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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Mallory Dual Point Distributor

I'm installing a Mallory dual point distributor on my 73 1275 midget. The installation instructions recommend using a ballast resistor but it doesn't say what type or size(ohms) to use. I'd appreciate any information or thoughts on this topic.
Stephen Roode

Stephen
Did your Mallory come with a new coil or are you using your original setup
William Revit

It came with a coil but I'm going to use my Flame Thrower instead. It's ratedat 3 ohms.One of the reasons I went with the mallory distributor was because I also installed a 45 dcoe weber carb and both don't use vacuum advance.
Stephen Roode

All good Stephen
If your flame thrower is 3ohm you don't need the ballast
I reckon you'll find that if you measured accross the terminals of the Mallory it would be 1.25-1.5 and would need a ballast
The normal aftermarket ballasts you buy are around the 1.1-1.5 mark but I've seen them down as low as 0.8
The whole idea is to end up with a total of 2.5-3ohms including ballast and coil
Any would do the job, If you do fit the Mallory coil you will 'have to' have one otherwise the coil will run very hot and fail,specially at low speed or with the key on engine off it'll cook up

bit of a mallory fan
willy
William Revit

Thank you very much Willy. That's exactly the information I was seeking.
Stephen Roode

This thread was discussed between 12/06/2020 and 14/06/2020

MG Midget and Sprite Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG Midget and Sprite Technical BBS is active now.