance. Check your wire with a gauge to see how many volts it has. That red wire sounds like a replacement, because the factory distributor was fed with resistance wire that is a dark brownish fabric covered, and power to the coil was in the 10 volt range. If that wire is a full 12 volts, the ballast resistor goes between that wire and the + side of the coil. The - side of the coil connects to the distributor. The extra wire from the starter to the coil was there as an aid for the old points ignition to give the coil a full 12 volt shot only while cranking the engine over. That was to compensate for the voltage drop caused by the starter motor load. The new electronic ignition will start the engine much better than the old points & condenser setup did, so the wire from the starter most likely won't be needed. If the engine fires right up without it, you don't need it.

 

thank you, ill give it a try in the morning.... got to earn more parts money