Buying a spare coil

Jon B

I'd like to buy a spare coil for my '37 Terraplane and stow it in the trunk, "just in case", and wondered if any of the universal ones would be acceptable. Does NAPA (or anyone else) have one that can be used?



I'm aware that the late 30's cars had the security cable and cap, which fits only certain coils, and that -- if I need to use a modern spare -- I'll have to do some rigging up. But I'm assuming that modern, "universal" 6-volt coils will be a lot cheaper and easier to get than the original type. (Of course, if someone has a spare NOS AutoLite IG-4644 they want to sell, cheap, I'd be interested!)



By the way, I am told that the correct way to hook up a "universal" coil in a Hudson, is to wire the (-) to the "hot" (neg.), and the (+) to the terminal on the side of the distributor. Is that right?

J Spencer

Jon B wrote:

I'd like to buy a spare coil for my '37 Terraplane and stow it in the trunk, "just in case", and wondered if any of the universal ones would be acceptable. Does NAPA (or anyone else) have one that can be used?



I'm aware that the late 30's cars had the security cable and cap, which fits only certain coils, and that -- if I need to use a modern spare -- I'll have to do some rigging up. But I'm assuming that modern, "universal" 6-volt coils will be a lot cheaper and easier to get than the original type. (Of course, if someone has a spare NOS AutoLite IG-4644 they want to sell, cheap, I'd be interested!)



By the way, I am told that the correct way to hook up a "universal" coil in a Hudson, is to wire the (-) to the "hot" (neg.), and the (+) to the terminal on the side of the distributor. Is that right?

Yep, postive side to coil,-- positive ground, remember?

tigermoth

jon, if your car is still positive ground, that is correct. regards, tom

Jon B

Yes it's still pos. ground but the main question is: does the (+) terminal on the coil hook to the side of the distributor, and does the (-) terminal hook to any "hot" terminal (such as the BATT terminal on the voltage regulator)?



On the original coil there is one terminal on the bottom, and one on the top (that is wired to the ignition switch. The "universal" coils have two terminals together, which is different.

Unknown

Jon,



The wire from your igition switch should go to the negative (-) and the positive (+) to the distributor. If you reverse polarity, efficiency will fall off by about 20% and the car will buck and stumble at high speeds.

Jon B

Thanks, Dave! And of course, in a pinch (i.e. a highway breakdown where I rig up the "universal" coil with duct tape and baling wire, that "ignition switch" wire could be attached to the BATT terminal on my voltage regulator...right? (Sorry to ask so many stupid questions, but I just don't want to damage anything!)

J Spencer

Jon B wrote:

Thanks, Dave! And of course, in a pinch (i.e. a highway breakdown where I rig up the "universal" coil with duct tape and baling wire, that "ignition switch" wire could be attached to the BATT terminal on my voltage regulator...right? (Sorry to ask so many stupid questions, but I just don't want to damage anything!)

Jon, yes you could attach the negative side of the coil to the battery at the voltage regulator for emergency use but you would have to disconnect it when you need to shut down the engine because you will have power to the coil all the time.



J Spencer

faustmb

Just a thought, what I typically do for spare parts is buy and install a new direct replacement part and install it at my leisure at home. That way the functional part that I took off can be my known working spare, and I have installed something that should have a long life ahead of it.



This eliminates putting on a spare in an emergency and finding out it is no good or takes mods to install it when I really need it. I do this with belts too, save the old ones as emergency spares so save some $.

Unknown

Jon B wrote:

Thanks, Dave! And of course, in a pinch (i.e. a highway breakdown where I rig up the "universal" coil with duct tape and baling wire, that "ignition switch" wire could be attached to the BATT terminal on my voltage regulator...right? (Sorry to ask so many stupid questions, but I just don't want to damage anything!)

* You're welcome.

* Yes.

* You can't hurt a Hudson. Hmmm, that could have been a good line for the

guys in the sales department.