Lucas Sport Coil vs Normal

[DerekJ]

I'm going to fit a new coil and keep the old one for emergencies. I'm not sure how old it is, it has the silver body with red throat which I read somewhere signified a sport coil.

The new Lucas sport coil ls an unattractive gold colour, but never mind, my question is:

If everything else on the car is stock are there any advantages (or disadvantages) to fitting the sport coil?

I think this was discussed recently on the Healey List.

I also quite like the "bumble bee" sport HT wire that Dennis Welch sells. What are the dos and don'ts of "making up your own" HT leads?

While I'm at it here's another general question regarding the electrics. Why were older British cars positive earth? Whats the difference from negative and why do some people switch to negative? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

[Dave Russell]

[ QUOTE ]

If everything else on the car is stock are there any advantages (or disadvantages) to fitting the sport coil?

What are the dos and don'ts of "making up your own" HT leads?

Why were older British cars positive earth? Whats the difference from negative and why do some people switch to negative? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused.gif

[/ QUOTE ]
Hi Derek,
There may be a slight advantage in easier starting & maybe less miss fire at very high rpm. You "might" be able to open the plug gaps about .005" wider which would give a better spark. Then again, maybe not. You would just have to try it. The disadvantage would be slightly shorter point life due to the higher coil primary current. The primary resistance of the "sport" coil is a little lower which causes more current to flow through the points.

No problem making your own leads. Any soldered end connections must be removed & replaced on the new wires.

There have been endless discussions about why positive earth. No solid conclusions to my knowledge.

I switched to negative earth to acommodate some electronics that were only available in negative ground. It may prevent a booster battery cross wire accident also, since most helpful folks assume all cars are negative ground.
D

 

[Keoke]

HI Derek, Utilizing the new sport coil with a standard point ignition system can shorten the life of the points. When the OLD model "Sport" coil tower gets chipped the coil will break down to its own terminals causing an engine miss.--FWIW---Keoke