383 ignition, need expert please.

The capacitor is for RFI suppression, cuts the noise out of the radio.

If you leave the power applied to the coil, and the points are closed, you can fry the points. You can also cook an electronic trigger module unless it has a feature to shut itself off such as in a Pertronix II.

No, you do not need a ballast resistor to run the engine for short periods of time. They are for reduced current feed to the coil so the points and coil don't get too hot. Many cars will have an ignition feed wire from the key switch with the resistance in the wire instead of a resistor. Your Flamethrower coil will also have enough primary resistance in it that you shouldn't need extra resistance.