With compression ratios as high as io to i and engine speeds of 5,000 to 6,000 rpm, the Ford V-8 or Mercury hot rod engine of today has made necessary the development of an efficient and reliable ignition system. The battery type ignition as used on the majority of hot rods consists of a standard distributor converted to use 2 coils instead of the usual single coil.
Although the hot rod owner is thoroughly familiar with his ignition system, this unit complete with its coils, condensers, resistors, breaker points and primary and secondary wires appears to the casual onlooker to be a very complex and confusing piece of equipment. Actually, though, an ignition system is made up of several separate and distinctly different parts, each dependent on another for proper…